What Is Vancouver Known For (By A Local)

Other than Toronto, Vancouver is the next most well-known city to visit in Canada. Being born and raised in Vancouver, I and other locals know what Vancouver is about locally and hear what others think about the city when they visit from overseas.

But if you have never heard about or visited the city before, you may be wondering, what is Vancouver known for?

Well, Vancouver is known worldwide for many things. The two most popular are nature and outdoor activities. However, there’s more to Vancouver than just nature and outdoor activities.

What Is Vancouver Known For

While these are the main things to know about, there are also other things that Vancouver is famous for further down in this post.

1. Nature

Yes, nature. Everyone talks about nature in Vancouver. Rightfully so, not to brag, but Vancouver has many stunning viewpoints all over the city to see our most iconic and popular mountains, Stanley Park, and the ocean.

Aerial view of Stanley Park with the city in the background and the sun setting on the right.

Vancouver is also centralized, so you can take many day trips from the city that are over and under an hour away. The further you go, the more you’ll be surrounded by forest.

Besides the mountains and ocean views, Vancouver has hundreds of local parks, so if you’re looking to get outside when visiting, head to a local park.

Stanley Park is one of the top tourist destinations in Vancouver, if not the top. There are many things to do in Stanley Park, like the famous Vancouver Aquarium, Prospect Point Lookout, the Seawall, and more.

If you’re looking for more nature spots in the city, there’s also Queen Elizabeth Park in the heart of Vancouver, VanDusen Botanical Garden, and Pacific Spirt Regional Park (UBC).

2. Outdoor Activities

The next thing, of course, is outdoor activities. There are endless activities that you can do in Vancouver year-round.

Our mountains, Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour, have many hiking and mountain biking trails and things to do during the winter, like skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing.

People skiing and snowboarding down a snowy hill in the mountains.

Grouse specifically has a grizzly bear habitat (they were rescued as cubs) and the Grouse Grind during the summer, which I recommend doing if you’re physically in good health and shape.

While I mentioned local parks, Vancouver is surrounded by regional and provincial parks where you can do more hiking, go camping, or hang out by a lake during the summer.

Another fantastic thing about Vancouver is that you can take a ferry ride to places like Vancouver Island, where you can visit the province’s capital, Victoria or head to the west side of the island to Tofino and Ucluelet. There are also many other towns and cities all over the island that you can explore.

Or head north towards the Sunshine Coast, where there are other fantastic small towns like Sechelt and Halfmoon Bay. There’s also between the mainland and Vancouver Island, where the Gulf Islands are, for a quick weekend getaway and a hub for local artisans and hiking.

If you’re willing to drive 5-hours outside of the city, you’ll end up in the Okanagan Valley, also known as British Columbia’s wine country. There are hundreds of vineyards, including award-winning ones. Plus, it’s one of the best places to travel during the summer outside Vancouver.

Vineyards in the foreground and the background over looks the lake with mountains in the distance.

3. Filming Industry

Vancouver (and Toronto) gained the nickname “Hollywood North” because it’s one of the most filmed locations in the country. The filming industry also brings revenue to the city.

I remember a film crew scouting out high schools in the city, including my old high school, was on the list. Or I’d walk to work downtown and have to divert to a different street because it was blocked off for filming.

There’s no way to list all the movies and television shows that were filmed and are still being filmed in Vancouver; the list would take up more than this post.

But let’s say there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of famous and well-known movies and television shows that were filmed in Vancouver, “but it was in America” in the film.

If you’re wondering if people see any celebrities out and about in the city, yes, people have spotted them before. As for me, other than actors and actresses at the Vancouver Fan Expo, I’ve only seen a couple out and about, one of which was when I was working. But I don’t go looking.

A groups of people working on a film set. The set is brightly lit with white sheets and bright lights with the film crew in the middle.

4. Weather

You’re not a true Vancouverite if you don’t mention the weather at least once in a conversation.

Overall, the weather in Vancouver is mild, and people say that a lot. This is true; we don’t experience crazy temperatures such as the high 40s (once in a blue moon) and below 0 (in Celsius, by the way).

However, we get ample rainfall half of the year, and it’s a common living in Vancouver pros and cons debate whether the rain is positive or negative. We do live in a temperate rainforest, so it’s inevitable. Also, rain contributes to our electricity and water supply, so I think it’s a pro.

5. Festivals

Vancouver is one of the most multicultural cities in Canada. The city holds many annual events and festivals, including cultural, seasonal, and weekend events.

Red, gold, green, and orange explosions in the night sky. There's many people watching on the beach and on boats in the water.

Some of the most popular events include the Honda Celebration of Light, which happens every summer and is popular among locals; the Dragon Boat Festival, where teams compete in False Creek; the International Jazz Festival, and much more.

Popular cultural events include the Lunar New Year celebrations in Chinatown, the Greek Festival, the Richmond Nightmarket, the Cherry Blossom Festival, and more.

6. Food

My favourite topic about Vancouver is the food! I’m a foodie, but on the lower scale, I like my locally known places and only like going to a few trendy locations.

Vancouver has tons of food options for almost everything you can think of. We’re most known for our sushi (besides Japan, of course). I’m biased, but we have great Japanese sushi locations scattered around the city.

A sushi platter on a wooden boat. There's a mix of sushi rolls and salmon sashimi with sliced cucumbers as decoration. There's also deep fried sliced banana slices.

You can also add seafood to the list because the city is also known for having top-notch seafood. Salmon, in particular, is the most popular seafood option in Vancouver because we have many spawning locations for different types of salmon.

Besides seafood, some other ethnic foods you can find in Vancouver are Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Mexican, Filipino, Ethiopian, and so much more.

There are also many dessert places around the city, such as bubble tea (boba, I’ve called it bubble tea my whole life), shaved ice, gelato and ice cream shops, waffle places, cakes and pastries cafes, and more.

Also, if you’re looking for Canadian snacks or other treats that are only from Canada, you can find many of those in grocery stores and souvenir shops.

7. Expo86

Vancouver hosted the most significant World Fair in 1986, the World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, also known as Expo.

Surprisingly, Expo86 was a huge hit, with an outstanding attendance of over 22 million visitors from around the world, which surpassed the previous hosting locations, such as Knoxville in 1982 and Louisiana in 1984.

Expo86 was the second time the World Fair came to Canada—it was in Montreal in 1967. However, Expo86 was the final World Fair in North America. My parents told me that they went, and they said it was a lot of fun, well organized, and there was so much to see.

8. Hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics

Vancouver was the host city of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and it was another excellent time.

To this day, memorabilia remains around the city or wherever an event took place. For example, in Whistler, you can see the Olympic Rings in Whistler Village, or the official Olympic Torch is still in the same spot in Jack Poole Plaza.

The official Vancouver 2010 Olympic torch. It's in the centre of Jack Poole Plaza.

I remember in elementary school, we went to see a torch runner passing by a specific location, we got passes to see some of the events, and Team Canada’s men’s hockey team won the gold medal.

9. Largest Port in Canada

Another fact about Vancouver is that we have the largest port in Canada. According to the Port of Vancouver website, the city trades approximately $305 billion of goods to other trading economies.

What Animal is Vancouver Known For

There are many common animals in Vancouver, but one animal Vancouver is most known for is raccoons. They’re everywhere, getting into people’s yards and trash.

Where is Vancouver Located

Vancouver is located on the West Coast of Canada, in the southwest corner of the province of British Columbia.

If you’re travelling through the state of Washington, you can travel to the British Columbia and Washington border. And it’s an approximately 45-minute drive into Vancouver after you cross the Canada-US border.

Vancouver also sits on the traditional unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Conclusion

As you can see, these were the things that Vancouver is known for. Whether you know about Vancouver or not, most of these things are almost always talked about, from the beauty of nature to the mountains to landmarks or events that took place in the city in the past; Vancouver is a memorable city.

Have a good day 🙂