Located directly underneath the Lions Gate Bridge, I made the mistake of taking the trail down the…read morehill from the Prospect Point Cafe. This would have been so much easier to access with my e-bike along the seawall. So do that! A lighthouse on this point dates back to 1888 though it was replaced with this existing structure in 1948. It is a square cement tower with a focal plane of 38 feet above the water. The interior of the structure is not open to the public but you can walk up to it and just about underneath. There is a night view of the Burrard Inlet and look up at the bridge above. [Review 20872 overall - 49 in British Columbia - 1856 of 2023.]

Prospect Point has excellent views of the Lions Gate Bridge, North Shore Mountains and Burrard…read moreInlet.

***Update Sept.3, 2022*** I was told by a fellow Yelper that…read moreI should write a quick update to my review, as a few features of the Cambie Bridge have significantly changed since I last wrote my review. -at dusk daily, the street lights on the bridge go on in the most unusual way: they all initially turn pink. Then after a few seconds, the all go out en masse. Then they all turn a crimson red, then emerald green and then a vivid cobalt blue-amythest hue. Then they all turn chartreuse, then amber, then pink again and, finally, warm yellow-white. This nightly light show lasts a few seconds; if you blink, it's all over. (My condo overlooks the bridge so I see this light show daily. It just started about a year ago and I don't know if it is a permanent feature, but it's super cool - if not fleeting). -within the last few years, they have changed the bike lanes in each direction. Supposedly, they are one-way on each side, but I always see some people liking in the wrong direction. The signs at each side of the bridge can be confusing (or perhaps people just don't want to go to the other side if they find themselves on the "wrong" side). Just be advised that bikers are supposed to cross in the designated one-way lane on each side. (I've seen some close calls/near collisions with people biking against the flow). -finally, FYI, there are confirmed plans to create some cool features on the north side of the bridge, under the bridge (on the Yaletown side). There will eventually be a new playground, a parkour area, exercise apparatus, I think water play features, and, oh yes, a controversial super swanky and super expensive public bathroom. These plans are all in the works for the near future.

One of the very important links connecting downtown Vancouver with the rest of the city…read more If you're walking across, you can take some really nice shots of False Creek and Science World. One thing I really like about this bridge is that there is rarely any gridlock on it, unlike Granville and Burrard.

It's a cool "rock" I guess just on the outside of the seawall. You can only see it on the seawall…read moreand I think maybe if you are on the Lions's Gate Bridge but not sure. So you would have to be on foot/rollerblade or bike etc. You can get some good photos on the on the seawall ( if it's not too busy). A nice spot.....

Discover this iconic rock formation with cultural significance in Squamish legend while walking in…read moreStanley Park. It stands at a height of about 15 meters (50 feet).

Irving House, completed in 1865, is the one oldest homes in the Lower Mainland and it is the oldest…read moreheritage house museum in B.C.! Being a fan of Burnaby Heritage Museum, I never knew about this place until my family told me about it. I came here with my parents, and there were no other visitors other than my family during the entire tour of the house. Tracy, the tour guide, was super friendly and helpful with the tour and I was able to stop and ask any questions during the tour. I loved how Tracy did a vintage vacuum demonstration as I haven't seen anything like it before. I loved the fact that visitors could go upstairs and see the entire house! Many of the items in the home were original from the original owners, though some were purchased or donated from other sources.

Irving House was built in 1865, back when New Westminster was striving to be the capital of British…read moreColumbia. It was lived in by family members up to about 1950, when it was sold to the city of New Westminster, and turned into a historical centre. Thus, if you're a history buff, love antiques (especially Victorian-era pieces), or ever watched the show "America's Castles", you should take a tour of Irving House. The house was built in high style by Captain Irving, a man who made a lot of money in the California, Alaska, and BC Gold Rush, and virtually poured it into the house. The architectural details of the house are interesting and well explained by the costumed guides. Since I was practically the only visitor at the time, I pretty much got my own personal tour. According to them, all the furniture and pieces displayed in the house are authentic to the period - no reproductions (except for some fake food in the kitchen, perhaps). Many belonged to the Irving family and their descendants; others were donated. The house is currently decorated, Victorian-style, for Christmas. Lots of garlands, an amazing Christmas dinner setting, and a beautiful little Christmas tree. Those into old-fashioned decorations should check it out. Legend has it too, that the house is haunted by none other than Captain Irving himself. At the very least, you can see the bed he reportedly died in, and it's one enormous piece of furniture. My guide demurred on confirming the story that an indentation of a body can sometimes be seen in the bedcovers. I saw nothing on my visit, though. In any case, it is New Westminster's oldest surviving home, and thus probably one of the oldest homes in the Vancouver area. It's a wonderful glimpse into what life was like in the early years of British Columbia, if you were high society folk. Admission is by donation, so it's affordable even for writers to visit.

One of three bridges that joins Vancouver with Richmond or Granville, this is a very tall one. I…read moreknow that because I initially walked down thinking that I'd take the ferry but there was a super long queue and I decided to just walk it. That was a mistake. TAKE THE FERRY even if it means a 20 minute wait. Though if I'd not taken the bridge, I'd have missed the amazing view of False Creek and English Bay. Despite being under major construction, there was a nice wide bicycle lane, a raised pedestrian walkway and enough room for automobiles, too. The bridge is a steel truss style, built between 1930 and 1932. It is marked with the coat of arms of Vancouver, "by sea and land we prosper". I think that's cool.

Burrard Bridge is one of the major landmarks of this city. It is a great place to watch the…read moresunset, as well as people walking or jogging to/from Granville Island and English Bay. You can tell it's seriously old. Huge chunks of concrete have chipped away, exposing the underlying rebar (which is all rusted out, of course) To be honest, I remember feeling the urge to smack some City councillors around when I heard they were going to take away a line from car traffic and use it for bikes instead. Now that it's been in for a couple of years, I can't say I've noticed a difference in traffic patterns or increased gridlock. With that said, the turn from Pacific (southbound) to Burrard (westbound) is now super-dangerous, as they've taken away the merging zone! I'm not sure how you can fix this though, without removing a chunk of bike lane. One random piece of trivia: there are approximately 210 sections of concrete fencing from one end to the other.

When the weather is nice in Vancouver, I wake early and walk the seawall. For hours. I…read morehalf-jokingly say that it's my therapy but, truth is, the City is breathtakingly gorgeous and I never tire of the views. And I never know what I'll see. I go along the perimeter of Stanley Park (and sometimes in the interior), and I see something new daily. But the fixtures remain the same and, at this point, I know them all so well, my family jokes that I could be a tour guide in the Park (!). I decided to write about some of the fixtures as, often, even regular Park-goers aren't that familiar with their histories and, sometimes, some of these Park features are hidden in various nooks and niches. This "Empress of Japan" is situated along the seawall on Stanley Park Drive between Lumberman's Arch and the totem pole lookout. You can't miss it, really, as it is SO colorful, and there are usually tourists reading the plaque and taking photos by it. By all accounts, this is the most colorful monument in the entire Park. The SS Empress of Japan was called the "Queen of the Pacific", and it crossed the Pacific Ocean over 400 times between 1891 and 1922, carrying goods to and from Asia. The figurehead of the ship was saved from being thrown away, restored and installed in Stanley Park in 1927. Unfortunately, it started to deteriorate so the original was brought to the Vancouver Maritime Museum (where it still is today), and this fiberglass replica was placed here in Stanley Park in its stead circa 1960.

This is a somewhat decent installation within Stanley park. It's actually a replica of the actual…read morerestored version of the masthead of the SS Empress of Japan which I think is now in a museum in Vancouver. It's regal looking dragon figurehead is wonderfully painted and brilliant in color. It appears to have good maintenance and upkeep. It's directly next to the Girl in a Wetsuit sculpture. I don't know much about the history of this masthead or the vessel the SS Empress but it certainly caught my eye as I walked around Stanley Park. . It's worth a stop for a photo op as it overlooks the water nearby.

Ever since I moved to Vancouver, my family and I have passed this sculpture regularly. It rests in…read morethe water, just off the seawall (where Marinaside Cr. meets the seawall, on the north side of Marinaside), and we always comment and guess what exactly it's supposed to be. One of my kids thought it was supposed to be a rocket of sorts. I thought it resembled a syringe. We've had lots of theories and guesses over the past 18 months or so. There's no plaque or inscription base describing this work, so I researched it online and I now know that it's supposed to be a brush. Now that the mystery is solved, I see the brush so clearly! One thing's for sure: the birds sure love perching on this sculpture. I've never seen it devoid of bird squatters (!). The work is like a tripod where one leg is a fixed pillar and the other two are floating spherical buoys. The whole piece is a kinetic work; the structure moves and responds to the water's currents and the wind. I remember when we first moved to the area, we took a kayak certification course and we paddled our kayaks here to this sculpture. Our instructor informed us all that this piece is a nautical instrument or barometer of sorts, as it tells the boaters and kayakers and canoers and Dragon Boaters, etc., how high the tide is, what direction the current and wind is going, etc. He said this piece is used for these purposes by everyone who goes on the water around here. I've always appreciated kinetic artwork as it's always changing with the environment and is never the exact same, from one day to the next. This piece is no exception.

Everybody has a word or two that they dislike, for whatever reason. For me, I can't stand the word…read more"iconic". It is SO overused, and often it is used so loosely and inappropriately, that it has lost a lot of its true meaning. We've become somewhat numb to what the word is supposed to mean because it's thrown about so often in describing people and things that, while they might be really swell, they are by no means "iconic". That said, this inukshuk sculpture truly IS iconic. It is THE iconic sculpture and signature piece that, if one had to choose ONE symbol or work that represented the City of Vancouver, this would be it. Proudly standing on a grassy outpost of land overseeing the Burrard Inlet, just to the west of the seawall, halfway. between Sunset Beach and English Bay, this Inukshuk sculpture rises tall, like a monarch on her throne overseeing her realm. This massive granite piece is extremely popular with city residents and tourists alike, and I always see people taking photos of it and by it, regardless of the weather or time of day (it's particularly striking at sunrise and sunset, but at dusk, when it's illuminated by its footlights, it's spectacular! I like how it's illuminated by different colored lights at various nightly festivals during the year). One of the reasons that it's so majestic is its setting, right by the water. In my opinion, this is one of the most successful pairings of artwork to context ever, as its setting here on the water by the seawall at English Bay could not have been more perfect. I see one reviewer gave this landmark a mediocre review due to the fencing erected around the work during the annual fireworks celebration, noting he could not get up close to the sculpture due to the barrier. To this I say, get over it! I applaud the City for protecting this iconic, precious sculpture and appreciating its worth and value by preserving it as best they can. If that means putting fencing up around it a few nights out of the year, so be it. Better that then having it defaced by graffiti or climbed upon by drunken revelers during some nights when there are thousands and thousands of party-goers in this area. I applaud the City for protecting this sculpture in this way. Vancouver has a lot of wonderful artwork to showcase, and this particular work represents and pays homage to much of the City's cultural history and values. Truly not-to-be-missed!

The mighty monument that overlooks the beautiful English Bay. The Inukshuk is a symbol of Canada…read moreand Inuit culture. A tranquil and relaxing atmosphere to observe the moving ships and sunsets.