Vancouver’s top attractions are an endless resource for useful, and not so useful trivia about our amazing city. Whatever your interests these top attractions are a veritable treasure-trove of facts and fun for explorers of all ages! Consider some of these fun facts about our top attractions, then head out and find out more for yourself!
Start in Vanier Park, home to Canada’s largest civic museum, the Museum of Vancouver, built in 1967, it was once known as the Centennial Museum. While its distinctive dome roof top, designed by Gerald Hamilton, is familiar to most of us, can you see how its shape is like a woven basket hat made by Northwest Coast First Nations peoples? And did you know, in the 1950’s Vancouver had close to 19,000 neon signs, this is more than Las Vegas! Check out the permanent collection of signs in the Neon Vancouver, Ugly Vancouver Gallery.
Just down the path also in Vanier Park, check out the Vancouver Maritime Museum, home to the National Historic Site the St Roch, the first vessel to circumnavigate North America…, just imagine two full winters locked in the ice of the Northwest Passage in that confined space. Another spatially challenging exhibit located at the Museum is the Ben Franklin submersible, which was used for ocean and space research. NASA put it to work in 1969, to observe the space crew’s reactions to a long stressful voyage in a completely enclosed environment.
Another source of useful, or perhaps less than useful, trivia... can be found at some of our garden partners. VanDusen Garden, a 55 acre oasis with over 8,000 distinctive plants, grows a rainbow of vegetables each summer, stop buy to learn how each colour group can improve your overall health and well -being, then wrap up your visit at Shaughnessy Restaurant where they offer a garden-to-table dining experience. Can’t get more local than that!
And surely not to be missed… is the Bloedel Conservatory’s newest carnivorous plant display! Did you know that carnivorous plants, which often grow in harsh conditions and need more nutrients than the soils can provide, have adapted to catch, and digest animals for food? Any young cannibal will want to check out that display in this Conservatory comprised of more than 1,400 plexiglass bubbles in 32 different sizes high above the City.
A trip across the Lions Gate Bridge, built in the 30’s by the Guinness Family to provide access to their British Properties development in West Vancouver, will take you to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, which is as long as two NHL rinks, and as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Must know information for sure! And a journey up the Grouse Mountain Skyride opens the door to some great Vancouver history, Grouse Mountain was originally accessed by North America’s first double chair lift and then opened its first gondola, known as the Skyride, in 1966. Locally known for skiing, this world class attraction hosts more guests during the summer months as visitors from around the world enjoy this mountain top adventure playground.
There’s still plenty of summer to enjoy, make some of these attractions part of your plans!