Benefit from pick-up at your hotel, or from the port in Vancouver, and then start your private sightseeing tour of the city at Library Square. Admire the public library's original architecture, built in 1995 and a prominent feature of films such as “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” and TV series, including “Battlestar Galactica.”
Then, stroll around historic Gastown and see Water Street, where fancy coffee shops mingle with restaurants and gift stores. Continue to Canada Place, location of the landmark Vancouver Convention Centre and Cruise Ship Terminal, where 5,000 tourists a day disembark from their Alaska cruises to spend the day in the city.
Continue to Stanley Park and experience the most visited natural park in British Columbia. Take a look at the iconic Totem Poles and get panoramic views from Prospect Point. Look over the Pacific Ocean, and at the mountains of North Shore, and see the commercial port and beautiful Lions Gate Bridge from the highest point in the park.
Next, drive through a major shopping district and along Beach Avenue to English Bay to encounter the first beach in the city. En route to Granville Island, drive through the Olympic Village, where 2,400 athletes stayed during the Winter Olympics 2010. Reach Granville Island and stop to wander around the art studios, craft galleries and Granville Island Public Market, where you can find unique hand-made products and fine dining delights.
Take a 15-minute walk through Queen Elizabeth Park to get panoramic views of the Vancouver skyline and North Shore mountains. See the stunning Bloedel Floral Conservatory, where around 500 species and varieties of plants from deep jungle to desert climates are kept in the glass dome.
Explore Vancouver's Chinatown, established in 1885 and declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 2011. Today, it is the second largest Chinatown in North America after San Francisco and a hive of activity and popular tourist attraction. Then, get complimentary drop off at any hotel in city centre Vancouver or at the cruise terminal.
