Recently updated on July 2nd, 2025 at 04:55 pm
If I were Canadian, I’d live in Vancouver!
Why? Vancouver is a cosmopolitan city yet is surrounded by amazing sea and mountain views. The city’s size makes it very manageable to explore with children in tow yet it has an international, big city feel. If you’re planning to take the family on Trafalgar’s Rockies Thrills and Glacier Chills Family Experiences trip, then I would recommend spending a few days here to enjoy even more of what this fascinating city has to offer.
Since one could spend days exploring all the diverse family-friendly activities and sights of Vancouver, I’ve listed my top five things for kids, teens and parents to do.
1. Stanley Park
Stanley Park is truly an urban gem due to its extreme diversity. Its 1,000 acres include a small beach area, hiking trails, rose garden, cricket fields, and horse drawn carriages. And there’s so much to do: Vancouver Aquarium, playgrounds, Children’s Farmyard, and Miniature Railway. If you want your kids to sleep well at night, plan on spending an entire day in Stanley Park. It’s the perfect antidote to jet lag!
2. Capilano Suspension Bridge
Since teens especially like thrilling experiences, they are prime candidates for Capilano Suspension Bridge (although all ages are welcome). With the Capilano River 230 feet below, walking 450 feet across the swaying footbridge is not for the faint hearted! If you’d like to continue the excitement, then check out Treetops Adventure which is a series of elevated suspension bridges located amidst high foliage. And the Cliff walk which winds its way along a precipice and is anchored at 16 points into the cliff. Capilano is a quick 15 minute ride from the city and is easily accessible.
3. Grouse Mountain
Getting there is half the fun! Grouse Mountain Skyride lifts you one mile to the Alpine Station 3,700 feet above sea level. Once atop Grouse Mountain, there are spectacular views of Vancouver, the surrounding waterways and mountains. There are plenty of family-friendly things to do up top including easy hiking trails, a visit to the wildlife refuge with bears and wolves, Birds in Motion demonstration and Theatre in the Sky with 3-D nature movies. My kids really enjoyed seeing the seasonal logging shows and lumberjack competitions.
4. Vancouver Aquarium
Situated in the middle of Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is Canada’s largest marine wildlife museum. With 70,000 animals, it’ll be hard for children and teens to say they’re bored here. Some of the highlights include the Encounters program, where you can get up close and personal with marine animals and their trainers, the Rain Forest room and the 4-D theatre.
5. H.R. MacMillan Space Centre
Want to know how rockets fly or how astronauts live? Then head to the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. Kids of all ages will enjoy games which will have them pretending to morph into an alien or land a spaceship successfully. Don’t forget to check out the planetarium shows too.
By Luisa Frey
Luisa, an accomplished travel writer is a regular contributor to blog.trafalgar.com
