Vancouver Audio Guided Walking Tour 2h15 and 20 reviews

You are now facing one of Vancouver’s most iconic buildings, which piques our curiosity with its beautiful yellow and red colors, and its charisma of another time. This is the Dominion Building, Vancouver’s first ever steel-framed skyscraper.

Just a word about the building you see a little further down the street, coupled with an observation tower. This is the Harbour Center, a skyscraper built in 1977, including an office tower and the Vancouver Lookout.

If it is not common for us Europeans to find a Gothic cathedral between two skyscrapers, in North America it is commonplace. The building you see on your left is the Holy Rosary Cathedral, translate the Cathedral of the Holy Rosary.

The life-size bronze and platinum bull, which you see on the left, is the work of Joe Fafard, the favorite artist of the property owner, a Mr Gordon Diamond. This sculpture was installed there in 2001, replacing the more abstract one of a horse, the late Jack Harman.

The neo-classical building, which appears on your left, is the Vancouver Art Gallery. The museum’s solemn appearance is due to the fact that the building was built in 1911 as the provincial courthouse.

Across the street, you can’t miss Vancouver’s imposing Fairmont Inn. If you’ve ever traveled a little in Canada, it’s certainly not the first one you’ve come across, the best known being Quebec City.

If you were wondering, know that the little church you have on your right is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster. Built in 1895 in a Gothic style, it is one of Vancouver’s largest places of worship, provides year-round religious services and occasionally hosts performances.

As you may have noticed, Robson Street is one of the busiest shopping streets in the city. In 1895, his large concentration of shops led to the installation of tram tracks.

Bute Street leads straight to Harbour Green Park, stretched along Coal Harbour. The city has many parks and green spaces, not to mention the incredible Stanley Park

To realize the importance of this sculpture, imagine it lit, or rather, inflamed. As tradition dictates, after being lit by the sun’s rays in Olympia, during a ceremony at the Temple of Hera, the flame was first relayed throughout Greece, before reaching Athens.

You don't see blurry, the sculpture you have there in front of you is well pixelated. This is the “Digital Orca”, the digital orca, raised next to the congress center in 2009. It is the work of Douglas Coupland, a Vancouver-born artist and Contributor known for his postmodern novels.

If there is one show in Vancouver that appeals to both locals and travellers, it is the seaplane ballet. As common as it may seem to our Canadian friends, this is not something you see every day in France.

Another original sculpture, placed along the harbour, is “The Drop”. You have certainly heard the unflattering nickname “Raincouver” with which the city is clothed, for its well-known precipitation.

This long point that juts out over the water is the part of the harbour that is called Canada Place! It was created at the 1986 World's Fair to be the Canada Pavilion. Today, it is here that the tourist heart of the city beats, and where locals gather to celebrate major events.

I draw your attention to the building on your right. It is the beautiful Navy building dating from 1930. You have before you one of the finest examples of Art Deco in Canada.

You have here, several fairly large buildings. On your left, you have the former Vancouver Post Office, converted into a shopping mall. Fine Arts style, it is a classic visual landmark of Vancouver, easily recognizable with its row of monumental columns, its attic roof, and especially its clock tower surmounted by a dome.

This beautiful colonnaded building that you have before you is the Waterfront Station, owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, one of Canada’s railway companies.

But the true Rising Star of the city, who is a proud representative of Vancouver’s historic downtown, is her! The famous Steamclock of Gastown.

Arriving at the intersection of Maple Tree Square, you enter the very heart of Vancouver’s birthplace. Let’s rewind the story a bit, if you will.

See this typical brick building, topped by its large red W, perched atop a replica of the tip of the Eiffel Tower. It is the oldest part of a historic downtown building, built in 1903, for Woodward department store.