Home Top Vancouver Attractions The A to Z’s Glossary of Vancouver Places and Events

The A to Z’s Glossary of Vancouver Places and Events

The A to Zs of Vancouver

In this Glossary of Metro Vancouver there are over 300 listings and links to the Lower Mainland’s most significant places, events and attractions.

Just like an encyclopedia or Wikipedia on the region, the alphabetical list includes everything from Ambleside, Alouette Lake and the Abbotsford Airshow to Yaletown, YVR and the Vancouver Zoo.

 

Glossary of Vancouver Places

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  • Darts Hill Garden Park – a garden in South Surrey that’s only open on designated occasions.
  • David Lam Park – a park at the edge of False Creek in Yaletown.
  • Davie Street – a colourful street in the West End known for its LGBT community.
  • Deas Island Regional Park – a park on a semi-island on the Fraser River between Delta and Richmond.
  • Deep Cove – a picturesque seaside village on the North Shore and one of the Lower Mainland’s most beautiful places.
  • Deep Cove Brewery – a popular craft beer brewery in North Vancouver.
  • Deer Lake Park – a popular city park in Burnaby.
  • Deighton Cup – a horse racing event in the summer (and renamed to just “The Cup” as of 2022).
  • Denman Street – a trendy street in downtown Vancouver.
  • Denman Street Car Free Day – a street party along Denman Street in mid-June and also known as West End Car Free Day.
  • Derby Reach Regional Park – a popular park not far from Fort Langley.
  • Dimensions Art Gallery – an attraction featuring 3D paintings and optical illusion art exhibits.
  • Dine Out Vancouver Festival – the last two weeks or so of January when hundreds of Metro Vancouver restaurants offer fancy 3-course dinner specials.
  • Disney On Ice – a touring ice-skating show featuring Disney characters.
  • Diwali Fest – a festival featuring a series of events celebrating East Indian and South Asian arts and culture.
  • Douglas Day – an event in Fort Langley celebrating the day when British Columbia became a colony on November 19th in 1858.
  • DOXA Film Festival – in documentary film festival in the spring.
  • Dundarave – a small seaside community in West Vancouver.
  • Dundarave Festival of Lights – a small festival at Christmas time in Dundarave.
  • Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden – an oriental garden in the heart of Chinatown.
  • Dragon Boat Festival – Boat races in June.
  • DTES Heart of the City Festival – a series of events showcasing the arts, music and cultural sharing in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in the fall.

 

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  • Eagle Acres – a dairy farm in Langley that hosts a pumpkin patch with hayrides in the fall.
  • Eagle Coaster –  a summer slide attraction at Cypress Mountain.
  • Earlybird RV Show – a recreational vehicle trade show at the start of the RV-ing season each year in Abbotsford.
  • Eastside Culture Crawl – an art festival featuring the works of hundreds of local artists in East Vancouver in the fall.
  • ElectraFest – an electric vehicle tradeshow that’s open to the public and free to attend.
  • Elgin Heritage Park – home to historic Stewart Farm in Surrey.
  • English Bay – the best beach in the heart of downtown Vancouver.
  • Engine 374 – the locomotive that pulled the first train into Vancouver and which is now on display at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown.
  • European Festival – a festival at Swangard Stadium in late May.
  • Evergreen Cultural Centre – a community arts facility with an art gallery and community theatre in Coquitlam.
  • EXchange Hotel Vancouver – a 4-star hotel in what used to be the Vancouver Stock Exchange building on Howe Street.
  • Executive Hotels & Resorts – the Vancouver-based company that owns Big Splash Water Park and hotels like the Executive Vintage Park, Le Soleil and EXchange in downtown Vancouver.
  • Extreme Air Park – indoor trampoline adventure parks in Langley, New Westminster and Richmond.

 

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  • H2 Kitchen + Bar – the main restaurant at the Westin Bayshore Hotel, Vancouver.
  • Haney Farmers Market – a weekly market that runs from May until October in Maple Ridge.
  • Haney House – a historic site that today is a museum in Maple Ridge.
  • Happyland – a Pride event at Playland celebrating the LGBTQ+ community with concerts, shows and amusement rides.
  • Harbour Air Seaplanes – the world’s largest seaplane airline and transport to Vancouver Island.
  • Harbour Cruises – a popular tourist activity on the water.
  • Hard Rock Casino – a popular place for casino games and entertainment in Coquitlam.
  • Harmony Arts Festival – a popular community festival in West Vancouver each August.
  • Harrison Festival of the Arts – a performing arts festival in Harrison Hot Springs each year in July.
  • Harrison Hot Springs – a hot spring resort town in the Fraser Valley.
  • Harrison Hot Springs Resort a hotel with world-famous hot springs on Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley.
  • Harrison Pumpkin Festival – a pumpkin patch-style event at Onos Farms in Agassiz.
  • Harrison Sunflower Festival – fields of beautiful sunflowers to admire at a farm in Agassiz.
  • Harrison Water Park – bouncy structures and slides on Harrison Lake in the summer.
  • Hastings Park Farmers Market – a winter Sunday market.
  • Hastings Racecourse – a casino and horse racetrack at the PNE.
  • Hats off Day – a street festival in Burnaby in June.
  • Havana – a Cuban restaurant with a small theatre on Commercial Drive in Vancouver.
  • Hazelmere Golf Course – an 18-hole golf course in South Surrey.
  • Hazelmere Pumpkin Patch – a farm in Surrey with a pumpkin patch and corn maze in October, as well as other seasonal attractions throughout the year.
  • Heart of the City Festival – a festival that showcases art, music and culture in the Downtown Eastside in autumn.
  • Helijet – helicopter services from downtown Vancouver and YVR airport.
  • Heritage Christmas – holiday season celebrations at Burnaby Village Museum.
  • Heroes & Villains – an outdoor adventure game played around the Vancouver Convention Centre and hosted by Vancouver Mysteries.
  • Hillcrest Centre – the former 2010 Olympics’ curling venue and present day aquatic centre, ice rink and fitness centre.
  • Holiday Inn North Vancouver – one of the largest hotels on Vancouver’s North Shore.
  • Holiday Hi-Light Festival – Christmas light displays at Park and Tilford garden in North Vancouver.
  • Honda Celebration of Light – Vancouver’s world famous fireworks displays (in English Bay) in late July and the beginning of August.
  • Hoobiyee – an Indigenous dance festival celebrating the Nisga’a New Year in February.
  • Horseshoe Bay – a picturesque seaside community and location of one of BC Ferries’ terminals to Vancouver Island.
  • Hotel Vancouver – Vancouver’s iconic and grandest historic hotel.
  • H.R. MacMillan Space Centre – home of Vancouver’s planetarium and other space stuff.
  • Hudson’s Bay – Canada’s oldest department store, with its Vancouver flagship location downtown on Granville and Georgia.
  • Hyack Festival and Parade – a parade and community festival in New Westminster in late May.
  • Hyatt Regency – a large hotel in downtown Vancouver that hosts Gingerbread Lane gingerbread house displays in December.
  • Hycroft Manor – a historic mansion that is now a heritage building and home to the University Women’s Club of Vancouver. It’s also where a number of events take place including Hycroft for the Holidays during the Christmas season.

 

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  • Jericho Beach – a beautiful sandy beach and home to the annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
  • Jerry Sulina Park – a small park in Maple Ridge.
  • JOEY – a chain of premium casual restaurants that started in Alberta but is now based in Vancouver.
  • John Hendry Park – a Vancouver park that’s home to Trout Lake and the popular Trout Lake Farmers Markets in the summer.
  • John Lawson Park – a popular ocean-side park in West Vancouver next to Ambleside with a beach, pier and large children’s play area.
  • Jurassic Quest – a touring dinosaur exhibition that sometimes visits the Lower Mainland.
  • Jurassic World Live Tour – a touring dinosaur-themed show that sometimes visits Vancouver in the spring.

 

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  • Kaleidoscope Arts Festival – a free event in Coquitlam in the summer.
  • Kanaka Creek Regional Park – a forested park with walking and cycling trails along the Fraser River in Maple Ridge.
  • Kay Meek Centre – a performing arts facility with a 488-seat theatre in West Vancouver.
  • Khatsahlano Street Party – a major street party on West 4th Avenue in July, billing itself as “Vancouver’s largest free music and arts festival.”
  • Kidtropolis – an indoor play centre in Richmond that features a miniature village where children can dress up and use their imaginations.
  • Kilby Historic Site – a museum and historic site in the Fraser Valley depicting life in the area during the 1920s.
  • Kilby Park – a provincial park with camping, fishing and boating in the Fraser Valley.
  • Kitsilano – a popular district in which to live and location of one of Vancouver’s best beaches.
  • Kitsilano Farmers Market – a large market that takes place on Sundays in the summer at the Kitsilano Community Centre.
  • Kobe Restaurant – a Japanese teppanyaki-style restaurant in downtown Vancouver.
  • Krause Berry Farm – a farm specializing in berries and berry wines in Langley.

 

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  • Maan Farms – a farm with petting zoo, seasonal corn maze and other activities in Abbotsford.
  • Mackin House Museum – a historic house in Coquitlam.
  • Mahony & Sons – a pub-style restaurant with locations in False Creek and Coal Harbour.
  • Main Street – a vibrant street that goes through Chinatown, Gastown, Little India and more.
  • Main Street Car Free Day – a massive street party on Main Street between Broadway and 30th Avenue on Father’s Day in mid-June.
  • Main Street Station Farmers Market – a farmers market taking place outside Vancouver’s Central Pacific Station on Wednesday afternoons in the summer.
  • Maple Grove Pool – a great outdoor pool for kids located at 6875 Yew Street in Vancouver’s Kerrisdale neighbourhood.
  • Manning Provincial Park – a provincial park and ski hill 3 hours east of Vancouver.
  • Maple Ridge – a municipality of about 82,000 people in central-eastern Metro Vancouver with farms and lots of outdoor recreation opportunities.
  • Maple Ridge Museum – a historic site near the Fraser River in Maple Ridge.
  • Maple Ridge Park – a municipal park with a river, children’s play areas and trails through the forest in Maple Ridge.
  • Maple Ridge Car Free Day – a community event that involves food trucks, market vendors and live entertainment on 224th Street and in the Memorial Peace Park in Maple ridge.
  • Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Country Fest – a small-town summer fair with farm animals, live music and a midway at the Albion Fairgrounds in Maple Ridge.
  • Maplewood Flats Conservation Area – a preserved area of tidal mudflats that’s good for birdwatching in North Vancouver.
  • Maplewood Farm the best place for young children to see chickens and pigs on the North Shore.
  • Marine Drive – the main commercial street connecting West Vancouver with North Vancouver (as well as a different street in South Vancouver).
  • Maritime Museum – also known as the “Vancouver Maritime Museum” and home to the St. Roch Arctic exploration boat.
  • Massey Theatre – a 1260-seat proscenium theatre in New Westminster.
  • McArthurGlen Mall – a designer outlet mall near YVR Airport.
  • Meadow Gardens Golf Course – a popular golf course in Pitt Meadows.
  • Mercato Italian Market – an Italian-themed night market that used to take place in the summer and just before Christmas, but as of 2020 just once in the winter.
  • Metropolis at Metrotown – the largest shopping mall in the province with close to 400 stores.
  • Michael J Fox Theatre – a community theatre venue at 7373 MacPherson Avenue in Burnaby.
  • Mill Lake Park – a large urban park with a small lake in Abbotsford.
  • Milestones Restaurants – a premium casual-dining chain founded in Vancouver.
  • Millennium Park – a small waterfront park in West Vancouver.
  • Minnekhada Regional Park – a park on the Pitt River in Coquitlam.
  • Minoru Park – a nice city park in Richmond.
  • Mission Raceway Park – a small car racetrack in the Fraser Valley.
  • Mission – a municipality on the north side of the Fraser River from Abbotsford.
  • MONOVA – a history museum near in the Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood of North Vancouver. (The name stands for Museum Of NOrth VAncouver.)
  • Monsoon Arts Festival – a South Asian-themed music and arts festival in the summer.
  • Monstercat Compound – a block party with music, art and other activities outside the Monstercat HQ in Vancouver.
  • Morgan Creek Golf Course – a popular golf course in Surrey.
  • Mount Seymour (the resort) – a popular ski hill for beginners and young families.
  • Mount Seymour Provincial Park – a provincial park where Mount Seymour the ski hill is located, as well as lots of great hiking and snowshoeing trails.
  • Mundy Park – the largest park in Coquitlam.
  • Murrin Provincial Park – a small park with a lake, trails in the forest and rocks to climb just south of Squamish.
  • Museum of Anthropology (MOA) – an interesting museum at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
  • Museum of North Vancouver – a new museum (as of 2021) near Lonsdale Quay on the North Shore. (Also known as MONOVA.)
  • Museum of Surrey – a museum in Cloverdale about the City of Surrey.
  • Museum of Vancouver (MOV) – the best indoor place to learn about Vancouver history.
  • Music on Main – an organization that hosts music events in Vancouver.

 

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  • Oakridge Centre – a shopping mall and urban development at 41st Avenue and Cambie.
  • Ocean Wise Seafood – an environmental program originating in Vancouver that encourages people, restaurants and grocery stores to buy and eat sustainably-caught seafood.
  • OHM Electric Bikes – an electric bike manufacturer based in North Vancouver.
  • Old Hastings Mill Store Museum – a small museum housed in Vancouver’s oldest building in the Kitsilano area.
  • Olympic Cauldron – the giant torch legacy from the 2010 Olympics.
  • Olympic Village – site of the International Athletes Village during the 2010 Olympic Games.
  • OMNIMAX – the giant 5-storey IMAX theatre at Science World.
  • On Your Block Festival – a festival at Tipperary Park in New Westminster.
  • The Orpheum – the city’s most beautiful and historically significant concert hall.
  • Osprey Festival – a small nature and Indigenous-themed event in North Vancouver in July.

 

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  • P2B Bistro – a West Coast-style restaurant in the Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel.
  • Pacific Centre – a popular high-end downtown shopping mall.
  • Pacific Coliseum – a venue at the PNE and former home ice for the Vancouver Giants hockey team.
  • Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) – Vancouverites’ favourite fair at the end of every summer.
  • Pacific Spirit Regional Park – located in the UBC Endowment Lands, a great place for hiking, walking and jogging in nature.
  • Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours – full day trips by boat along the Fraser River starting at the Quay in New Westminster.
  • Pagoda Ridge – a golf course with Asian-themed structures close to Fort Langley. (Note: It has since changed its name to GreenTee Country Club.)
  • Pan Pacific Hotel – the hotel that’s located right at Canada Place.
  • Parade of Lost Souls An annual grassroots evening Halloween parade in October each year
  • Paradise Valley – a great private campground near Squamish.
  • Park Royal – a large shopping mall near Ambleside Park in West Vancouver.
  • Peace Arch – a joint Canada-US Park and location of BC’s busiest border crossing.
  • Peak of Christmas – Holiday Season celebrations at Grouse Mountain in December.
  • Peak 2 Peak Gondola – a long and high gondola between Whistler’s two mountains.
  • Penguin Plunge – a New Year’s swim in the frigid waters of Deep Cove every January 1st in North Vancouver. Another similar event takes place in Port Moody, as well as other polar bear swim venues.
  • Pinnacle at the Pier – a large modern hotel at the bottom of Lonsdale Avenue in the Shipyards District of North Vancouver.
  • Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront – a downtown hotel on Hastings Street that’s often used for meetings and private events.
  • Pitt Lake – the second largest lake in the Lower Mainland, located just north of Pitt Meadows.
  • Pitt Meadows – one of Metro Vancouver’s smallest municipalities that’s famous for dykes, rivers, mountain views and berry farms.
  • Pitt Meadows Day – a community event on the first Saturday in June in Pitt Meadows.
  • Place des Arts – a visual and performing arts centre in Coquitlam.
  • Planetarium – located at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.
  • Planted Expo Vancouver – a consumer trade show showcasing vegan foods, products and lifestyle information at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
  • PlayDome – an indoor carnival with amusement rides and midway games at BC Place Stadium (at Spring Break most but not all years).
  • Playland – the city’s amusement park.
  • PNE – the abbreviated name for the Pacific National Exhibition which is Vancouver’s summer fair.
  • PNE Prize Home Lottery – a lottery benefiting the Pacific National Exhibition where people can win a dream home, cars and cash prizes.
  • Poirier Street Farmers Market – a large farmers market from May until October on Sundays in Coquitlam.
  • Polar Bear Swim – an annual swim in the frigid waters of English Bay every January 1st in Vancouver.
  • Polygon Gallery – a contemporary art gallery specializing in photography and historically-themed exhibits in North Vancouver’s Lower Lonsdale District.
  • Poppy Estate – an executive golf course in Langley.
  • Porteau Cove – a beautiful park and campground along the Sea to Sky Highway.
  • Port Coquitlam – a city located southwest of Coquitlam.
  • Port Coquitlam Car Free Day – a free street party on McAllister Avenue in September.
  • Port Coquitlam Car Show – a free community event in downtown Port Coquitlam in the summer.
  • Port Moody – a Metro Vancouver municipality that’s part of the Tri-Cities (along with Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam).
  • Port Moody Station Museum – a museum in an old train station near Rocky Point Park.
  • Port Moody Winter Farmers Market – a Sunday market at the Port Moody Recreation Centre.
  • Powell Street Festival – a Japanese-Canadian festival in the summer in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
  • Pride Parade & Festival – a major festival celebrating the region’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered community leading up to the August Long Weekend.
  • Prince of Whales – a whale-watching and sightseeing company based out of Granville Island.
  • Prospect Point – an area in Stanley Park with a restaurant, souvenir shop and amazing views of the Lions Gate Bridge and North Shore Mountains.
  • Pull of the Net: A Multicultural Celebration – an arts and culture event at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Steveston Village.
  • Pumpkins After Dark a Halloween-themed event at Central Park in autumn in Burnaby.
  • PuSh Festival – an International Performing Arts Festival from late January to early February.

 

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  • Yaletown – a trendy and popular district in downtown Vancouver.
  • York Theatre – a 1940s art deco theatre on Venables Street.
  • Yuk Yuks – a comedy club in Surrey.
  • YVR – Vancouver’s main international airport, located in Richmond.

 

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  • Vancouver Zoo – also known as the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove.
  • Zero Latency – a virtual reality game centre in Vancouver.