Vancouver in 24 hours

Vancouver with kids is just about as good as it gets. I have been to Vancouver many times in my life as we lived only a couple hours away in Washington State. It has a completely different vibe about it with all the glass high rises, cycle friendly roads, and amazing selection of food. I have so many wonderful memories of visiting Vancouver on weekends growing up. My husband and I would often go up for a weekend when we lived in Seattle.

I have missed our weekends in Vancouver. My flight home this summer was from Zürich to Vancouver. This was the perfect excuse to book an overnight in Vancouver before flying back to Zürich. The girls and I booked a fun hotel with a pool and had an amazing overnight adventure before the long flights back to Zürich. And it was made all the better with my girlfriend and her two daughters joining us for all the fun.
Vancouver is one of my very favorite cities in the world. When we lived in Washington State, it was such a wonderful weekend away or day trip.

My must see places for a quick 24 hour visit to Vancouver:

1. Stanley Park

We could have spent all 24 hours in Stanley Park. It is absolutely amazing. My perfect family weekend would include renting bicycles and cycling through the park, cycling the entire 28km seawall, and stopping for playgrounds, beaches, and snacks along the way. It is an absolutely wonderful place to be. We took a one hour narrated horse-drawn carriage ride around Stanley Park when the weather got drizzly. I learned so many things about Vancouver that I didn’t know. I would recommend the carriage ride, especially if the weather is a bit cold or drizzly.

The Vancouver Aquarium is also fantastic. We saw the Beluga show there a few years ago, before we moved, and I still remember how wonderful it was. The playgrounds and beaches of Stanley Park are a must. Second Beach has an incredible outdoor pool, two playgrounds, a snack shop, and a large field in between the playgrounds for special events. Second Beach is a must for families who need playgrounds, beaches, or pools.

2. Granville Island

The Pike Place Market of Vancouver, (plus a water park and indoor children’s play area!) Granville Island is an incredible day out. With a great place for kids to play outdoors and indoors. I would recommend coming to Granville Island hungry and leave with fruit, veggies, and all sorts of treats from the delicious food stalls for the way home when hunger strikes.

3. Robson Street

The greatest shopping street in Vancouver is Robson Street. Hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and grocery stores. Robson Street is a one stop shop for all things tourism. It’s fun to get a feel for the city life on Robson and then head down the hill to Stanley Park to get away from it all.

We stayed at the Westin on Robson as recommended by My Little Nomads and it did not disappoint.  At check in the girls got coloring books, crayons, and a welcome guide for the hotel and for activities in Vancouver. They have a rooftop pool and jacuzzi that are both salt water (well, it’s on the 3rd floor, but it overlooks Robson Street and the Library and BC Place Stadium and it’s fully outdoors as well as having a happy hour and a full bar on certain days. Not our days as we had to pop next door to the spirits shop for a bottle of bubbles to celebrate our girl’s night out!). The hotel is well located on Robson Street with all the shops and restaurants within easy reach. For our breakfast we headed right across the street to Le Petit Belge for gigantic sweet and savory waffles.

Vancouver is an absolutely amazing city. I could visit every year and never see it all. Stanley Park is so enormous and spectacular, I can’t wait to visit it again. I would like to spend a lot of time cycling through Stanley Park and relaxing at Kitsilano Beach and Second Beach next time. Oh, Canada…