Contemplating a trip to the Canadian West? You shouldn’t pass by Vancouver without having done at least some of these activities.

Hike the Grouse Grind

It’s strenuous and you’ll likely curse me for proposing the hike up Grouse Mountain. They don’t call it a grind for fun, but because it actually is one. The fastest take the staircase up to the top in less than 30 minutes, normal people, like you and me will need around 90 minutes. The view and range of activities you can do on top is totally worth the grind, so make sure the sky’s are clear before venturing to North Vancouver.

Price: The hike is free, but you’ll have to take the Gondola down, which is CAD 10.00.

Open: Daytime Spring  to Fall, for hours and status check here.

More information: See the Grouse Mountain Website.

Walk the Seawall

Do you prefer walking on level sidewalks instead of steep climbs? Walk the Seawall around Stanley Park and enjoy the breeze coming in from the ocean. This can be refreshing especially on hot summer days.

Price: Free.

Open: All year round.

More information: See on the Tourism Vancouver website.

Beer Tasting on Granville Island

Weather can be moody in Vancouver, especially in the winter months. Since Vancouver doesn’t get tons of snow, thanks to its location, but lots of rain, there’s one thing you can always do while visiting the city on a rainy day: Beer tasting! Vancouver has a wide variety of small, independent breweries, with the Granville Island Brewery being one of the well established ones.

Price: CAD 9.75 (includes 3 x 4oz tasters).

Open: Mon – Sun, 5 tours daily.

More information: Granville Island Brewery.

Get a tour of Rogers Arena

Canadians are crazy about hockey, and Vancouver is no different. Whenever the Canucks are playing in town their Arena is sold out and pubs are buzzing with people catching the game. Although things have cooled down a bit after their run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2011, that resulted in so called “fans” starting a riot after the loss of game 7, the teams still draws major attention through out the season. The tour includes not only the various lodges and VIP areas of the arena, depending on the availability, you’ll get to see the dressing room and other behind the scenes areas. For the ultimate access, best visit in summer, before any training camps start and the dressing rooms are occupied by the team and can’t be visited.

Price: CAD 12.00 for Adults.

Open: Tours are scheduled from Wednesday through Saturdays, 10:30am, 12:00 noon, 1:30pm, check on Website for availability.

More information:Check the Rogers Arena Website.

Enjoy the calm in Stanley Park

Downtown can be hectic at days, especially in summer, when the town fills up with tourists, pouring in from all over the world by planes, cars and cruise ships. There’s many calm routes within Stanley Park, that are not flooded with any of the tourists, since they’re more likely to take a walk along the seawall. Check out Beaver Lake and use it as your anchor point to head out into the woods and forget about the city for a while.

Price: Free.

Open: all year, 24 hours a day.

More information: Official City of Vancouver Website.

Did I miss any of your favourites? Leave a comment and tell us about your top 5 things to do in Vancouver.