Gastown is a perfect location to spend 24 hours in Vancouver, British Columbia. Have a layover or cruise stop and only have one day in Vancouver, Canada? Here is the best 24-hour itinerary and guide to Vancouver, British Columbia before or after your cruise.
Do you need a car to get around Vancouver?
Gastown is the perfect location to stay at if you are short on time and want to experience all that Vancouver has to offer without a car. You do not need a car to get around the area.
I will share with you how to travel like a local in Vancouver, British Columbia, on foot for 24 hours enjoying great photo ops, lodging, and food.
What is a repositioning cruise? A repositioning cruise is a cruise that moves the ship and passengers from one seasonal area to another. Example: from sailing Mexican Riveria to Alaska cruises.
When the opportunity to experience a repositioning cruise came up, we just could not turn it down. Since we lived near Seattle, we just hopped on a quick flight to Seattle, and then made our way to the cruise.
It turns out that repositioning cruises (at least this two-day cruise from Seattle to Vancouver) go by much too quickly, and before we knew it, our time onboard was done.
As we left our cruise ship, the sun was shining and the weather was perfect. It was time for us to leave our temporary home. Since we only had 24 hours to spend in Vancouver, we needed to make the most of our time.
Are there photo opportunities near the port?
Photo Opportunities
Our first stop was Canada Place or Port of Vancouver. Canada Place runs along the river with many shops, cafes, and places for photos.
Everywhere we went in downtown Vancouver, there were great photo ops. A person could spend hours upon hours taking pictures of architecture, tourist sights, or the waterfront. There was a beauty to be found in every direction.
If you only have one day to spend in Vancouver, you might try to overdo it and see everything as we did, but if you can stay longer, please take advantage of all that Vancouver has to offer.
Consider one of the many British Colombia Vacation Rentals available in the area to help you extend your stay after your cruise. In our 24 hours, we experienced only a fraction of the great food, fun, and photo ops that Vancouver has to offer.
Is Vancouver, BC a homeport or Port of Call for cruises?
Good to know: Vancouver can be either a port of call when a cruise stops in Vancouver such as when an itinerary goes to Alaska. If so, You can use our examples and make your Independent excursions. Cruises also can embark or disembark at the home port of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Since our group traveled with only backpacks, we were off the ship within minutes.
I had done research ahead of time to find lodging close to the Port of Vancouver and found a new brand to Bonvoy/Marriott called Delta Suites and confirmed our reservations.
After reviewing the directions to the hotel on Google Maps, I determined that we could easily walk to our hotel. I am happy to say that it was correct.
We arrived after only an easy, five-minute walk from the Port at Canada Place. It was much too early to check into our hotel, so we checked our luggage with the valet and went off to explore the area on foot.
Since we only had 24 hours to spend in Vancouver, we had to make the most of our time.
Such a great location!
Canada Place- So much to see
We walked back towards the waterfront area. The next stop would be Olympic Village back in Canada Place.
In 2010, this is where athletes from about the globe stayed while they were in the Winter Olympics held in Vancouver.
We took many pictures, including the giant Lego Whale sculpture, which is called the Digital Orca, located in the Jack Poole Plaza near the Downtown Convention Center.
Food & Drinks
When traveling we try to eat where the locals eat avoiding chain restaurants. On this trip, we ate at three places.
- Tap and Barrel Olympic Villiage (Lunch)
- Nuba Under Ground (Dinner)
- Trees Organic Coffee (Dessert)
We walked for what seemed like hours looking for the Tap & Barrel. My son James had been here on a previous trip when they came to see the Fu Fighters in Concert. He remembered that Tap and Barrel had the best tuna burger, so we wanted to eat there. I had to laugh after we came back. We walked right past this joint at least twice!
We did not find the location where James had originally eaten at. We ended up eating at the one near the waterfront Olympic Village, instead.
Lunch
Tap & Barrel Canada Place
75 Athletes Way, Vancouver
VIEW MENU
Hours
Monday-Thursday 11am-12am
Friday 11 am-1 am
Saturday 10am-1am
Sunday 10am-12am
Weekend Brunch 10 am-2 pm
What’s great about the Tap & Barrel? The Tuna Burger, Cajun Chicken, and wine from the barrel.
If you enjoy wine, try one of Tap’s many wines from the barrel. You won’t be sorry.
Mike Sullins
What is a hotel within walking distance of Canada Place? Can I walk from any hotel downtown to the port at Canada Place?
Lodging
Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites
Delta Hotels Vancouver Suites is a Bonvoy (Marriott) hotel in Gastown. Conveniently located near the Port of Vancouver **** 4-star hotel
550 West Hastings St, Vancouver BC Canada
+1 604-689-8188
Why we liked Delta Hotel and will recommend this as a hotel for before or after a cruise in Vancouver:
- Great location
- Top-notch service
- Quiet comfortable suite-type rooms
- Staff Recommended places to eat
- Beautiful rooms with mini-fridge
- Fast in-room internet
After hours of walking, our hotel was finally ready to check-in. We had two suites located on the 9th floor. The rooms have recently been updated and decorated with modern furnishings.
Each room has a sitting area with a television, and mini-fridge, a nice appointed modern bathroom with a tub, and a comfortable king-size bed.
Our rooms had peek-a-boo views of the water and were across the street from the Vancouver Lookout. The Vancouver Lookout would compare to the Space Needle located in Seattle, Washington.
The Rooms at Delta Suites Vancouver
Our room was spacious and quiet. I could not hear the elevator or people walking in the halls. The bed was very comfortable.
The front desk staff was very helpful. We enjoyed our stay here. When we have more than 24 hours to spend in Vancouver, we would be here again!
Dinner
Just like when we stayed in Miami, we tried to eat some of the local food and stay away from chain restaurants or anything we could eat at home.
We asked for recommendations for an authentic dinner from the awesome front desk employee. Several options were given, and we settled on Nuba.
We went to a location that was downtown and just a couple of blocks from the hotel. We had never eaten Lebanese food before and some of our group were skeptical. I always thought I didn’t like Humus, but I enjoyed the Humus at Nuba.
Nuba Underground Restaurant (Gastown location)
207 Hastings St W, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 1H7, Canada
+1 604-688-1655
Lunch
Seven Days: 11:30am – 5pm
Dinner
Sun to Thurs: 5pm – 9pm
Fri & Sat: 5pm – 10pm
We told the waiter we had never eaten Middle Eastern food and he gave us the recommendation to try something that we could share, called Le Grand Feast. Our waiter said typically two people eat what we had, but it was okay for the four of us.
Le Grand Feast (sampler of Lebanese food offerings)
- Fattoush salad
- Najib’s Special
- roasted potatoes
- lamb lollipops
- prawns with chermoula sauce
- chicken skewers.
After eating an early dinner, we stumbled upon the Gastown Steam Clock. It was very close to where we had dinner.
The steam clock goes off every fifteen minutes with five whistles, so if you happen to pass by it should not be a long wait for it to go off. This tourist attracting public artwork marked the completion of the City’s revitalization.
The Gastown Steam Clock is one of the most photographed sights in Vancouver. It looks like an antique but was built in 1977.
Tourists stand patiently waiting to take a turn to photograph the clock. I wondered how many people post this very location on Instagram, so I looked it up. There are almost 11,000 pictures with the hashtag #gastownsteamclock.
Gastown Steam Clock
The Gastown Steam Clock is a tourist attraction in Vancouver, British Columbia located at 305 Water St, Vancouver, BC V6B 1B9, Canada.
This tourist attractions is open 24 hours a day.
The clock was built-in 1977 by horologist Raymond Saunders and metalwork specialist Doug Smith, was built as a monument.
This clock was the artist’s first clock, but not the last. Six more clocks were built to be on display around the globe in such places as Daru, Japan and Indiana.
The Gastown clock serves a purpose. It keeps the homeless population from sleeping on the warm vent during Vancouver’s cold winters.
Every quarter-hour, the two-ton Steam Clock shows off a bit, whistling and shooting steam from its five whistles in its version of the Westminster Chime. On the hour it marks each hour with a toot from each whistle.
Atlas Obscura
We searched through small shops for trinkets and souvenirs. Then walked back to the hotel.
Later, I was in the mood for cheesecake. I thought of the Cheesecake Factory, but it either didn’t exist here in Vancouver where we were staying or was too far to walk and we did not want to take a Uber there and back.
A quick search and Google told me about a place called Tree’s Organic Coffee. Google, are you kidding me?
I asked for cheesecake, not coffee. It’s 9:00 PM already. I kept reading. Vancouver’s best Cheesecake…Directions… Takes two minutes to walk.
SOLD! We walked around the corner to this coffee place where we found at least six police officers sitting outside enjoying coffees and large slices of cheesecake.
This is my kind of place. My Dad always told me of:
Eat where the police officers eat. That’s where the good food is.
My Dad, James Saler, former truck driver
Dessert
Tree’s Organic Coffee Cheese Cake
T321 Water St, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 1B8, Canada
Inside, I see a case full of cheesecake. How will I ever choose?
The price for a slice was a bit more than I wanted to spend. Then I realized that we could buy an entire cheesecake to share between the four of us for less than the price of four slices.
After much arm twisting, we decided on the chocolate swirl with huckleberries. This cheesecake did not disappoint. It was so good! We each ate one piece and had the other half boxed to go.
Guess what was on the menu for breakfast?
Yes, we ate cheesecake for breakfast and enjoyed it without guilt.
Best cheese cake without a doubt!
You might be wondering:
How to get to the Vancouver airport from Gastown? or How to get to Gastown near downtown Vancouver from the airport?
There is a direct train you can take from the Canada Line Station. The Sky Train is the easiest and least expensive way to get to the airport.
How to get from Downtown to Vancouver International Airport?
Sky Train to Airport
How to get from YVR International airport to Downtown
Sadly, our time in Vancouver had come to an end. We checked out of our hotel and found that the sky train was the cheapest and easiest way to get to the airport.
After a two-minute walk, we caught the train just around the corner from the hotel. Did I say that this hotel was convenient for everything?
Our train to the airport was fast and let us off at the airport. The price could not be beaten. It was less than $5 per person.
Final thoughts
We all enjoyed our time in Vancouver. Even know our trip was short, we made the most of 24 hours. I know there is so much more to see, and If I have my way, we will be back here sooner than later.
If you are sailing out of the homeport, are stopping at Vancouver as a port of call, or end up in Vancouver, there are lots of things to do, no matter if you are just here for one day, or a week or more!
Have you been to Vancouver, BC Canada? I’d love to hear about your trip and what you did or saw! Drop me a line
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