10 Things To Do in Vancouver in the Winter

While Vancouver stays relatively temperate all winter, it is a destination for wintery fun. Vancouver’s mountaintop parks, many of which are within the city limits, get plenty of snow, giving visitors the opportunity to spend a day (or half-day) skiing, snowboarding, tubing, and snowshoeing.

The easiest park to access is Grouse Mountain, just 20 minutes from downtown. If you want to head a little farther into the mountains, you can visit Cypress Mountain or Mt. Seymore, both of which offer rentals and a combination of skiing, snowboarding, and other alpine activities.

Chilly or inclement winter weather offers a perfect opportunity to explore Vancouver’s many art venues and museums. The city’s most famous museum, the Museum of Anthropology, boasts a huge collection of First Nations art and artifacts. Meanwhile, other museums that focus on the area’s history include the Museum of Vancouver and the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

For exhibitions of contemporary local art, head downtown to the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Bill Reid Gallery, or the Rennie Museum. And, if you have kids with you, head to Science World for some hands-on fun.

When winter hits, Vancouver lights up. Throughout the season, the city hosts a number of different light shows, all of which are designed to take advantage of the dark and turn nights into opportunities for a bit of magic. During the holidays, Grouse Mountain celebrates with a Light Walk perfect for snowshoeing through, while February sees the nearby Capilano Suspension Bridge start to twinkle with Valentine’s-focused Love Lights. The largest display, however, is in VanDusen Park, which boasts an entire world of bright, colorful lights, “dancing” light shows, and other attractions.

Vancouver residents eat well. Local restaurants here take excellent advantage of the region’s fresh seafood and nearby farms (and wineries), crafting unique dishes that showcase the area’s bounty and unique sensibilities. The city is also one of the best places outside of Asia to enjoy Chinese and Japanese regional cuisines, and many chefs who specialize in Pacific Northwest–style cooking borrow ingredients and flavors from their immigrant neighbors. For a true taste of Vancouver, try to eat at a few different kinds of restaurants during your stay.

Related: Why Vancouver Has the World's Best Dim Sum (and Where to Find It)

To explore Vancouver’s hipster side, head to Mount Pleasant and stroll along Main Street between East First and 33rd Avenue. You can browse through boutiques, pick up vintage clothing, and shop for unusual art supplies.

If the weather turns (or you just start to feel chilled), do what the locals do and drop in at a coffee shop to warm up. The popular Forecast Coffee location on the corner of East 14th offers not only coffee (roasted in nearby Whistler) but also breakfast sandwiches, lunch options, beer, wine, and cocktails.

The public market on Granville Island is great at any time of year. But there’s something about this bustling indoor food market—with vendors selling everything from imported Thai mangosteens and miniature mangos to slices of pie to cheddar-filled perogies—that is particularly enchanting in winter. Enjoy a tea and a sweet crepe (or a local beer and some bratwurst), then grab smoked salmon and local paté to take home. After you’ve stocked up on food, explore the tiny island’s many homey shops. You’ll find everything you need from quilt-making supplies to specialty cooking tools to regional crafts.

One of Vancouver’s most unique neighborhoods is explicitly designed for inclement weather. Richmond, a suburb south of the city center, is Canada’s largest Chinatown, and more than half of the town’s residents are immigrants. As a result, this is one of the best places in the world—outside of Asia—to enjoy Chinese, Korean, and Japanese food. Richmond is also a great place to spend a day exploring and window shopping, thanks to its concentration of indoor malls. Walk into any of these huge shopping and dining destinations and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a corner of Hong Kong or Taiwan.

Related: Business Owner Carol Lee's Guide to Vancouver's Chinatown

If you really want to dive into winter fun, take a day or two to visit nearby Whistler. One of the most famous ski spots in North America, the mountain resort town hosted many of the events during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Here, there are more than 200 marked ski and snowboard trails winding through 8,171 acres (3307 hectares), as well as options for heli-skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, ziplining, dog sledding, and more. For a less strenuous visit, see the slopes from the PEAK 2 PEAK gondola, then explore the quaint town of Whistler and its ice skating rink in Olympic Plaza.

To offset the chilly weather, Vancouver plans a lot of winter celebrations, including holiday lights festivals (see above), Christmas markets, and craft fairs. But the holiday season is just the beginning of the fun. In late January, check out the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, which includes workshops, artist talks, and youth programming. Dine Out Vancouver, which highlights the city’s food scene, and the Hot Chocolate Festival also take place around this time. Then, later in February, the city hosts both Vancouver Winter Pride and the VMF Winter Arts Festival.

Vancouver’s heart is a neat grid of old streets dating back to the 1880's, and much of the area boasts a great combination of easily accessible shopping and nightlife options. For a lively evening, head to trendy Gastown, which is chock full of art galleries, shops, and restaurants. Or, if you’re staying downtown, browse the area northwest of Robson Square, which is full of stores and eateries, including outposts of Asian chains you won’t find in most North American cities. You can even go ice skating in the rink in Robson Square itself, which lights up—disco-style—at night.