One of my favorite cities in which to go for a long walk is Vancouver, BC. It lends itself to walking because its setting is incredibly beautiful, its architecture interesting, and there’s a lot of fascinating street art you can enjoy. I especially like exploring the harbor area around the new Convention Center and Canada Place.
Pixel Orca, near the Vancouver Convention Center
Situated just outside the Convention Center are several interesting works of art, including Pixel Orca, a massive outdoor piece that definitely catches your eye, partially because it’s framed by beautiful North Vancouver. It’s a reminder that many Orca pods live off the coast of the city (which you might see if you take a guided boat tour).
The Drop, outside the Vancouver Convention Center
The Drop, outside the Vancouver Convention Center
The Drop resembles a raindrop, but is made of steel covered with Styrofoam and blue polyurethane. It’s almost 20 meters tall and hard to miss.
Olympic Cauldron, outside the Vancouver Convention Center
Moved from the 2010 Olympic Stadium (where the torch burned) to the harbor area, you’ll likely remember the Olympic Cauldron if you watched any of those Winter games. It always reminded me of the ice formations you might find in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, Vancouver
The Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel displays a repeated line of text – “lying on top of a building the clouds looked no nearer than when I was lying on the street” – around the building’s south and east sides. My photo only shows a small percentage of the art which extends from the 5th through 22nd floors.
Vancouver, B.C.
There’s older buildings in the area, some of which feature art deco….. and a place you can arrange to a charter of a seaplane (how many major cities have this feature?….and floating gas stations for boats to refuel.
Chevron Station, Vancouver Harbor
Be sure to spend at least a half day exploring Vancouver’s beautiful harbor if you’re in town sometime.
