Credit James Wheeler and link to www.souvenirpixels.com

Gastown & Chinatown

The spot where pioneer-era Vancouver began, Gastown is the city's cobbled old-town district. Rapidly transforming in recent years, its heritage buildings are now home to some of the city's best independent boutiques, bars and restaurants. Almost as old, historic Chinatown is one of Canada's largest and most vibrant and has recently begun gentrifying at an even faster rate – hence the new condo blocks and hipster coffee shops that are making the original grocery stores look shabbier than ever. These fascinating adjoining areas invite plenty of on-foot exploration.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Gastown & Chinatown.

  • Museum

    Vancouver Police Museum & Archives

    Illuminating Vancouver's crime-and-vice-addled history, this quirky museum has had a recent makeover, uncovering the former coroner's courtroom (spot the elaborate cross-hatched ceiling) and sprucing up exhibits including a spine-chilling gallery of real-life cases (weapons included). The star attraction is the old autopsy room, complete with preserved slivers of human tissue; bullet-damaged brain slices are among them. Add a Sins of the City area walking tour to learn all about Vancouver's salacious olden days; tours include museum entry.

  • Landmark

    Steam Clock

    Halfway along Water St, this oddly popular tourist magnet lures the cameras with its tooting steam whistle. Built in 1977, the clock's mechanism is actually driven by electricity; only the pipes on top are steam fueled (reveal that to the patiently waiting tourists and you might cause a riot). It sounds every 15 minutes, and marks each hour with little whistling symphonies.

  • Gardens

    Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden & Park

    A tranquil break from bustling Chinatown, this intimate 'garden of ease' reflects Taoist principles of balance and harmony. Entry includes an optional 45-minute guided tour, in which you'll learn about the symbolism behind the placement of the gnarled pine trees, winding covered pathways and ancient limestone formations. Look out for the colorful carp and lazy turtles in the jade-colored water.

  • Square

    Maple Tree Square

    The intersection where Vancouver began was the site of John 'Gassy Jack' Deighton's first pub, and the spot where the inaugural city-council meeting was held under a large maple tree. It drips with old-town charm. Snap a photo of the jaunty statue of Jack, plus the nearby, recently restored Byrnes Block, the oldest Vancouver building still in its original location.

  • Landmark

    Chinatown Millennium Gate

    Inaugurated in 2002, Chinatown's towering entrance is the landmark most visitors look for. Stand well back, since the decoration is mostly on its lofty upper reaches, an elaborately painted section topped with a terra-cotta-tiled roof. The characters inscribed on its eastern front implore you to 'Remember the past and look forward to the future.'

  • Monument

    Gassy Jack Statue

    It's amusing to think that Vancouver's favorite statue is a testament to the virtues of drink. At least that's one interpretation of the John 'Gassy Jack' Deighton bronze, perched atop a whiskey barrel here in Maple Tree Sq. Erected in 1970, it recalls the time when Deighton arrived here in 1867 and built a pub, triggering a ramshackle development that ultimately became Vancouver.

  • Notable Building

    Dominion Building

    A handsome architectural vestige of yesteryear Vancouver, this copper-hued, French-style vintage skyscraper across from Victory Square is well worth a photo or two. Inside, it's now home to dozens of offices and a basement restaurant.

  • Notable Building

    Woodward's

    The project that catalyzed latter-day Downtown Eastside redevelopment, this former iconic department store was a derelict shell after closing in the early 1990s. Successive plans to transform it failed until it was eventually recreated and reopened as the home of new shops and condos, a trigger for what many have labeled neighborhood gentrification. Check out the monumental 'Gastown Riot' photo montage inside.

  • Notable Building

    Jack Chow Building

    This unusual spot was known for decades as the Sam Kee Building until Jack Chow Insurance changed the name and spruced it up. Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the planet's shallowest commercial building, the new approach includes a synchronized musical light show on the outside of the structure that catches the eye as you walk past.