My incredible trip to Canada may have already been a few months ago, but there were so many amazing things I saw and places I visited that I'd like to share with you guys, that I have plenty more travel posts planned. Today I'm taking you back to Vancouver with a visit to one of my favourite places in the world: Stanley Park, which really brought out all the stops this time around with stunning autumn colours galore.
Opened in 1888 and with 400-hectare of rain forest, Stanley Park is Vancouver's oldest and largest green space. Not only is it a beautiful park to wander around in, play sports and get close to nature in the big city, but when walking or cycling along the 9 kilometer of the Vancouver Seawall (almost half of its 22km total) its surrounded by, you have beautiful scenic views across the Vancouver Harbour, mountains, beaches and even onto North Vancouver (connected by the impressive Lion's Gate Bridge).
When I lived in Vancouver I only ever walked in Stanley Park. This time around I wanted to see it from a slightly different angle so we hired bikes from Bayshore Bicycle & Rollerblades Rentals on 745 Denman Street for a few hours (located just minutes away from the park). The bikes were super comfortable and had a basket in the front, which was perfect for our bags and water bottles.
We cycled all along the sea wall, taking in the autumnal beauty, and stopped along the way to take photos of the most iconic spots in the park, including the totem poles at Brockton Point, The Girl in a Wetsuit sculpture, the Inukshuks (stone landmarks) on the beach, and the Siwash Rock (a 32-million-year-old volcanic sea stack just off the sea wall which has a tree growing on top). It was all even more gorgeous than I remembered.
If you're in Stanley Park anyway, definitely pop by the Vancouver Aquarium too, which is such fun (and the perfect hide out if the weather isn't being co-operative, after all it does sometimes feel like it's always raining in Vancouver)! The last aquarium I went to was the London one which was a huge let down, but my faith has been restored by the amazing one in Vancouver. We expected to be there for 1.5-2 hours but we ended up spending half a day admiring all the sea life in this great attraction, and if we didn't have other plans afterwards we could've probably spend all day there. It's very bug and there is lots to see and do.
There are massive tanks of jellyfish in all sizes and colours, a touch pool, an old sea turtle, adorable otters (we spend a loooong time looking at those), loads of colourful and funny looking fish, shows with sea lions, penguins and whales, and there are even animals that don't live in the sea (birds and monkeys, among others). Basically it was the actual best and it's a must-visit when going to Vancouver.
Vancouver Aquarium is located on 845 Avison Way and an adult ticket is $36. Overseas visitors, do keep in mind that prices in Canada don't include tax yet, so you have to take into consideration an additional 15% on top of the entrance fee. Worth it though!
And for more info on Stanley Park and its attractions, be sure to visit the official Park website.
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