VanDusen Botanical Garden

Purchase tickets for the garden in advance and make your own way to the garden or join a garden tour of Vancouver, which combines visits to the VanDusen Botanical Garden with other floral highlights such as the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Queen Elizabeth Park.

Once there, embark on a self-guided tour of the garden. Follow routes mapped out on leaflets, which are available at the information desk in the garden’s orchid-shaped visitor center. The theme of these self-guided routes changes monthly. Alternatively, wander at will. Find your way out of the Elizabethan maze, examine sculptures from artists including Bill Reid and David Marshall, and admire the panoramas from the stone garden, the second-highest vantage point in Vancouver.

• The gardens are made for strolling so wear comfortable walking shoes. Bikes, skateboards, and roller skates are not allowed.

• Do not feed wildlife in the gardens.

• The gardens are wheelchair accessible with paved paths.

The VanDusen Botanical Garden is situated in the Shaughnessy neighborhood of Vancouver, just west of Queen Elizabeth Park. Bus 17 connects downtown Vancouver with the gardens. Get off at West 37th Avenue and you’ll find the park entrance across the street.

The garden is open year-round, but closes earlier in December, January, and February. Go in spring to see cherry blossoms and blooming camellias, in summer for roses and lilies, in fall to see the colorful foliage of Eastern North American and gingko trees, and in winter for winter berries and winter-flowering jasmine. Several festivals, notably the Festival of Lights in December and the Sakura Days Japan Fair in spring, take place throughout the year.

Just a short stroll east of the garden in Queen Elizabeth Park sits a greenery-filled delight: the Bloedel Conservatory. Another hit among flora fanatics, this balmy domed conservatory is packed with tropical plants and birds and makes an ideal complementary attraction to the VanDusen Botanical Garden.