Canada Place
49°17′ N 123°07′ WLandmarkFree
Canada Place suits a free first hour on Vancouver's waterfront, with harbour and mountain views from the Canadian Trail and the North Point, and the catch is that the whole walk is outdoors, so a wet December day pushes you inside to Flyover fast.
Photo by Rohit Tandon on Unsplash and others, credited in the gallery
Field card · Sight · No. 006 · checked 16 Oct 2026
Stand at the North Point before noon for the Heritage Horns.
Access
Most of Canada Place sits at ground level with accessible washrooms on every floor, and the parkade underneath has accessible stalls.
Canada Place opened as the Canada Pavilion for Expo 86 on 2 May 1986, and its five white sails have marked the downtown waterfront ever since. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority owns and runs it, and the building holds the cruise terminal, the Vancouver Convention Centre's East Building, the Pan Pacific Hotel and Flyover. The free part is outside. Walk the Canadian Trail along the west promenade, where 13 equal sections stand for the 10 provinces and three territories, out to the North Point for a view across the port to Stanley Park and the mountains above North Vancouver.
The port authority says its Vancouver offices sit on the traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. At the start of the trail you'll meet the Indigenous art installation "Salish Sea, the Journey Within" from Susan Point's Coast Salish Arts. Point made it with her sons Thomas Cannell and Brent Sparrow, and it went in during 2021.
BC Hydro built the Heritage Horns as a centennial project in 1967. They now sit on the Pan Pacific's roof and have played the first four notes of O Canada at noon every day since 1994. After dark the sails glow in colours chosen for a charity or a day of recognition, and on other nights they show Canada Place's own red, orange, white, green and blue.
Christmas at Canada Place didn't happen in 2025, because construction on the west promenade got in the way, and the port authority said it would reimagine the event. By mid-October 2026 it had announced nothing for this year, so check the events page in November.
Worth knowing
- Stand at the North Point a few minutes before noon to hear the Heritage Horns.
- The Port of Vancouver Discovery Centre is closed to the public until further notice, so don't build a visit around it.
- Drivers can use the Indigo parkade under Canada Place, which you enter at the foot of Howe Street.
- Staff at the Welcome Centre under the giant maple leaf in the main plaza answer questions and sell Westcoast Sightseeing tours.
Quick answers about Canada Place
Is Canada Place free to visit?
Yes. The promenade, the Canadian Trail and the North Point at Canada Place cost nothing to walk, and only attractions inside such as Flyover charge.
Is there Christmas at Canada Place in 2026?
Canada Place had not announced Christmas at Canada Place for 2026 by 16 October 2026. It cancelled the 2025 event because of construction on the west promenade and said it planned to reimagine it.
How do I get to Canada Place by transit?
Ride the SkyTrain, the SeaBus or the West Coast Express to Waterfront Station. Canada Place is a 6-minute walk from the station by OpenStreetMap routing.
When do the Canada Place sails light up?
The five sails at Canada Place light up every evening from dusk to dawn, in colours for a featured cause or in Canada Place's own red, orange, white, green and blue.
How much does Canada Place cost?
Canada Place is free to visit.
What are the opening hours of Canada Place?
Canada Place is open canada Place posts no opening hours for its outdoor promenade and plaza. The five sails light up every evening from dusk to dawn.
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In the journal and guides
Read more about Canada Place
Guide · 12 min read
How do you plan the nights before and after a Vancouver cruise?
Sleep within a walk or a SeaBus ride of Canada Place the night before you sail, and come in from YVR on the Canada Line. After you land, the park shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge will hold your bags for the day.
Guide · 9 min read
What can you do from Canada Place before all-aboard?
With two hours, stay on foot along the waterfront and in Gastown. Lonsdale Quay across the SeaBus fits in three, and the free park shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge needs four.