14 Weird Things To Do In Vancouver, Canada

Travels to a new city begs for exploration in search of the highlights and top tourist attractions. While Vancouver activities are vast, sometimes, it’s nice to get off the beaten path and find hidden gems, unusual places, and peculiar things.

One of the benefits of seeking out the unusual is avoiding tourists and pedestrian congestion. These weird things to do in Vancouver may not be on your radar. But, step outside of your comfort zone to the world of weird and wonderful, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Living in Vancouver for over 30 years, I have to admit I love this city. So, whether you have 3-days in Vancouver or a week, let’s get off the tourist treadmill together and seek out the weird and wondrous delights.

Have Movie Night At The Morgue

• Location: 240 East Cordova St | Closest Skytrain Station: Stadium-Chinatown

Do you love thriller movies and want to take date night to the next level? Consider having a sinister movie night at Vancouver’s first morgue. Can a Vancouver date night get any weirder than this? Thrill-seekers can find the morgue in the Vancouver Police Museum.

This popular event sells out fast. So, grab your loved one and cosy up next to the autopsy table while watching a classic like Silence of the Lambs, Psycho, or The Exorcist. It’s best to arrive early so that you can explore the morgue before your perfect fright night!

Roost With Sparrows

• Location: Corner of Salt St. and Athletes Way | Closest Skytrain Station: Science World

Nestled in a quiet area of Olympic Village, a pair of house sparrows welcome visitors to the False Creek Olympic Plaza. The sparrows are fifty times their standard size (15 to 18 feet tall) while realistic looking. Not native to North America, they add a touch of whimsy to the mundane aspects of urban living.

Canadian artist Myfanwy MacLeod designed the pair for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. In an artist statement, MacLeod said small birds generally go unnoticed in urban landscapes. By making them larger, the relationship between birds and humans changes.

Introducing a small creature to a foreign country can create havoc in an established ecosystem. So, the art installation hopes to raise awareness and lead to a sense of shared responsibility. Even at their tall size, I find these sparrows adorable. How about you?

Participate In A Polar Bear Swim

• Location: English Bay, Vancouver | Closest Skytrain Station: City Centre or Yaletown

Each New Year’s Day, approximately 2000 Vancouverites participate in a weird tradition of the Polar Bear Swim. As the phrase suggests, crowds of people strip off their clothes and jump into English Bay’s frigid waters. The crazy annual event attracts a large gathering, some participate, while others just watch.

These polar bear swims happen all around the country, and in some areas, they need to break the ice to reach the water. BRRRR!!! Hungover from New Years’ celebrations the night before, most participants show up in bizarre costumes, which adds some fun. Maybe the costumes add an extra layer of warmth?

So, the question is, if you’re in Vancouver on New Years’, are you up for the challenge?

Admire A Totem Pole Of Cars

• Location: Quebec Street and Milross Avenue | Closest Skytrain Station: Science World

While the Pacific Northwest houses an extensive collection of wooden totem poles, Vancouver is home to a different flavor of totem pole. The weird structure consists of five scrapyard cars stacked on top of each other. With the smallest at the bottom and the largest on top, the totem is quite eye-catching.

‘Trams Am Totem’ use to be in False Creek at Quebec Street and Milross Avenue. It was dismantled in 2021 and will be rehomed near Granville Bridge between 4th and 5th. With its new home, comes a new name, the ‘Trans Am Rapture.’

The work of Vancouver artist Marcus Bowcott. It’s hard to miss atop a giant tree trunk. At first glance, it might seem like artwork celebrating the automobile, with hundreds of cars driving by each day. But, it’s in fact, the opposite.

With the world going to an alternative fuel source, it’s a reminder that gasoline vehicles are on their way out. Are you worried about the stability of the cars? Don’t be. In the structure’s core, a steel column acts as support while each car is drilled with a hole so they could slide over the pole.

Get A Selfie With A Pixelated Orca

• Location: Vancouver Convention Centre West Building, 1055 Canada Place | Closest Skytrain Station: Waterfront

At twenty-five feet tall, Vancouver’s Pixel Whale is smaller than most orcas. Yet on land, the giant art installation of a pixelated orca stands out against the blue waters of Burrard Inlet and the snow-capped mountains.

Constructed in 2009, the Digital Orca is Douglas Coupland’s work and stands outside the Vancouver Convention Centre near the iconic Olympic Cauldron. Its black and white color scheme and large blocks resemble that of Lego bricks. Interesting that visitors’ reactions are mixed.

Nearby, the Olympic Cauldron is what draws most visitors to Jack Poole Plaza. However, the art installations of the Digital Orca and “The Drop,” a giant water droplet, are a bonus.

Attach A Love Lock….Legally!

• Location: 4600 Cambie Street | Closest Skytrain Station: King Edward Station

You don’t need to travel to Paris or Rome to celebrate your love with a love lock. The city of Vancouver invites you to attach a lock legally. Many cities worldwide have been dismantling bridge railings due to the number of key locks attached to them.

While attaching love locks is often discouraged today, Vancouver encourages couples to express their love by securing a personalized love lock to their “love in the rain” art installation. Perched on a hill in QE Park, love in the rain depicts jovial figures carrying umbrellas.

The attached locks are all different shapes and sizes, and it’s interesting to read the inscriptions. Nearby, a dropbox provides a place to leave your key after attaching your lock. The keys are gathered and melted down and later made into future artwork.

Barbeque On The Ocean

• Location: 1820 Mast Tower Lane, Granville Island | Closest Skytrain Station: Olympic Village

Are you looking for some insane summer fun and want to try the newest craze? Then add a barbeque boat rental to your summer bucket list. Grab a few friends and some BBQ food, and head out onto the water in a circular watercraft from Joe’s BBQ Boat.

The round orange boats resemble floating hot tubs with a propane BBQ in the center. Boat rentals don’t require a boating license, and a small electric engine powers each craft. Limited to eight persons, you can be captain of your own grill with a fantastic waterfront view.

Feel Engaged At The Engagement Statue

• Location: 1204 Beach Ave, Sunset Beach Park | Closest Skytrain Station: City Centre or Yaletown

Sometimes the simplest objects make the best art pieces, just on a different scale. The Engagement Sculpture on Sunset Beach is just that. Embedded in a grassy spot close to the seawall, the diamond ring sculpture pair is 30-feet tall.

The installation is open to interpretation and the artist, Dennis Oppenheim, created the diamonds from clear plexiglass. At night, the plexiglass diamond “houses” illuminate, leaving the rings invisible. Whether these rings represent love, marriage, or unity, I felt the art installation is both weird and wonderful.

Walk On A Grass Roof

• Location: 1085 Canada Place | Closest Skytrain Station: Waterfront

The Vancouver Convention Centre at Coal Harbour, has a living roof. The two part buildings either side of the Olympic Cauldron overlook Burrard Inlet. These green roofs reduce urban heat and provide a sustainable way to manage rain water.

Stairs to the west building allows visitors to walk on the living roof. We find it a great spot to get an aerial photo of the Olympic Cauldron.

Laugh With The Laughing Men

• Location: Morton Park, 1800 Morton Ave | Closest Skytrain Station: Burrard

“Laughter is the best medicine,” as the famous saying goes, so why not laugh with the laughing men in Vancouver? Comprised of fourteen hilarious statues, the A-maze-ing Laughter bronze sculptures each have jovial smiles and funny poses.

Designed by Yue Minjun, the art installation depicts himself laughing hysterically. The bare-chested men have become a popular attraction and a great place to take some memorable selfies.

Located on a grassy patch on Davie St and Denman St’s corner, the three-meter-tall statues have the perfect English Bay backdrop. Installed in 2009 for the Vancouver Biennale Exhibition, the non-profit organization aims to capture the viewers’ attention with engaging public art.

See The Fruity Cement Mixes

• Location: 1415 Johnston St, Granville Island | Closest Skytrain Station: Olympic Village

It might seem a little strange to get excited about a cement mixer—I get it. I thought the same thing at first. But then I saw the ones from Heidelberg Materials (formerly Ocean Concrete) on Granville Island, and I couldn’t help but smile.

These cheerful mixers are anything but ordinary—their drums are painted with giant strawberries, corn on the cob, even bunches of asparagus. One even has a big smiley sunshine face on it. They roll through the city like colorful, happy billboards, promoting their neighbor, the Granville Island market.

Watch A Steam Clock

• Location: 305 Water Street, Gastown | Closest Skytrain Station: Waterfront

Nestled in the heart of Vancouver’s historic Gastown district, the Gastown Steam Clock blends art, engineering, and local lore. This iconic landmark, one of the few functioning steam clocks in the world, draws tourists and locals, enchanting them with its rhythmic chimes and mesmerizing steam bursts.

In the late 1970s, Raymond Saunders and Doug Smith built the steam clock over steam pipes that supplied the city’s heat. Today, the tourist attraction is easy to find on the corner of Water and Cambie Streets. The clock sounds the Westminster chime every quarter-hour and a large whistle on the hour.

Inside the glass casing, a series of ball weights use gravity to power the clock. Its inner mechanisms are as impressive as hearing the steam chimes.

Explore A Bunker

• Location: Spanish Banks | Closest Skytrain Station: there is none

Nestled along the scenic shores of Vancouver’s Spanish Banks lies a hidden relic from World War II. The graffiti-covered bunker tells a fascinating story of wartime strategy and local history.

This concrete structure, often overlooked by beachgoers, served as a critical defense point during a time of global conflict, symbolizing the city’s preparedness against potential threats.

Walk The Plank On A Pirate Ship

• Location: 1820 Mast Tower Lane, Granville Island | Closest Skytrain Station: Olympic Village, then take the Aquabus

Muster up your pirate spirit as you take to the high seas, on the Jolly Roger in search of treasure. Wearing pirate costumes, participants learn to read a treasure map, watch some swashbuckling action, use water cannons on Pirate Pete and survive a ships’ mutiny.

The unique sail around False Creek is unforgettable, with many want-to-be pirates coming back for more pirate action. Located on Granville Island, the Pirate Adventures & Treasure Shop offers adventures for adults, kids, birthday parties, and corporate events. A 75-minute pirate escapade is inexpensive.

As you can see, getting off the beaten path in Vancouver can produce some weird and unusual finds. Outside of Vancouver, be sure to walk the Train Wreck Trail a wonderful easy hike near Whistler. Buried in an old-growth forest with no train tracks in sight, the strange graffiti-covered boxcars are a huge mystery.

So, do some exploring, whether you’re in Vancouver or some other metropolitan city, the weirdness may turn into the wonderful!