Canada Place

A pier building projecting into Burrard Inlet on the downtown waterfront, recognisable by the five white fabric sails on its roof, built for a world exposition and now a permanent landmark.

Under one roof it holds Vancouver’s main cruise ship terminal, part of the convention centre, a large hotel, some restaurants and offices, and a flight simulation attraction.

Wrapped around all of it is a free public promenade at the water’s edge, which is what most visitors actually come for.

The promenade is open at all hours and costs nothing. Everything else — the flight ride, the restaurants, a cruise — is separate and paid.

It sits a few minutes’ walk from Gastown, the downtown core and Waterfront Station, which makes it one of the easiest things in the city to fit into a spare hour.

The main event for anyone not boarding a ship, and it is free.

The promenade runs around three sides of the building at water level, with the harbour on one side and the sails overhead. From it you look across to the North Shore mountains, watch seaplanes take off and land, see the SeaBus crossing, and — in season — stand alongside cruise ships that are startlingly large at close range.

Along the way is the Canadian Trail, a series of markers and panels representing the provinces and territories, which takes a few minutes and is quietly informative.

At the western end, the walk continues along the waterfront toward Coal Harbour and on to Stanley Park, which makes this a natural start to a longer walk.

Allow half an hour to walk it slowly. It is level, paved and easy.

This is the departure point for the Alaska cruise season and for other sailings, and two thirds of visitor accounts mention it.

If you are boarding, the practical notes: allow plenty of time, follow the terminal signage rather than the public promenade, and expect airport-style processes including customs and immigration for sailings to the United States.

Drop-off and taxi ranks are on the landward side, and there is paid parking beneath the building for anyone leaving a car.

The terminal has luggage handling, but the surrounding streets get congested on turnaround days when several ships are in.

If you are not cruising, ship days are the best days to visit — the vessels alongside are part of the spectacle, and the promenade stays open.

The one significant paid attraction inside the building: a flight simulation ride where you are suspended in front of a wraparound screen with wind, mist and motion, flying over Canadian landscapes.

Opinion divides. Many visitors describe it as a genuine highlight and excellent value for a short experience, particularly with children. A minority find it brief and overpriced for the running time.

It runs several times an hour, takes around half an hour including the pre-show, and tickets are cheaper booked ahead.

There are seasonal versions of the film at Christmas.

If you are choosing between this and the Vancouver Lookout tower nearby, FlyOver is the better option with children and the Lookout is better for anyone who wants an actual view.

A large part of the appeal is simply watching things move.

The seaplane terminal is immediately alongside, and float planes take off and land continuously through the day — the closest most people get to watching aircraft operate from water.

The SeaBus, a passenger ferry across the inlet to North Vancouver, runs from Waterfront Station next door. It is ordinary public transport at an ordinary fare and gives you a proper harbour crossing with the best skyline view available. Lonsdale Quay at the far end has its own market.

Helicopter tours also operate from the waterfront.

For anyone with an hour and no plan, the SeaBus over and back is the best-value thing within reach of this building.

Just west of the main building, at Jack Poole Plaza, stands the cauldron from the Vancouver Winter Olympics — a cluster of angular glass and steel arms.

It is lit on special occasions rather than continuously, so most of the time you are looking at the sculpture rather than a flame.

It is free, takes two minutes, and photographs well with the mountains behind.

The plaza around it is a good spot to stand and look at the harbour, and it connects the Canada Place promenade to the convention centre waterfront and the path west toward Coal Harbour.

Early morning is quiet, the light is on the mountains, and the seaplanes are already working.

Sunset is the other strong option — the promenade faces north and west, so the light on the North Shore is excellent and the ships are lit.

After dark the building’s sails are illuminated and the harbour lights are reflected in the water, and the crowds have gone.

The busiest times are mid-morning and mid-afternoon on cruise turnaround days, when several thousand passengers are moving through, and when tour groups arrive from the downtown hotels.

Because the promenade is open at all hours and free, this is an easy thing to slot into a gap rather than schedule.

Waterfront Station is next door and is served by SkyTrain, the SeaBus and the West Coast Express, making this one of the best-connected points in Vancouver.

On foot it is a few minutes from Gastown and five to ten minutes from most of the downtown core.

There is paid parking beneath the building, which is convenient and priced accordingly. On cruise days the approach roads are congested.

The waterfront path runs west from here toward Coal Harbour and Stanley Park, and east toward Gastown, so it works well as a hinge in a walking route rather than a destination in itself.

Cycle racks are available and the route connects to the seawall network.

There are restaurants and cafés within the complex and in the hotel, aimed largely at convention delegates and cruise passengers, and priced accordingly.

The quality is generally fine and the harbour views from some of them are the selling point.

Better value is a few minutes away in Gastown or the downtown core, and if you are eating rather than passing time, walk.

There are coffee options for a takeaway to drink on the promenade, which is the pleasant way to use the place.

On cruise days the nearby cafés fill with passengers waiting to board, so expect queues around the middle of the day.

Half an hour to walk the promenade and look at the harbour.

An hour with the Canadian Trail panels, the Olympic cauldron and time watching the seaplanes.

Add half an hour for FlyOver Canada if you are doing it.

This is not a half-day destination unless you are boarding a ship. It works best as a twenty-minute stop on a longer waterfront walk, or as the start of the route out to Stanley Park.

Cruise passengers with time before boarding will find Gastown and the promenade together fill a comfortable couple of hours.

The ships are the draw. A cruise vessel alongside at close range is genuinely impressive to a child, and the seaplanes taking off hold attention for longer than you would expect.

FlyOver Canada is the attraction aimed squarely at families and is generally a hit.

The promenade is flat, open and stroller-friendly, with room to move.

Beyond that there is not a great deal for children — no playground, no interactive exhibits outside the paid ride.

Combining the promenade with the SeaBus crossing and Lonsdale Quay on the other side makes a better half day for a family than staying on this side.

Excellent. The promenade is flat, wide, paved and step-free the whole way round, with ramps and lifts within the building.

Accessible parking is available beneath the complex, and accessible toilets are provided.

Waterfront Station next door is accessible, as is the SeaBus.

The cruise terminal has full accessibility provision as you would expect of a modern passenger facility.

This is one of the easier places in Vancouver for anyone with mobility needs, and it connects directly to the seawall, which is accessible for its entire length.

The pattern here is unlike anywhere else in the city: visits cluster tightly from May to September and drop sharply outside that. That is the cruise season, and it shapes everything.

In season, expect ships alongside, a busy promenade and thousands of passengers on turnaround days. That is the version most people come for.

Outside the season, from late autumn to early spring, the promenade is quiet and there are no ships, which makes for a calmer walk and a less interesting one.

Winter has its own appeal — the sails lit against dark water, and the mountains under snow across the inlet.

If seeing a cruise ship up close matters to you, come between late spring and early autumn and check which days ships are in.

Expectations are the whole issue here. This is a landmark and a transport hub rather than an attraction, and visitors who arrive expecting a day out are disappointed.

The underwhelming version: come specifically to see Canada Place, walk round the outside in fifteen minutes, note that it is mostly a convention centre, and wonder why it is on the list.

The good version: treat the promenade as the opening stretch of a waterfront walk. Start here, look at the ships and the seaplanes, take the Canadian Trail, pass the Olympic cauldron, and carry on along the water to Coal Harbour and Stanley Park. Or cross on the SeaBus and come back.

It is free, it is central, it is genuinely handsome, and the harbour views are among the best in the city. Just do not plan a day around it.