If you’re planning to spend some time downtown Vancouver this summer for Pride, a Walking Tour might be the perfect activity between morning brunch on the patio and cocktails in the lounge at sunset. Being outside is safe so grab your friends and Get Out!

Pride Art Walk

Get your cameras + bubble besties ready! Enjoy a self-guided tour of five public art pieces and murals celebrating queer folks in Vancouver Downtown. Dress up in your Pride gear and hit the streets to discover local artists from Jul 19–Aug 3. Curated by Vancouver Mural Fest.

More info at vancouverpride.ca.

All Vancouver Pride events take place on unceded, occupied, traditional and ancestral territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw {Squamish), and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Really Gay History Walking Tour

It’s time for Vancouver’s secrets to come out of the closet. From drag kings and two-spirit warriors to queer church ministers and transgender crime fighters, this walking tour is a celebration of the unsung heroes who forever changed the social fabric of our city..

Forbidden Vancouver's Really Gay History Walking Tour meets at 10 am every Sunday at the Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain station entrance on Granville at Georgia in Vancouver. This ticketed, small groups. all-outdoors, human led, physically distant walking tour starts downtown and ends up in Davie Village. The tour promises highlights including - 

• A historic gay village

• The gayest beer parlour in town

• Drag queens who made a difference

• How a gay church clergy made history

• The famous “kiss-in” of Granville Street

• The site of an infamous bookstore bombing

• The bravest pioneers of the LGBTQ2+ community

• How a community defied police brutality and won

Longtime queer Vancouverites might recognize some of these places, but if you are newly out, new to Vancouver or are doing an in-BC Vacation and looking for some queer content, this tour looks fun. Tickets are $29 plus fees and taxes and can be purchased on the Forbidden Vancouver website. 

Click map to enlarge.

We Live Here - West End Audio Tour

The West End has long been a favourite home and social hangout for Vancouver's queers. 

The We Live Here audio tour is a Vancouver produced series of walking or bicycle tours that are available free of charge and on your own schedule. All you need are a phone with data and a browser and headphones to listen to the audio recordings and view the maps. 

Local writer, historian, and musician Aaron Chapman  is the host. He is joined by by special guests: Squamish Elder Dennis Joseph, Journalist/Broadcaster and CBC Radio documentarian Pamela Post, writer, poet, podcast host and otter enthusiast Dina Del Bucchia, and  gay author and broadcaster and long-time West End resident  Bill Richardson.

Ghostly Gastown Tours

Join us Friday and Saturday nights on our Ghostly Gastown Tour. Step back into Vancouver’s past to learn the haunted history of our oldest neighbourhood. You will hear tales of the wild west, murder, intrigue and of course, Ghosts.

The walking tours begin at 7:30 pm. Expect to wander through cobblestone streets and dark alleyways for about 90 minutes. Tickets $25.

Lost Souls Gastown Tour

Everyone knows that Hallowe’en is a queer’s favourite time of year. This year will be different, but we can still get out with one special person or with our bubble-mates and take a Lost Souls Tour. (Editor’s note: I did a tour like this one last Hallowe’en in New Orleans and it was super.)

Meet a storytelling guide in the atmospheric Gastown neighborhood, where you’ll discover the unsolved murder of John Bray, who wandered these very streets for two weeks after being shot three times in the head. 

Enjoy a colorful mix of theater and history that’s designed for adult audiences, and firmly rooted in real Vancouver history. Visit the city’s oldest hotel, learn the real story behind the Gastown steam clock, and get a glimpse of how the great fire transformed Vancouver.

A gothic theatre adventure through the alleyways, passages and secret spaces of Vancouver's oldest neighbourhood.

2 Adults x C$32.19 C$64.38

GPS My City

Self-guided Walking Tours in Vancouver. Be a tourist in your own city! Downtown churches, historic Gastown, Granville Island - follow these 14 expert-designed self-guided walking tours to explore Vancouver, On foot at your own pace. You can also create your own self-guided walk to visit the city attractions which interest you the most.

How it works: Download the app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from iTunes App Store or Google Play to your mobile phone or tablet. Each walk comes with a detailed tour map as well as photos and background information for the featured attractions. The app's navigation functions guide you from one attraction to the next. The app works offline, so no data plan is needed when on your tour.

Now grab your best friend or your new friend and Get Out!

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