Get your walking shoes ready - our summer walking tours are back! From May to September, join us on a stroll around Vancouver's historic neighbourhoods with our beloved walking tour guides on select Saturday mornings at 10 am and afternoons at 1 pm. Historian John Atkin will explore the neighbourhoods along the Broadway corridor, and Rob Howatson will focus on South Vancouver with points of interest along Fraser Street, Fraserview and the River District.

• Walking Tours will take place rain or shine on select Saturdays starting at 10AM or 1PM, May through September. Each tour will be two (2) +/- hours long and may take a one-way or circular route. 

• There is a maximum capacity of 20 people per tour and need 10 registrants to run. Registration is required in advance for all walking tours and ID must match the ticket. Unregistered people will not be permitted to join on the tour date. Do not seek out the group on the tour day in hopes of joining as this will disrupt the tour; if you are not able to attend your tour, due to liability reasons an unregistered replacement showing up in your place will not be accepted.

• Tours take place in public spaces through Vancouver, BC. Participants will encounter a variety of terrain including uncontrolled road crossings, gravel, stairs, slopes, etc. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at mail@vancouverheritagefoundation.org.

• Further details, including start and finish points, will be provided to registered participants. 

• Tickets will be available for purchase until 5pm the day before each tour.

• Please email mail@vancouverheritagefoundation.org to join the waitlist and include the tour dates you would be interested in attending.
  

May 20 | Walk the Plan: Mount Pleasant (Glen Dr at 10th Ave) with John Atkin
SOLD OUT!  The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Glen and 10th Ave.

June 17 | Walk the Plan: Mount Pleasant (Manitoba St at 13th Ave) with John Atkin
10 AM TOUR SOLD OUT! The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Manitoba St and 13th Ave.

June 24 | The River District: From Carbolineum to Condominium with Rob Howatson
10 AM TOUR SOLD OUT! Vancouver’s newest neighbourhood is anything but new. Travel back in time to when this area was home to one of B.C.’s largest sawmills. Hear stories about the people who lived and worked there, and the ships that sailed past – including the ill-fated journey of Vancouver’s oddball cargo vessel, The Sudden Jerk. (No prior knowledge of carbolineum is required.)

July 8 | Walk the Plan: Fairview (Hemlock St at 13th Ave) with John Atkin 
10 AM AND 1PM TOUR  SOLD OUT! The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Hemlock and 13th Ave.

July 22 | Fraser Street: South Van's Original Heart Line with Rob Howatson
10 AM TOUR SOLD OUT! Downtown folk often dismissed South Van’s early settlers as gully jumpers and stump hoppers, but the rural area was home to Vancouver’s first straight road and today that arterial serves one of the city’s most culturally diverse neighbourhoods. Join a seasoned Sunsetter for a stroll into the heart of Fraser Street where the echo of trams, scams and political bedlam can still be heard.

July 29 | Walk the Plan: Kitsilano (Maple St at 14th Ave) with John Atkin
10 AM TOUR SOLD OUT! The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Maple and 14th Ave

August 12 | Fraserview: The Real Story of the War Vets' Pleasantville with Rob Howatson
10 AM TOUR SOLD OUT! Soldiers returning to Vancouver after WWII were shocked to discover that there was nowhere for them and their young families to live. They occupied the second Hotel Vancouver at Georgia and Granville Streets while Ottawa scrambled to provide affordable housing. One such effort was the CMHC’s Fraserview sub-division: 1,100 “apple box houses” hastily assembled across the city’s south slope on elegantly curving streets. Visit the remnants of this 1950s suburb and see what went wrong and what went right in Canada’s largest, detached-home, social housing project.

August 19 | Walk the Plan: Kitsilano (Yew St at 6th Ave) with John Atkin
10 AM TOUR SOLD OUT!  The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Yew and 6th Ave.

September 2 | Walk the Plan: Fairview (Hemlock St at 6th Ave) with John Atkin 
SOLD OUT! The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Hemlock and 6th Ave.

September 16 | Walk the Plan: Mount Pleasant (Columbia St at 4th Ave) with John Atkin
10 AM TOUR SOLD OUT! The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Columbia and 4th Ave.

October 7 | Walk the Plan: Mount Pleasant (Scotia St at 6th Ave) with John Atkin
10 AM TOUR SOLD OUT!  The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Scotia and 6th Ave.

*Please email mail@vancouverheritagefoundation.org to be added to the waiting list for sold out tours*

John Atkin is a civic historian, author and heritage consultant. He offers an interesting and offbeat insight into the city’s architecture, history and neighbourhoods through a series of unique and popular walking tours. These combine his interests in urban planning and development, a love of architecture and a fascination for the curious. 

Rob Howatson is a writer, local history buff and lifelong South Van’er. He caught the heritage bug in 2007 when he discovered a time capsule hidden in the old Sunset Community Centre. (It contained rare Bing Crosby footage!) Rob also works for the City of Richmond at Steveston’s heritage sites.

PLEASE NOTE: For in-person events, we are unable to provide refunds or credits for cancellations received less than four (4) weeks prior to the event. For additional information on VHF's policies, please visit our Policies page prior to registering.

If you would like to make a donation in addition to your registration, the amount will be tax deductible and you will receive an official tax receipt for donations of $20 or more. Our Registered Charity number is 891765968.