Canada

Carol Cram stands in front of the Museum of Vancouver, a futuristic looking white building with a saucer shaped roof and a fountain sculpture at the entrance. The building is labeled as the Museum of Vancouver, and the bright blue sky enhances the structure's architectural design.

The Vancouver Museum & Granville Island: A Great Day Out

Canada, Destinations, Museums Artsy Traveler Leave a Comment on The Vancouver Museum & Granville Island: A Great Day Out

Last updated on January 30th, 2025 at 04:11 am

If you’re looking for a family-friendly outing in Vancouver, carve out a few hours to visit the Vancouver Museum (AKA the Museum of Vancouver).

After getting a good hit of cultural history, walk the seawall or hop on the False Creek ferry to Granville Island for lunch and shopping.

At the Museum of Vancouver (MOV), you’ll discover the cultural history of the city. A series of exhibits take you on a journey past hundreds of artifacts used by individuals and communities that have called the area home.

A graphic promoting "The Vancouver Museum & Granville Island," featuring a view of Vancouver Museum with the author Carol Cram in front above the text and a little ferry on the water in English Bay in Vancouver among many other anhored boats below the text.

Highlights of Your Vancouver Day

Introduction

I’ve lived in Vancouver all my life. I remember when the Museum of Vancouver was built in 1968. I also remember when, in 1979, Granville Island was transformed from an industrial wasteland to a major Vancouver tourist attraction.

On a recent bright and sunny January day, I joined the throngs of Vancouverites who emerge when the sun shines and headed for Kitsilano. This laid-back residential area is one of Vancouver’s most beautiful with its huge saltwater pool and mountain views from Kitsilano Beach.

Here, I toured the Museum of Vancouver and then rode the False Creek ferry to Granville Island for lunch and shopping.

The spectacular views of this area of Vancouver never get old.

Carol Cram stands by a tree on the edge of a scenic waterfront. Sailboats float in the blue water, with mountains and clear skies in the background.

Whether you’re a local or a visitor, make time to visit the Vancouver Museum. Then, get yourself over to bustling Granville Island, an especially enjoyable outing on a sunny day.

Locations

The Museum of Vancouver (#1) is located at 1100 Chestnut Street in Vanier Park (#2) in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighborhood. It is within the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

Vanier Park occupies most of Kitsilano Point and overlooks stunning views of the mountains, the ocean and False Creek. Downtown Vancouver is about a fifteen-minute bus or car ride away. 

Granville Island is located about a 20-minute walk from Vanier Park under the Granville Street Bridge at the edge of False Creek. For decades, the area was a polluted blight on the Vancouver skyline.

After its extensive makeover starting in 1979, Granville Island now teems with shops and activities, including a great area for children and the world-famous Granville Island Public Market (#3).

Map of the Area

This map was created with Wanderlog, the best trip planner app on iOS and Android

Summer Suggestion

In summer, consider this itinerary:

  • Visit the Museum of Vancouver in the morning.
  • Stroll along the seawall or take the False Creek ferry to Granville Island for lunch.
  • Return to the area to enjoy a matinée at Bard on the Beach (#4), a five-minute walk from the MOV.

History of the Museum of Vancouver

Originally located in downtown Vancouver, the museum was founded in 1894 by a group of art and history enthusiasts who amassed a collection of artifacts and donations from local citizens.

In 1968, the building where the museum is now housed was erected in Vanier Park. The MOV shares its iconic building with the Vancouver Planetarium and the H.R. Macmillan Space Centre. The distinctive dome is meant to resemble the woven basket hats made by Northwest Coast First Nations peoples.

Initially called the Centennial Museum and then the Vancouver Museum, the new building was renamed the Museum of Vancouver in 2009 and the museum positioned as the place to go to learn about Vancouver’s cultural history.

I first visited the MOA not long after it opened in 1968 and have continued to revisit every decade or so, sometimes to take in a special exhibition, or to enjoy the fascinating permanent collection. I always find something new to look at and learn.

The MOV is Vancouver’s largest civic museum and features several history galleries, starting with galleries dedicated to the First Nations people who lived on this bountiful land for centuries before contact with people from other parts of the world, primarily Europe and Asia. 

The City Before the City: c̓əsnaʔəm

The first gallery contains The City Before the City exhibition that features c̓əsnaʔəm, the ancestral village of the Musqueam First Nation. On display are bone, stone, and shell objects from c̓əsnaʔəm that have survived for thousands of years.

A close-up of historical artifacts, including stone tools, wooden items, and other indigenous implements, displayed in a glass case with detailed labels describing their origins and uses.

The exhibition is both respectful and informative, with the aim of educating visitors about the people who inhabited the land before it was transformed by the streets and buildings we see today.

Listening stations encourage visitors to slow down, don a pair of headphones, and then watch and listen to videos narrated by First Nations people about their history and the exhibits.

An exhibition showcasing First Nations artifacts and cultural information. The display includes red information panels with indigenous words and visuals, interactive screens, and historical tools arranged on tables under dim museum lighting.

That Which Sustains Us

The focus of the That Which Sustain Us gallery is on the land itself and how interactions with it are shaped by culture. You’ll learn about traditional ecological knowledge in addition to the consequences of deforestation and the urbanization of Vancouver. 

I particularly enjoyed the exhibits showcasing ancestral skills such as making leather from tanning fish skin and creating dye pigments from the mushrooms found in local forests.

Also included is this wall showing words from the Musqueam language.

A grid of wooden blocks displaying an indigenous alphabet, with each block featuring a letter, an illustration, and a corresponding English translation, such as "Raven" and "Salt."

1900s to 1920s: Gateway to the Pacific

I’m a third-generation Vancouverite, with both sets of grandparents settling in Vancouver around 1911, coincidentally a few blocks apart. My maternal grandmother remembers carrying water to their log cabin, and I grew up on stories about the expanding city.

The Gateway to the Pacific gallery features thoughtfully curated displays related to the lives of the early settlers, both European and Asian. Photographs, mannequins dressed in vintage clothing, and an impressive collection of objects bring the era to life.

A museum display depicting pre-World War I commerce. Mannequins dressed in period clothing stand beside a vintage cash register and other business-related items in a glass-enclosed exhibit.

Other displays relate to Vancouver during World War I. My maternal great-grandfather, who was originally from England, left Vancouver in 1914 to fight overseas and was killed in 1916 when my grandmother was just 10 years old.

1930s to 1940s: Boom, Bust, and War

The exhibits in this gallery chronicle the growth of Vancouver through difficult times culminating in World War II. 

A dark stain on the city’s history was the internment of people from the well-established Japanese-Canadian community following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I know people whose grandparents and parents were relocated to internment camps in the interior of British Columbia. My mother, who lived not far from one of the internment camps in the early 1940s, remembered seeing the displaced people.

My mother moved to Vancouver in 1942 when my grandfather got work in one of the many new factories gearing up production for the war effort, and met my dad in high school. I remember my grandmother’s kitchen looking very similar to this one:

A vintage kitchen exhibit featuring an old-fashioned cream-colored stove, a kettle, and various household items like a dustpan and cloth, showcasing domestic life in the early 20th century.

For many of the people who settled in Vancouver, the post-war city was a hopeful place where home ownership was within reach. That was certainly the case for my family. We moved into our first house in the Kerrisdale neighborhood of Vancouver in 1960.

The exhibits in this gallery bring back fuzzy memories. I got a kick out of the old wringer washer which reminded me of my brother trying to put my Barbie doll through the wringer. He was not successful, as I recall.

An antique "Easy" brand wringer washing machine displayed with a sign explaining its functionality. The machine is white with metallic accents and represents household innovations from the early 20th century.

Check out the display of neon signs. Vancouver was famous for its neon, mostly clustered along Granville Street. The full-size car is a nice touch.

A retro museum exhibit featuring a classic 1950s white car parked under neon signs advertising garage, parking, and gas services. The setup evokes the mid-20th-century American automotive culture.

1960s – 1970s: You Say You Want a Revolution

If you were born prior to the 1970s, you’ll experience a major walk down memory lane in this gallery. And even if you’re not from Vancouver, you’ll likely recognize something of your past in the exhibits. 

As in many places in North America, the 1960s and 1970s in Vancouver were a time of contention. The city was growing fast, with protests, “hippies”, and alternative lifestyles front and center. The environmental group Greenpeace started in Vancouver during this period.

A highlight of this fun yet also thought-provoking gallery was seeing a poster with my husband’s name on it. Gregg Simpson was very active in the art scene during the late 1960s and early 1970s, both as an artist and a musician. 

A poster advertising a "Collage Show" with names like Bill Bissett, Gregg Simpson, Joy Long, Gary Lee Nova, Ian Wallace, and others. The event runs from February 1-14 at "Mandan Ghetto, 2645 W4th," with "Opening 8 PM" highlighted. Decorative graphics, including an angel labeled "God" and a vintage building illustration, adorn the design.

I spent quite a bit of time squinting at the many old photographs in the exhibit to catch a glimpse of him. We weren’t successful, but I did see many familiar names in the old posters and commentaries.

Completing Your Visit

The MOA is not a large museum. You can tour it in about an hour, depending on how long you like to spend reading the wealth of information provided.

After your visit, consider taking one of the adorable False Creek ferries to Granville Island.

MOV Practical Information

Getting There

If you’re visiting Vancouver and staying downtown without a car, your best option is to either take the #2 bus or rent a bicycle (weather permitting). Here are all your options:

Take the Bus

The museum is about a five-minute walk from Cornwall Avenue where the #2 bus stops. Plan your route on Translink.

Take the False Creek Ferry

From various points around False Creek, catch a ferry that stops at the Vancouver Maritime Museum (#5). Then, walk south-east for about five minutes to the museum entrance. If you’re planning on more explorations, consider buying a day pass for the False Creek ferry in advance.

Ride a Bike

Use the Mobi Bike Share service to cycle to Vanier Park. The bike share is located at Chestnut Street and McNicoll Avenue, just west of the MOA.

Walk from Granville Island

Walk west along the seawall for about 15 minutes. Note that in the winter months, the seawall may be closed for maintenance. If that’s the case, retrace your steps and take the ferry.

Drive

From downtown Vancouver:

  • Cross the Burrard Street bridge heading south.
  • Veer right onto Cornwall Street as you come off the bridge.
  • Turn right onto Chestnut Street (this will be the first street).
  • Turn right onto Whyte Avenue.
  • Turn left into the parking lot.

From the south:

  • Take Burrard Street going north.
  • Turn left onto Cornwall Street just before the Burrard Street Bridge.
  • Turn right onto Whyte Avenue.
  • Turn left into the parking lot.

Museum Hours and Ticket Prices

The MOV is open 7 days a week from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission costs $17 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and $10 for youth ages 6 to 17. Children under five and individuals who self-identify as Indigenous enter for free.

For more information, check the Museum’s FAQ page.

Taking the Ferry to Granville Island

Nineteen little ferries ply the waters of False Creek, stopping at the places shown on the map below. The stop for the Museum of Vancouver is Maritime Museum (Kitsilano Beach).

For a round-trip cost of $10 for adults and $7 for seniors/children, you can take the ferry to Granville Island where you’ll find an excellent indoor market, restaurants, food stalls, and lots of fabulous shops.

I pretty much always find something to buy whenever I visit. On my most recent trip to Granville Island, I couldn’t resist purchasing a gorgeous red leather purse inset with a First Nations design of a raven.

Rates vary depending upon the route and the number of zones covered. If you choose, you can sail all the way to Science World at the easternmost end of False Creek. Check the rates.

The ferries scoot back and forth across False Creek and are a lot of fun to ride:

Catch the ferry from the dock below the Vancouver Maritime Museum, which is about a five-minute walk to the west of the Vancouver Museum.

Buy a return ticket on the ferry (they take credit cards) if you’re parked at the museum, or get a one-way ticket and then take a bus back to your home or accommodation. You can also purchase a day pass and explore more of False Creek.

Granville Island

The Granville Island Public Market is the main attraction on Granville Island. Here, you’ll find a dizzying array of produce, seafood, bakery items, gourmet edibles, gift items, and flowers. Lunch options also abound from food stalls serving up everything from perogies to poke. 

A vibrant market stall filled with colorful fresh produce, including tomatoes, pineapples, bitter melons, and long beans. Handwritten price signs are displayed, and the scene is bustling with bright colors.

Pro Tip: Treat yourself to a cannelle at Le Bise Bakery. They are seriously to die for.

Take your food outside and enjoy it while gazing out at the boats plying the waters of False Creek with the skyline of Vancouver and the mountains beyond. Here’s one of my favorite views towards the Burrard Street Bridge:

A wide-angle view of Burrard Bridge spanning a marina filled with boats. The city skyline and mountains are visible in the background, framed by a partly cloudy sky.

Shopping on Granville Island

After lunch, wander around the many shops on the island or even take in a performance at the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre next door to the market.

If you want more than a quick bite at the market, consider stopping in at the Tap & Barrel – Bridges Restaurant or the Dockside Restaurant. Both offer scenic views of the mountains and water and plenty of seafood options.

Other Vancouver Museums

Here’s a quick roundup of three other Vancouver museums worth visiting.

Museum of Anthropology

If you really want to dig into Indigenous history, head out to the Museum of Anthropology (#6) at the University of British Columbia, arguably the best museum in Vancouver. You’ll discover a comprehensive collection not only of indigenous art from BC, but also from across Canada and around the world.

Science World

If you have children (or even if you don’t but just like science!), then Science World (#7) should definitely be on your itinerary. Tons of hands-on interactive exhibits, cool science shows, and world-class feature exhibitions will keep you entertained and informed.

If you’ve visited the Museum of Anthropology, then you’ll have already seen some of Bill Reid’s magnificent work.

The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art (#8) in downtown Vancouver exhibits the Bill Reid SFU Art Collection in addition to contemporary Indigenous Northwest Coast Art.

Where to Stay in Vancouver

Visitors to Vancouver are spoiled for choice when it comes to accommodations. Be warned, however, that prices are steep, especially for downtown hotels with views of the magnificent North Shore mountains and the ocean. Here are two of my favorite hotels in Vancouver:

Granville Island Hotel

The Granville Island Hotel (#9) is the closest hotel to the Museum of Vancouver and the Granville Island Public Market. It’s a great choice that’s a bit off the beaten track from downtown Vancouver.

Sutton Place Hotel

Located on Burrard Street (and so an easy bus ride over the Burrard Street Bridge to the Museum of Vancouver) and around the corner from plenty of good shops and restaurants on Robson Street, the Sutton Place Hotel (#10) is one of the more reasonable options in Vancouver with comfy 4-star rooms.

Vancouver Tours

GetYourGuide offers a few tours that include Granville Island. Here’s a foodie tour of Granville Island Public Market.

Powered by GetYourGuide

And here are more options for touring Vancouver. Why not really splurge and take a seaplane flight over the city? On a clear day, the views are amazing.

Powered by GetYourGuide

Conclusion

The Museum of Vancouver is worth a visit if you enjoy cultural history (which I do!).

The location of the museum is also a major plus. After you’ve toured the museum, you’ll enjoy breezy views of the ocean and mountains and perhaps take a ride on one of the little False Creek ferries.

Have you visited the Museum of Vancouver? What were your favorite galleries? Share your recommendations and observations in the Comments below.

Here are more posts about museums I’ve visited and heartily recommend:

UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver: Why You Should Go!

Arts & Culture, Canada, Destinations, Museums Artsy Traveler Leave a Comment on UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver: Why You Should Go!

Last updated on January 27th, 2025 at 12:48 am

The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is the must-see museum in my hometown of Vancouver.

While I was on an Alaskan cruise a few years back, several visitors asked me what they should see during their one day in Vancouver. I always said the anthropology museum and always received a blank stare.

An image collage promoting the UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, featuring totem poles and bold text reading “Why You Should Go!” with “artsytraveler.com” at the bottom.

Regrettably, this world-class museum is not as well known as it deserves to be. Usually, when people talk about what tourists should see in Vancouver, they say the Capilano Suspension Bridge (crowded and way over-priced), the Vancouver Art Gallery (okay), and Stanley Park (a definite yes).

But a trip out to UBC to tour the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) is an absolute must. MOA houses an unparalleled collection of northwest coast Indigenous art and artifacts, along with exquisite exhibits of objects from cultures all over the world.

Overview

In this post, I share my recommendations for enjoying your visit to the UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, BC. I’ve also included practical information, such as hours, admission fees, and how to get there. Finally, check out what else you can see at the University of British Columbia and my suggested hotels in downtown Vancouver.

Where is the Museum of Anthropology (MOA)?

Designed by famed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, the Museum of Anthropology (also known as MOA) is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia at the very tip of Point Grey, a peninsula that juts into the Strait of Georgia west of Vancouver’s downtown core. See #1 on the map below.

After being closed for a few years for seismic upgrading, MOA is again welcoming visitors.

Here’s the view of mountains and ocean that greets you from the rose garden on a hill above the museum.

A view of the rose garden at the University of British Columbia and the view of mountains and ocean beyond. The roses planted in the garden are in bloom.

The map below shows the location of the Museum of Anthropology (#1) along with other worthwhile sites at the University of British Columbia and recommended hotels in Vancouver.

Trip map created with Wanderlog, a trip planner on iOS and Android

Arriving at MOA

After parking in the lot conveniently located just off NW Marine Drive and adjacent to the museum, you pass the MOA sign and a rock with a message in two languages reminding you that you are on the ancestral homeland of the Musqueam people.

Sign at the entrance to the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in BC
Rock at the entrance to the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in BC

I grew up close to this area and regrettably learned very little about the people who first lived here. In recent years, great strides are being made to redress the imbalances.

One such development is the increasing use of Indigenous names for landmarks that for 150 years were known by their “settler” names. 

Entering the Museum of Anthropology

Enter the spacious lobby and buy your ticket. If you have a backpack or bag, you’ll need to store it in the lockers provided (they even give you a quarter to open a locker!).

And now, get ready for some serious awesomeness! Your first stop? Walk down a shallow ramp past exhibits of local First Nations art and into the Great Hall.

On your way, read the many informative plaques to learn about the displays. Their purpose is to educate visitors about why each object or artifact is significant to the culture and heritage of the First Nations people.

A vibrant woven blanket with intricate geometric patterns hanging in a museum exhibit, next to a wooden carving. These are featured on the way into the Great Hall at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, Canada.

Here’s the description of the contemporary woven blanket displayed to your right as you walk down the ramp:

We dedicate this blanket to our mother Helen, our elders, and those who have gone before us. We look at this blanket as part of the tradition of education that was in place in our community for generations and is now being revived. Our ancestors speak through this weaving, through all of our weavings. In this way, they continue to share their knowledge with us.

The Great Hall

I’ve visited the Museum of Anthropology at UBC many times. But every time I walk into the Great Hall filled with one of the world’s most extensive collections of Indigenous art from the northwest coast, I feel an overwhelming sense of awe.

MOA does an excellent job of explaining the significance of each of the displays, with much of the information contributed by Indigenous artists who are carving totems and creating art today.

Stroll around this large space to get a feel for the awesomeness of the art and take time to read the explanatory plaques. 

Here are some of the many totem poles that west coast First Nations people carved from cedar. Tilt your head back and marvel at the intricacy and beauty of the poles soaring to the rafters in this incredible space.

Totem poles in the great hall at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in BC
Tall Indigenous totem poles displayed in the Great Hall at the Museum of Anthropology museum with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and natural light.

Sea-Lion House

It’s difficult to single out any one piece for more elaboration because every piece is accompanied by a fascinating story. The Sea-Lion House (Indigenous name Klix’Ken Gukwdzi) is particularly noteworthy.

According to the information provided, the First Nations community built the house in 1906 in defiance of the assimilation pressures imposed through the federal Indian Act.

A large Indigenous wood carving featuring a figure with painted facial details, supported by two figures holding a wooden beam.

This house was the last old-style dwelling erected in the village as a home for an extended family. It’s probably one of the last examples of traditional northwest coast architecture in the entire Pacific Northwest.

Colonialism and Indigenous People

The dramatic beauty of traditional northwest coast art on display at MOA is all the more remarkable considering that for decades, many of the cultural traditions of the First Nations people in British Columbia were banned.

Potlaches were outlawed, people were not permitted to wear their masks or dance or sing their traditional songs, and their languages were systematically wiped out.

In recent decades, the devastation wrought by these draconian laws is slowly being overcome. MOA’s curators and historians are doing an amazing job of putting together thoughtful and beautiful displays that celebrate the First Nations culture and do not shy away from painful truths about the colonial past.

Sculptures created by artists in the pacific Northwest on display at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver.

After marveling at the totems and other displays in the Great Hall, return to the entrance and head to the right to tour the Koerner Collection of European ceramics.

The feeling here is completely different but no less interesting. This extensive collection features ceramics displayed in a darkened room that every time I’ve visited has been virtually empty.

Cases of ceramics, mostly plates and dinnerware in the ceramics room at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver.

I enjoyed learning something about the history of ceramics and was fascinated by so many incredible examples of ceramic art, some dating back millennia.

These little guys are particularly adorable. They were made in the 18th century at the Holič factory in Hungary.

Brightly colored ceramic sculptures created in Hungary and on display in the ceramics room at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver.

Multiversity Galleries

From the ceramics exhibition head back through the main hall and explore the museum’s multiversity galleries. MOA pioneered the use of open storage displays to exhibit their massive collection of objects from around the world.

These message greets you at the entrance to the Multiversity Galleries:

Enter here to meet creative expressions from around the globe. The galleries are laid out like a map of the world, joined by oceans and rivers. Pull open the drawers. Look up more information at the computer stations. Experience how connecting objects and people can bring the collection to life.

Here’s a portion of the South Pacific collection.

One of the entrances into the galleries showing objects from Oceania at the Museum of Anthropology

Northwest Coast First Nations Art and Objects

Don’t miss the collection of Pacific Northwest objects and art created by the area’s First Nations people. It is by far the largest collection in the galleries and features impressive displays of sculptures, masks, baskets, hats, textiles, and much more—some historical, some contemporary.

This massive Raven mask has been passed down for generations and, like all the exhibits in the First Nations collection, holds both artistic and spiritual significance along with precious knowledge for the communities that used it in ceremonies.

Massive raven mask (about six feet long) on display at the Museum of Anthropology

World Cultures

MOA features an impressive collection of thousands of ethnographic objects and artifacts from around the world. You’ll see magnificent objects from the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania along with thoughtful and comprehensive descriptions.

Here are just a few examples of the breadth and astonishing variety of the collection the museum features.

Wall of masks from Mexico on display at the Museum of Anthropology
Collection of Indonesian dolls on display at the Museum of Anthropology
Samurai armor on display at the Museum of Anthropology

Take your time to really look at these incredible objects. You could easily spend hours. And don’t forget to open the drawers! You never know what you’ll discover.

Works by Bill Reid

Acclaimed Haida artist Bill Reid is renowned for his sculptures and jewelry, several breathtaking examples of which are displayed in the museum.

The centerpiece is Bill Reid’s sculpture called The Raven and the First Men.

The Raven and the First Men sculpture by Haida Artist Bill Reid

This stunning sculpture, made from a 4.5-ton cube of 106 laminated beams, took several years to complete. The museum acquired it in 1980.

Here is the legend of Raven and the First Humans as presented on MOA’s excellent website:

One day after the great flood Raven was walking along the beach at Rose spit in the Queen Charlotte Islands when he heard a sound emanating from a clamshell at his feet. He looked more closely and saw that the shell was full of small humans. He coaxed, cajoled and coerced them to come out and play in the wonderful new world. Some immediately scurried back into the shell, but eventually curiosity overcame caution, and they all clambered out. From these little dwellers came the original Haidas, the first humans.

Walk around the sculpture and be constantly enchanted by how it changes. This piece is a marvel.

Special Exhibitions

In addition to the three areas described in this post, MOA has areas devoted to special exhibitions. These vary throughout the year, so check the website to find out what’s on during your visit.

Tours of MOA

You can choose to take one of the free guided tours the museum offers with one of the new Cultural Interpreters. Learn about the collection from an Indigenous perspective and gain insight from Cultural Interpreters who have a personal connection to the belongings and treasures.

Tours last 45 to 60 minutes and are offered Tuesday to Thursday at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm, and Friday to Sunday at 1 pm and 3 pm.

Make sure to check the website to confirm the schedule.

Practical Information

The Museum of Anthropology is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm (Thursdays to 9 pm). It’s closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Museum admission currently costs $25 for adults, $22 for seniors (65+) and students, and $10 for youth. Children under 5, Indigenous people, UBC students, staff and faculty, and MOA members are admitted free. The website has the latest rates.

Museum Gift Shop

The museum’s small gift shop features with some pretty nice stuff, including plenty of examples of Indigenous art, jewelry and crafts, along with books and souvenirs.

Accessing the Museum of Anthropology from Downtown Vancouver

The Museum of Anthropology is located on the University of British Columbia campus, about 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver (#2 in the map at the beginning of this post). Here are some options for getting there from downtown Vancouver:

By Public Transit: Take the #4 UBC Bus from various downtown locations to the UBC Exchange or take the #99 B-Line bus to the UBC bus loop. From there, it’s about a ten-minute walk to MOA. Check the Translink website for routes, fares, and schedules.

From Vancouver International Airport (#3), take the Canada Line Skytrain to the Olympic Village station and then transfer to the #84 bus to UBC.

By Car: The museum is located at 6393 Northwest Marine Drive on the UBC campus. Ample parking is available at the museum, and parking fees are typically in line with campus parking rates.

Walking or Cycling: If you’re staying nearby, you can reach the museum on foot or by bicycle.

Other Attractions Near the Museum of Anthropology

If you have time to explore further, there are several other interesting attractions nearby.

Beaty Biodiversity Museum

Located a short walk from MOA, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum (#4) on the UBC campus is another excellent museum with exhibits showcasing the incredible biodiversity of our planet. Here are some pictures I took on a visit there.

A taxidermy big horn sheep with large curved horns against a dark background.
A museum display featuring colorful taxidermy birds, including a silver pheasant with iridescent feathers and an Elliot's pheasant on wooden stands.

You could spend hours browsing the extensive displays. With its wonderful collection of taxidermy animals, it’s a great place to take children.

UBC Botanical Garden

Another nearby gem is the UBC Botanical Garden (#5). Here, you can explore themed gardens, hiking trails, and a diverse collection of plant species from around the world. Established in 1916, the garden is Canada’s oldest university botanic garden.

I love going in the late spring and summer. Take your walking shoes; there’s a lot to see and it’s big!

Pacific Spirit Regional Park

For nature lovers, Pacific Spirit Regional Park (#6) offers extensive walking and hiking trails through lush forest, providing a peaceful retreat from the city. It’s a great spot for a post-museum stroll.

Nitobe Gardens

I adore Nitobe Gardens (#7) and pop in almost every time I visit the campus of the University of British Columbia. The gardens are a short walk from MOA so you can easily include it in your visit.

Considered one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan, Nitobe Gardens is just gorgeous no matter what time of year you visit. But the best times are in spring when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom and again in the fall when the maple leaves are bright red.

Here are two photos taken in late spring.

A tranquil pond in the Nitobe Gardens at UBC, a Japanese garden with an arched bridge surrounded by pink blossoms, green trees, and the reflection of the landscape in the water.
A view of the Nitobe Gardens at UBC in Vancouver showing a pond reflecting a blossoming cherry tree, rocks, and lush greenery in the background.

Where to Stay in Vancouver

Vancouver is a major tourist destination for Canada-bound travelers, and as such has plenty of excellent hotels. Your best bet is to stay in a hotel downtown, preferably one with a view of the magnificent North Shore mountains and the ocean.

Here are my three favorite hotels in Vancouver:

Granville Island Hotel

Located on Granville Island about a ten-minute bus ride from downtown Vancouver, the Granville Island Hotel is a great choice if you’re looking something a little bit different.

You can stroll around the Granville Island Market and other shops, take in a performance at nearby Bard on the Beach or the Arts Club Theatre, and listen to the seagulls as you drift off to sleep.

Pan Pacific Vancouver

Pan Pacific Vancouver is one of Vancouver’s most iconic hotels with gorgeous views of the cruise ships and freighters in Burrard Inlet with the North Shore mountains beyond.

This hotel is upscale, expensive, and right in the center of the action. It’s a great choice if you’re staying overnight in Vancouver before taking an Alaskan cruise.

The Westin Bayshore

I love The Westin Bayshore and often stay here if I’m taking a “town” break from my home on nearby Bowen Island.

The Bayshore’s location right next to Stanley Park is a huge selling point. Rent a bike and ride around the park, then return to the hotel and enjoy a drink overlooking Vancouver’s stunning harbor.

Vancouver Tours

GetYourGuide offers a variety of tours of Vancouver and the surrounding areas. If you have a full day to spare, then I recommend you head up to Whistler.

On this tour, you’ll ride the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish, explore Whistler Village (don’t miss the Audain Art Museum), and visit stunning Shannon Falls on the world-famous Sea-to-Sky Highway.

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After visiting MOA, you may feel inspired by the various Indigenous portrayals of the Orcas that swim in the local waters. Treat yourself to a whale watching experience.

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Conclusion

The Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver is a cultural and artistic treasure well worth a few hours of your time.

The sweeping views of mountains and sea you’ll enjoy on the journey out to the University of British Columbia are reason enough to visit, but you’ll also learn so much about the Indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest and get a chance to marvel at the the objects on display from around the world.

The ingenuity of people never ceases to amaze me, which is why I love museums like this.

Have you visited the Museum of Anthropology? What were your favorite exhibits? Share your recommendations and observations in the Comments below.

Here are some more posts about museums I’ve visited and heartily recommend:

View over Maligne Lake near Jasper in the Canadian Rockies

Out-of-this-World Scenery Sparks Joy on a Maligne Lake Cruise

Canada, Destinations, North America Artsy Traveler Leave a Comment on Out-of-this-World Scenery Sparks Joy on a Maligne Lake Cruise

Last updated on January 15th, 2025 at 06:13 pm

UPDATE: In August of 2024, Wildfires half-destroyed Jasper. The community is rebuilding and there are plans to resume tourism activities in the spring of 2025. In the meantime, please enjoy my account of my magical day at Maligne Lake near Jasper in the summer of 2023.

My heart goes out to the residents of Jasper and I wish them all the best as they rebuild their glorious community.

For my full day in Jasper after taking the two-day Rocky Mountaineer rail journey from Vancouver, I decide to take a all-day tour with Maligne Adventures to Maligne Lake that includes a stop at Maligne Canyon and a cruise on Maligne Lake.

We are blessed with a beyond-perfect day—a toasty 25C/78F degrees, clear blue skies, and spectacular views in every direction.

Pinterest graphic with the text "Maligne Lake Tour: A Must-Do in Jasper, AB over a view of spirit island on Malligne Lake in the Rocky Mountains.

The Tour Begins

A Maligne Adventures bus picks us up promptly at 9:30 am and we meet our friendly driver and guide Chloe, who is from the UK. She is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide who makes sure our tour matches the perfection of the weather. Here’s a link to the tour I took.

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Map of the Tour

Here’s a map of the area we visited, starting with the town of Jasper (1):

Map created with Wanderlog, for making itineraries on iOS and Android

In Search of Bear

After picking up about a dozen more travelers, Chloe tells us that her colleague leading another tour has just spotted a bear on a road that will require a slight detour.

She wheels the bus around and heads uphill towards Patricia Lake in search of the bear. Alas, we don’t find her (she was a mum with cubs), but no matter. Chloe informs us that bear sightings are less common in August. If we really want to see bears in Jasper, we need to come in the spring.

This is the only bear we see while in the Rockies–a stuffed one in the lobby of our hotel!

Large stuffed bear in a glass case in Jasper, Alberta

Learning About Local Wildlife

As she drives, Chloe provides a lively and informative commentary, mostly about the animals in the area. She reminds us that the animals are wild, including the huge, antlered elk often seen wandering the streets of downtown Jasper.

They are most definitely not tame. She tells us that one of her colleagues recently had to intervene to save a child’s life when he spied the child’s family trying to put the child onto the back of a fully grown male elk like he was some kind of Rocky Mountain pony ride.

Fortunately, he was able to stop them just in time to avoid what could have been a very nasty accident. Elk have extremely sharp hooves, not to mention deadly antlers.

I saw several elk on the trip, including these two–a male by the side of the road and a female in front of the Visitor Center in the middle of Jasper.

Large male elk with antlers near Jasper
Female elk grazing in front of the Jasper Visitor Center

I learn later that Parks Canada will levy fines up to $20,000 on people who get out of their cars and approach wildlife.

Good call!

To their credit, Parks Canada does its best to try and keep bears away from humans. All garbage cans are bear-proof (and also pretty people-proof as I discovered when trying to open one to throw something away).

Bear proof garbage can in Jasper
Bear-proof garbage can in Jasper

Bear Parts

After stopping to look at the elk by the side of the road, Chloe hands out two rubber bear claws made from the footprints of bears.

The mold on the left is the paw print of a grizzly bear (yikes!) and the one on the right is the paw print of a black bear.

Rubber molds of a grizzly bear paw and a black bear paw
Grizzly paw on the right; black bear paw on the left

Chloe tells us the rhyme to remember when it comes to surviving a bear attack:

Black fight back, brown get down, white good night.

In other words, if the bear is black, you can fight back by yelling, throwing rocks, and making yourself look big.

If the bear is brown (AKA a grizzly), lie on the ground face down (and presumably pray).

If you’re faced with a polar bear, you’re toast. Polar bears don’t mess around. Neither do grizzlies, but apparently a grizzly attack may just be survivable. A polar bear attack is not.

I’d just as soon not meet any bear, except maybe a baby panda.

If you get between a black bear and her cubs, you could still be in a for a nasty injury. I remember walking alone along a trail in Yellowstone National Park many years ago and feeling very, very nervous thanks to the many signs warning of bears (black & grizzly) in the area.

I did a lot of loud singing and, after about a mile, decided that whatever view awaited me at the end of the trail wasn’t worth dying for and so turned back.

Maligne Canyon

Our next stop is Maligne Canyon where we leave the bus to do the short circuit around a portion of the canyon. It is incredibly deep and sculpted–and has tragically been much damaged by the August 2024 fire.

Every time I lean over the edge to snap a picture, I worry that I might inadvertently let go of my phone. Chloe cheerfully informs us that if we drop our phones, we’re out of luck. She’ll not be going into the canyon to retrieve them!

Not that she could. The water surges through the narrow canyon, every year sculpting more of the rocky sides into abstract waves. In winter, the river freezes and travelers can take guided hikes along the icy bottom. That would be pretty cool!

View of Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park
View of Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park
View of Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park
Beautiful Maligne Canyon

In Search of Berries

Chloe tells us that a typical bear eats about ten pounds of berries every day when they are getting ready to hibernate. She looks for a berry to show us and manages to find only one rather shriveled one that the bear that had just gone through the area had left behind.

One of the people on the tour samples it and declares it very bitter.

We also learn about juniper berries and are each given one to sniff. I can’t place the odor until Chloe tells us that gin is made from juniper berries. They are certainly delightfully pungent.

Guide on the Maligne Adventures tour in jasper National Park
Our guide teaching us about berries and bears

Disappearing Lake

Back on the bus, we continue on our way to Maligne Lake along an in-and-out road that skirts tranquil Medicine Lake, also called the Disappearing Lake because a unique underground drainage system causes the water level of the lake to vary from season to season, so that sometimes the entire lake disappears.

Over the years, attempts have been made to plug the system to keep the water in, but to no avail.

The scenery encircling us is truly remarkable—endless peaks, steep hillsides, and an area that had been devastated by wildfire. The charred remains of the forest are another stark reminder of the power of fire.

Medicine Lake, also known as Disappearing Lake in Jasper National Park
Tranquil Medicine Lake AKA Disappearing Lake
Forest fire damage in Jasper National Park
Burned forest near Medicine Lake

Maligne Lake Cruise

We arrive at Maligne Lake where we have a few minutes to pick up a sandwich at the restaurant and then wait on the dock for our boat. We settle on to a warm bench and watch the lake.

The couple from New York that we ate breakfast with on the Rocky Mountaineer gets off one of the boats and waves as they pass.

The boats that ply Maligne Lake are quite small and low to the water, with bench seats fitting about 40 people (although I didn’t count!).

After a short delay, we board and meet our crew—Seb the boat driver, and Dec the guide, who keeps up an entertaining and informative commentary for most of the journey.

Getting on the boat for the Maligne Lake cruise
Boarding the boat for a cruise on Maligne Lake

The views as we cross Maligne Lake are spectacular in every direction—truly one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever been on. We set off at a sedate pace so that our wake doesn’t upset the many people sharing the lake in canoes, kayaks and even on paddle boards.

I don’t envy them. They are one slightly- too-high wake away from ending up in the lake and possible death from hypothermia if they don’t get out quickly enough.

It’s a glacial lake, which means it is very, very, very cold.

You can canoe across Maligne Lake to Spirit Island (our destination) in about four hours. That’s a lot of canoeing. I’m happy to enjoy the 30-minute boat ride.

Seb revs the engine once he’s out of range of the small craft and we set off for Spirit Island. I don’t know what to expect, having read nothing nor even looked at any pictures of the lake prior to our tour.

Julia tells me this is the tour to take and so here we are. I rather like that I have no idea what’s in store.

En Route to Spirit Island

Crossing Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park
Views are breathtaking in every direction on Maligne Lake

We round a bend in the lake to see tiny Spirit Island just ahead. It is actually an isthmus rather than an island, at least most of the time. If the lake water rises, the narrow strip of land connecting the island to the mainland is submerged.

Spirit Island is sacred land to the First Nations peoples who originally hunted and lived along these shores.

As a mark of respect, visitors are forbidden to step foot on the island. We will pull into shore close by for a fifteen-minute visit on the mainland overlooking the island and the view.

Dec tells us to keep our gaze fixed on Spirit Island and asks us to figure out why it is so special. I dutifully stare at the island—more of a small outcropping iced with narrow, Alpine trees than an actual island. I confess I can’t see what’s so special about it, although I dutifully shoot a short video.

The Hall of the Gods

Our guide tells us to shift our gaze from Spirit Island to behold the view from the island. OMG! Aptly named the Hall of the Gods, the mountains rising imperiously at the far end of the lake are beyond breathtaking.

Pictures can’t do justice to the view. This is a 3-D experience no flat photo can capture. Of course, that doesn’t stop every person on the boat from spending the next fifteen minutes on shore clicking away.

We certainly do! Here are just a few of the many pictures we snapped.

I feel like I’ve won the tourism lottery. This view will stay with me long after I leave the area. There is definitely something indefinably spiritual about it. No wonder the First Nations made the island overlooking it sacred.

Mountains ringing Maligne Lake in Jasper National park

On the way back across the lake, Dec shares more information about recent efforts by local First Nations people to reclaim their connection to the area.

After many decades of separation from land that the government controls as part of Jasper National Park, the descendants of the original inhabitants return every year to conduct ceremonies on Spirit Island and throughout the area.

Dec tells us that one of the hallmarks of their culture is to thank the natural forms we see around us every day–to say thank you to the mountains, the lake, the trees, and the bear, wolf, elk, and chipmunk.

Doing so celebrates our connection with nature, and reminds us that we are not separate from it.

Take the Cruise

The Maligne Lake cruise is a must-do during a trip to Jasper, but make sure you book it well in advance.

Several people on our tour had booked with Maligne Adventures after all seats on the boats (run by a different company) were already filled.

Instead of taking the cruise, they went on a 90-minute hike with Chloe to Moose Lake where they hoped to see moose. Unfortunately, they did not see moose, but the hike on the brilliantly sunny day was a hit.

View from the back of the boat as we leave Hall of the Gods to cross Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park

On the drive back to Jasper, Chloe continues to share her knowledge about the flora and fauna of the area. We pass an eagle’s nest and learn that eagles mate for life and return to the same nest year after year, repairing and adding to it to accommodate a new brood.

An eagle’s nest can weigh over 1000 pounds.

An Afternoon in Jasper

Chloe drops us off in downtown Jasper and we wander around in the heat for a few hours, checking out the shops (not terribly exciting, to be honest), taking the obligatory photos with Jasper Bear statues, and grabbing dinner.

We also see a female elk calmly munching the grass in front of the Visitors Center. She is not remotely bothered by the tourists snapping photos while keeping a respectful distance. Thankfully, we don’t see anyone trying to put their child on her back.

Carol Cram with Jasper Bear statue in Jasper, Alberta
Julia Simpson with Jasper Bear statue in Jasper, Alberta

Old-fashioned train locomotive in Jasper, Alberta
CN Locomotive from back in the day

By the time we walk the twenty minutes back to the Forest Park Hotel, we have just enough energy left for a quick dip in the pool and a soak in the hot tub.

Later in the evening, we wander out to see the sunset blow up the sky above the mountains surrounding Jasper.

Sunset over Forest Park Hotel in Jasper, Alberta
Sunset over the Forest Park Hotel in Jasper

Accommodations in Jasper

Our accommodation at the Forest Park Hotel in Jasper was stylish and comfortable. The spacious room included a balcony with a good view over the parking lot and the mountains.

Considering Jasper is ringed by mountains, it’s pretty hard not to get a view of mountains no matter where you stay.

The Forest Park Hotel is a good choice when staying in Jasper, particularly if you are driving. It is a fairly stiff twenty- minute walk from the main part of Jasper.

Sunset over Jasper
View from the balcony of our room at the Forest Park Hotel.

Here are other accommodation options in Jasper. Note that Jasper is an extremely popular destination in the Canadian Rockies, which means that hotels regularly sell out.

When Julia booked the Forest Park Hotel for us over six weeks before our trip, she got one of the last rooms. People who arrive in Jasper during the summer without booked accommodation are often obliged to drive many hours to find a place to stay.

Jasper is pretty remote! So definitely plan ahead! Oh – and be prepared for some serious sticker shock. Hotels in Jasper are not budget, even the budget ones!



Booking.com

More Jasper Sightseeing Options

Here are some more options for tours in the area.

Conclusion

Have you traveled to the Canadian Rockies? Share your experiences and recommendations with other Artsy Travelers in the Comments below.

Here are three posts to read next to help you plan a trip to Canada (my home country):

Engine of the Rocky Mountaineer train with a backdrop of mountains in Jasper Alberta

Experience Western Canada in Style on the Rocky Mountaineer

Canada, Destinations, North America Artsy Traveler 2 Comments on Experience Western Canada in Style on the Rocky Mountaineer

Last updated on January 15th, 2025 at 06:03 pm

Are you thinking of taking the famed Rocky Mountaineer train journey from Vancouver to Jasper in the Canadian Rockies? After being tragically suspended as a result of wildlifes in August 2024, the train is now back on track for 2025.

I highly recommend the journey–whether you’re a BC girl like me or you’re from halfway around the world.

Fantastic scenery, impeccable service, gourmet food–what’s not to love?

Promotional image of the Rocky Mountaineer train, emphasizing its luxurious double-deck structure with the text "Two Days from Vancouver to Jasper."

And from an Artsy Traveler perspective, there are plenty of opportunities to take beautiful pictures, learn about the history of British Columbia and the Rockies from the onboard attendants, and enjoy excellent food (an art form in itself!).

Why Rocky Mountaineer?

I’ve lived in British Columbia all my life and see mountains and trees out my window every day. Before embarking on the two-day Rocky Mountaineer adventure to Jasper, Alberta, I was worried that maybe I wouldn’t appreciate the scenery as much as, say, someone from Texas or Oklahoma or London or even Toronto?

For people from other parts of the world, the wild BC landscape is as much a novelty as the Yangtze River or African veldt would be for me.

As it turns out, this BC girl thoroughly enjoyed the journey from my backyard to the majestic Rocky Mountains.

This post provides a full account of the trip, from boarding in Vancouver, British Columbia, to disembarking in Jasper, Alberta.

Read on to find out if a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer is an experience that you too would enjoy.

Journey at a Glance

  • Get serenaded by a Scottish piper as you board the train at the start of your journey to Jasper
  • Enter the stunning Fraser Canyon and enjoy your first gourmet lunch
  • Overnight in Kamloops in BC’s hot, dry interior
  • Spot wildlife on the journey east to Jasper
  • Pass iconic Mount Robson and be surrounded by  majestic mountains
  • Arrive in Jasper

Choosing Your Rocky Mountaineer Journey

Rocky Mountaineer offers three routes featuring the awe-inspiring landscapes of British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains in Alberta:

  • First Passage to the West: Vancouver to Banff and Lake Louise via Kamloops
  • Journey Through the Clouds: Vancouver to Jasper via Kamloops
  • Rainforest to Gold Rush: Vancouver to Jasper via Whistler and Quesnel

I chose the Journey Through the Clouds–a two-day journey from Vancouver to Jasper. Day One takes me to Kamloops in the Interior region of British Columbia, and Day Two takes me the rest of the way to Jasper in Alberta.

Day One

Arrival at the Rocky Mountaineer Station in Vancouver

At 6:30 am, I’m in the Uber with my daughter and travel companion Julia Simpson and being whisked from her apartment in North Vancouver to the Rocky Mountaineer station in Vancouver for the start of our two-day adventure.

If you’re staying at a downtown hotel, chances are you’ll be picked up by a shuttle bus and delivered to the station.

Attendants welcome you with cheery efficiency into the cavernous Rocky Mountaineer station flooded with early-morning light.

Very soon, you’ll discover that cheery efficiency characterizes every moment of the service to come. Everyone who works on the train is cheery; I presume it’s a job requirement.

But it feels genuine. I sense that the people who work with guests at Rocky Mountaineer truly relish their jobs.

I enjoy my first coffee of the day at the station and look around at my fellow travelers. While I spy a few families, the majority of the passengers are couples hailing from Australia, Britain and the United States, at least judging from most of the accents I hear.

I know from going on several Alaskan cruises over the years that many travelers combine a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer with a cruise to Alaska and a few days’ stay in Vancouver. Although biased, considering it’s my home town, I have to say that Vancouver is worth at least a two-night stay. Click below to find things to do!

A Piper Pipes Passengers Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer

A piper in full Scots regalia takes up his position in front of the doors leading to the train and begins to play. I do love the sound of the pipes!

The cheery train manager who will accompany us to Jasper welcomes us and then asks us all to shout All Aboard. Moments later, we follow the other passengers out to the platform.

A bagpiper in traditional Scottish attire playing the bagpipes next to a Canadian flag, with an audience indoors at the Rocky Mountaineer terminal.
The skirl of the pipes welcomes us on board the Rocky Mountaineer

We walk a few yards down the tracks to our GoldLeaf car—a double-decker with the seating area in a domed car on the top level and the dining car below.

Two women smiling in front of the Rocky Mountaineer train, surrounded by other travelers and bright sunlight.
A side view of the Rocky Mountaineer train, painted in blue and gold, gleaming in the sunlight with clouds in the sky.
Boarding the Rocky Mountaineer in Vancouver

Two Levels of Service on the Rocky Mountaineer

The Rocky Mountaineer train offers two levels of service—SilverLeaf and GoldLeaf. The scenery is the same, as is the level of cheeriness from the onboard hosts, but the seats in GoldLeaf are more comfortable and the cars consist of two levels.

The dome car on the top level affords stunning views of the passing countryside and the dining room on the bottom level hosts two seatings for a gourmet breakfast and lunch each day. An onboard chef prepares all the food to order.

In SilverLeaf, the food is pre-prepared and reheated on board, and then delivered to people’s seats. The quality of the food is similar to first-class plane fare, which means it’s pretty darned good.

Also, the SilverLeaf cars are one level and, while equipped with large windows, are not as airy and high up as the dome cars in GoldLeaf.  Both are good choices, depending on your budget.

Onboard Seating in Rocky Mountaineer’s GoldLeaf Class

The sun streams through the fully-glassed-in dome car as we make our way to our assigned seats. There is ample leg room and all sorts of intriguing seat controls. I can choose three temperatures to warm my bottom, from mildly tingling to full-on torrid.

Considering the air conditioning is cranked a little too high, I’m grateful that at least my nether regions are toasty.

There are also controls for raising the leg rest, reclining the seat without affecting the people behind (a nice touch), and even a rather lovely lumbar support. On the seat back in front of me is a hook for hanging jackets and purses. Very thoughtful.

The interior of the Rocky Mountaineer train's GoldLeaf Service, featuring spacious, luxurious seats with a domed glass ceiling for panoramic views.
View from our seats in the dome car

The train starts so smoothly that it’s a few seconds before I realize we’re moving. For several minutes, we shunt backwards as the train gets into position on the correct track.

The train is very long, consisting of both the Vancouver-to-Jasper and Vancouver-to-Banff cars. In Kamloops, the Banff cars will be uncoupled to go on their merry way eastward, while we will begin the trek north and then east to Jasper.

First Breakfast

Our super-cheery onboard host Ryan welcomes us aboard and reads the safety information required by Transport Canada. He then invites half of the passengers in the car to head down to the dining car for breakfast.

We are in the first group; tomorrow, we will go second.

During the two eleven-hour travel days, you’ll be served both breakfast and lunch (which is more like a dinner) on board, along with plenty of snacks and unlimited drinks—wine, cocktails, liqueurs, soft drinks, the lot.

We are seated opposite a retired couple from New York. The woman used to run an art gallery and so we have plenty to chat about.

Breakfast is excellent. I opt for eggs scrambled with Boursin cheese and accompanied by bacon, potatoes, and greens with pomegranates. Delicious.

Heading Out of Vancouver

The train creeps along through rail yards that are as ugly here in my home town as they are anywhere in the world. What is it with trains and cities? The tracks are always flanked by the very worst urban blight, with liberal sprinklings of rust and filth.

Delightful.

We assure our breakfast companions that the scenery will improve.

And it does. By the time we return to our seats, the train is gliding alongside the Fraser River with the mountains beyond butted up against massive puffs of marshmallow clouds. The sun streaming through the clear glass dome above me warms the top of my head, the verdure stretching either side of the train is a rich emerald green, and all seems very right with the world.

It is remarkably pleasant, and I feel my shoulders soften and relax.

A scenic view of a lake framed by tall trees, with reflections of the forest and sky on the water's surface, under bright daylight.
A serene river surrounded by lush greenery and distant hills under a clear blue sky, viewed from a train.
Views of the Fraser River after leaving Vancouver

The Morning Progresses

Every so often, our two hosts in the dome car—Ryan and Asia—take turns delivering informative commentary about the areas we’re passing through.

I’m thrilled to discover that I can easily type on my laptop on the generously-sized tray table. My fears about the movement of the train being too jerky to allow me to do some writing while on the journey (I love to write when I travel!) are unfounded.

I can type to my heart’s content from here to Jasper without missing a beat.

A sleek laptop on a small table inside a train, accompanied by a glass of white wine and wireless earbuds, with scenic greenery visible through the window.
Writing on a laptop is as steady as on my desk at home

Over the next few hours, we penetrate deeper into the Coast mountains as we follow the Fraser River through the Fraser Valley and into the Fraser Canyon, one of the scenic highlights of the trip.

I’ve driven the Fraser Canyon a few times, but the only other time I took the train was in 1967 when I was returning from Montreal with my parents after visiting Expo 67. By some weird quirk of scheduling, the westbound train traversed all of British Columbia—the most scenic part of the country by a country mile—at night, arriving in Vancouver at dawn.

Into the Fraser Canyon

So this will be the first time I see the Fraser Canyon from a train. The hosts tell us that the town of Yale has an archeological dig with artifacts dating back to 9000 BC. Impressive.

About an hour after finishing breakfast, the bar opens and I order a Mimosa and sip it while gazing out at the mountains looming high either side of us.

The dome car is a huge plus of traveling in GoldLeaf. I feel like I’m floating through the landscape, looking up to see clouds and trees and mountaintops glide smoothly by.

A smiling woman holding a glass of mimosa while sitting in a luxurious train with curved glass windows offering views of green foliage outside.
Enjoying a Mimosa at my seat

Passing Hell’s Gate

The train passes by Hell’s Gate, and everyone crowds to the right side to peer down at the roiling waters. Ryan excitedly tells us about the history of the area and how Canadian explorer Simon Fraser called the area the Gates of Hell, hence the name.

The canyon narrows and the water pours through in unnavigable fury.

A turbulent river flowing through steep rocky cliffs with a red pedestrian bridge and concrete structures perched on the rocks at Hell’s Gate.
A dramatic gorge with rocky cliffs and a powerful river coursing through it, surrounded by dense greenery.
The Fraser River swirls through Hell’s Gate

Lunch is Served

Lunch is called for us, the first group, and down we troop. The appetizer is a long board of smoked ahi tuna and several plump prawns accompanied by pickled veggies, crisp crackers, and a delicate bruschetta.

For the entrée, we can choose from six options in addition to the special—chicken in Béarnaise sauce. Julia opts for that while I choose the cod loin, which is truly one of the best servings of cod loin I’ve ever tasted. A delicate sweet-citrus sauce dresses a generously thick hunk of cod perfectly cooked.

There’s a gentle rhythm to the pace of the train—not fast, not slow. It’s a steady pace that feels just right.

This is not a high-speed TGV or bullet train. This is a sedate, elegant train that gets us to where we’re going at a pace that encourages us to enjoy the ride.

Heading Into the Interior of British Columbia

We pass through Lytton–a small town tragically destroyed by fire in 2021. The charred trees bear witness to the devastation caused by wildfires every year in British Columbia.

We are lucky that wildfires haven’t affected this trip, but that is by no means always the case. In fact, 2023 is one of the worst years for wildfires in Canada, but not on the route we are currently traveling.

SIDEBAR: In 2024, half of Jasper was decimated by fire, halting the Rocky Mountaineer’s Jasper route for several months. If you’re planning a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer, a Spring or Fall journey may be your wisest option to avoid wildfires, although they can strike pretty much any time during the season.

When we are close enough to a town to get cell service, I read the heartbreaking headlines about the devastating wildfires in Maui.

Wildfires are increasing worldwide and they all too often win the battle against humans and human settlements. We see evidence of fires throughout the Rocky Mountaineer journey and when we spend the day in Jasper.

A view of a forest with charred, leafless trees in a stark, dry landscape, with mountains in the distance.
Near Lytton, BC, the landscape shows the devastation wrought by a wildfire in 2021

The countryside keeps changing the farther into the Interior we go—the monochrome browns and ochres and greys punctuated by burned trees like exclamation points. These searing landscape is cut through by the blue-green Thompson River that we will follow all the way to Kamloops.

A vibrant turquoise river with rushing rapids cutting through a rocky landscape, surrounded by dry hills and sparse trees.
View of the Thompson River from the train
A rugged landscape with steep, sandy hills and the Thompson River winding through the valley.
The landscape grows much drier as we enter the Interior

The mountains are rounder and more arid, the slashes of ochre and white more stark, the trees shrinking even more.

At 7 pm, we pull into Kamloops, our overnight stop. We’ve been on the train for 11 hours, which sounds like a long time but has flown by.

Arrival in Kamloops

The organization is impressive. Large buses pull up as we leave the train and everyone from our coach is loaded in and taken to the Coast Hotel. They’ve divided passengers into coaches based on where they are staying.

The Coast Hotel is situated high on the ridge above Kamloops in an area bristling with hotels, motels, and malls, and a plethora of chain restaurants, from McDonalds to Dairy Queen. To stretch our legs, we eschew the hotel restaurant and walk to a pub about five minutes’ away.

A scenic overlook from a hotel in Kamloops, showing trees and rolling hills in the distance, bathed in soft morning light.
View over Kamloops from the balcony of our room at the Coast Hotel

Snagging the last table outside where the atmosphere is quieter, we enjoy an okay meal. Service is swift and my steak sandwich, while overdone, is edible. Half an hour later we’re back out on the street.

The area is regrettably unlovely—just urban sprawl overlooking brown hills and the valley below. We walk as far as the Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone that I don’t need, then stroll back to the hotel and contemplate the pool.

I always like to enjoy as many hotel amenities as I can during a stay, but I’m tired and the pool is busy. We opt instead for a quiet hour back in the room before lights-out.

Day 2 of the Rocky Mountaineer Adventure

I’m up bright and early and step out onto our balcony to the smell of smoke from a wildfire that we find out later is about ten miles away. We have been instructed to be downstairs no later than 7:30 am to board the bus for the fifteen-minute trundle to the train station. An attendant with a clipboard makes sure we’re all accounted for and off we go.

The bus driver provides a commentary about Kamloops, a town of over 100,000 inhabitants. I remember when it wasn’t much more than an indent on the highway.

Over the past several years, Kamloops has grown considerably, thanks to affordable housing, a university, the headquarters of Interior Health, a few mines and a pulp mill, combining to make it an attractive option for people looking to escape the impossibly bleak real estate prospects on the coast.

Julia has two friends who have relocated to Kamloops in the past few years.

Heading out of Kamloops

The sun is again shining and within a surprisingly short amount of time, we’re away from the dry Kamloops landscape and chugging through a greener, treed landscape skirting the North Thompson River. The views are spectacular, with mirror-bright reflections and puffy clouds. I love being up so high.

A tranquil view of a river reflecting the surrounding grassy fields and low hills, under a bright blue sky.
Mirror-smooth river and clear skies outside Kamloops

We are on the second shift for breakfast today and so make do with two cups of excellent coffee and a piece of coffee cake drizzled with lemon syrup. It’s a tough go, but we manage.

The biggest decision of the morning will be what to choose for breakfast. The menu is the same on both days, and I’m torn. The pancakes with lemon? Or Eggs Benedict? Or…? How to choose? I opt for eggs Benedict–cooked to perfection and accompanied by fresh fruit and lots more coffee.

After breakfast, it’s back up the narrow winding staircase that leads from the dining level up to the dome level to spend another relaxing few hours during which I write a bit of this post, listen to an audiobook, work on my Novel-In-Progress, and of course, have a nap.

There is something so restful about nodding off with the smooth movement of the train. In fact, I’ve never been on a train with such smooth movement.

Wildlife Spotting

Our onboard hosts are anxious for us to spot wildlife, but unfortunately, it’s slim pickings on this trip. We spot some bald eagles hanging out at the tops of trees alongside the river and see a bear swimming upstream. Unfortunately, he is too far away for a photo op.

The only other wildlife excitement are a few clusters of bighorn sheep on a hillside.

Views grow less frequent as the trees close in. Every so often, I go back down to the dining car level where a large outdoor viewing platform offers a different perspective. The August air is warm and breezy.

A smiling woman standing on the outdoor deck of the Rocky Mountaineer train, surrounded by forested scenery.
Viewing the passing landscape from the viewing platform on the lower level of the GoldLeaf car

We Approach the Rocky Mountains

The landscape fills with taller trees and increasingly larger mountains until suddenly we burst into a wide valley with a vista of the Rocky Mountains spread before us.

Where before the mountains were tree covered to their summits, the tops of these mountains are bare and rocky. And these are just the foothills. The real Rockies are yet to come.

A serene landscape of rolling hills covered in trees, with distant mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

We go down for lunch, and I opt for the Sumac Ridge Sauvignon blanc from BC’s Okanagan Valley that I sampled yesterday. Clean, crisp, citrusy—exactly what a Sauvignon blanc should be.

For our entrée, we both choose the special—steak with broccoli and potatoes. It’s excellent.

We are now traveling into the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Although I’ve seen them before, I’m always surprised at just how big and rocky they are—very different from the blue and green mountains I see out my window at home on the coast.

The Rockies thrust unapologetically into the cloud-studded sky—we’re here, we’re proud, we’re Rockies, and all you people in that train snaking through the valley down below have paid a small fortune to come see us.

Welcome.

Pyramid Falls

The train slows to a crawl to allow us to take pictures of Pyramid Falls, reputedly taller than Niagara Falls. Extraordinary.

A picturesque waterfall cascading down a forested mountainside, with a clear stream flowing through the greenery.
Pyramid Falls is higher than Niagara Falls

We Pass Mount Robson

An hour later, we pass massive Mount Robson—the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia, and is part of the Rainbow Range.

The trees occasionally thin out enough to provide several photo ops. Apparently, clouds very often wreathe the summit, and this is the case when we pass. Even so, it’s an impressive wall of granite.

A majestic view of Mount Robson shrouded in clouds, with lush green forest and rolling hills in the foreground.
Mount Robson–the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies
The Rocky Mountains in the distance, highlighted by soft sunlight and surrounded by forested hills under a partially cloudy blue sky.
The views as we come into Jasper are spectacular

Coming Into Jasper

As we near Jasper and the end of our Rocky Mountaineer adventure, the mountains are coming thick and fast, along with the iconic deep blue lakes, the first being Moose Lake.

The chefs come upstairs and dole out fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. It’s a nice touch.

A close-up of a chocolate chip cookie resting on a white napkin atop a beige table surface.
Warm chocolate chip cookie to welcome us to Jasper

And so, after another full day on the train, we pull into Jasper, Alberta, where the clock has jumped forward an hour to Mountain Time.

Ryan reads out the coach numbers corresponding to our hotels. We are in the Forest Park Hotel, which Julia assures me is very comfortable (she’s right). We will be here for two nights.

Music to End our Journey on the Rocky Mountaineer

The sound system delivers a purely Canadian playlist—Gordon Lightfoot, Our Lady Peace, Celine Dion, k. d. lang and more—a fitting tribute to round out the trip. The only exception is John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High, played just as we pull into Jasper train station.

A rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah plays as we all rise to descend from the glorious glass-domed car we’ve called home for two days to the track level where we say farewell to our hosts.

Jasper Bear meets us at the station.

A person dressed in a black bear costume wearing a bright orange safety vest, greeting visitors at a train station.
A safety-conscious Jasper Bear welcomes us to Jasper

The sky is starting to dim just enough to indicate that sunset is approaching. Patches of sun splash across the peaks in the distance while forested ridges loom darkly. Clouds are tinged bright white and grey and yellow, preparing to turn crimson and gold with the sunset.

We hop on the bus for the five-minute drive to the Forest Park Hotel on the very edge of town. Our room is spacious and well-appointed.

A silhouette of a tall tree against a vibrant sunset sky with streaks of pink, orange, and purple hues.
Sunset view in Jasper

We decide to walk into Jasper for dinner at a pizza place. The sky stays light for several hours, and on our way back to the hotel, we spy a few elk munching grass.

For things to do in Jasper, click the link below.

Should You Go?

Is the Rocky Mountaineer trip “worth” it? That’s a good question. It’s an experience unmatched in my life, even though I’ve lived most of it within sight of mountains.

I’ve driven through this landscape several times, but the driving experience can’t compare to the relaxation of sitting in the dome car tootling along at a sedate 40 to 50 miles an hour—fast enough to feel like progress is being made, but slow enough to allow for effective picture-taking.

The service is excellent, with the onboard hosts going above and beyond to deliver a memorable experience. They balance commentary with silence, and deliver drinks and snacks at exactly the right rate, neither too frequently nor too seldom.

A Rocky Mountaineer train carriage with its signature blue and gold design, parked on a sunny day, showcasing a red carpet and Canadian and British Columbian flags.
The red carpet is rolled out in front of a GoldLeaf car on the Rocky Mountaineer

The journey is not for the budget-conscious. To be blunt, it’s expensive. Very expensive.

But if you’re looking for a unique way to spend two days crossing the vast reaches of British Columbia and you’re happy to shell out some big bucks, then I highly recommend the Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf experience.

Tours in Jasper

The next day, we explore Jasper and take a tour that includes a cruise on Maligne Lake. Read about my experience in my post Out-of-this-World Scenery Sparks Joy on a Maligne Lake Cruise.

Here’s a link to the tour we took, which I wholeheartedly recommend, although be warned that the 2024 wildfire took a toll on some of the landscapes that the tour traverses including beautiful Maligne Canyon.

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Staying in Vancouver

Here are some options for staying in Vancouver either before or after your Rocky Mountaineer adventure.

  • Located on Granville Island about a ten-minute bus ride from downtown Vancouver, the Granville Island Hotel is a great choice if you’re looking something a little bit different. You can stroll around the Granville Island Market and other shops, take in a performance at nearby Bard on the Beach or the Arts Club Theatre, and listen to the seagulls as you drift off to sleep.
  • Pan Pacific Vancouver is one of Vancouver’s most iconic hotels with gorgeous views of the cruise ships and freighters in Burrard Inlet with the North Shore mountains beyond. This hotel is upscale, expensive, and right in the center of the action. It’s a great choice if you’re staying overnight in Vancouver before taking an Alaskan cruise.
  • The Westin Bayshore is one of my favorite Vancouver hotels. I often stay here if I’m taking a “town” break from my home on nearby Bowen Island. The hotel’s location right next to Stanley Park puts you close to nature. Go for a long stroll, or rent a bike and ride around the park (about 7 kilometers).

Conclusion

Have you taken a journey on the Rocky Mountaineer? Share your comments and suggestions in the Comments below.


Carol Cram in front of the National Gallery of Canada

National Gallery of Canada: Best Bets for the Artsy Traveler

Arts & Culture, Canada, Destinations, Museums, North America Artsy Traveler Leave a Comment on National Gallery of Canada: Best Bets for the Artsy Traveler

Last updated on January 15th, 2025 at 06:02 pm

If you love art and you’re visiting Ottawa, than you don’t want to miss the iconic National Gallery of Canada.

It is truly a national treasure, and one of the reasons why I was very pleased when my niece moved to Ottawa a few years ago.

Now I have an excuse to visit Ottawa more often, which means I can spend more time at the National Gallery!

Photo of the glass and steel façade of the National Gallery of Canada with a sign that reads “National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa's Crown Jewel,” and the website "artsytraveler.com" at the bottom.

To help you enjoy this wonderful gallery, I’ve put together a list of my 20 favorite pieces. These are just the tip of the iceberg, chosen from room after glorious room of masterpieces in the Canadian collection.

When you go, you’ll find many more pieces to marvel at.

Overview

The National Gallery of Canada is an excellent museum both inside and out.

Outside, the striking glass structure built in 1988 echoes the shape of the library on Parliament Hill that it overlooks.

Inside is a comprehensive collection of the best of the best of Canadian painting, particularly the Group of Seven and some notable moderns.

I visited the National Gallery of Canada with my daughter on a brilliant blue-sky day in early February after checking out Winterlude, eating my very first sugar shack maple-syrup lollilop (so delicious), and strolling past Parliament Hill (rated the #1 attraction in Ottawa on Trip Advisor!)

Two women smiling in front of the Canadian Parliament buildings in Ottawa, with snow covering the ground and cranes in the background.
On Parliament Hill in Ottawa on a crystal-cold February day

Location of the National Gallery of Canada

The National Gallery is a short walk from Parliament Hill along the Rideau Canal and quite close to the Byward Market.

The map below shows the location of the gallery along with a few landmarks such as the Parliament Buildings, the Rideau Centre, and the Ottawa Art Gallery (also worth a visit).

Map courtesy of Wanderlog, the best trip planner app on iOS and Android

Meet Maman

On your way into the gallery, you can’t help noticing the massive sculpture by Louise Bourgeois. Called Maman and created in 1999, the giant egg-carrying arachnid cast in bronze was inspired by Bourgeois’s own mom.

If you don’t much like spiders, you might want to walk quickly past Maman, but if you’re not too bothered, linger a while and take some striking pictures!

Woman in winter clothing standing in front of a large black spider sculpture outside the National Gallery of Canada, with snowy ground and the Notre-Dame Basilica in the background.
Carol & Maman

Touring the Canadian Collection

On my most recent visit to the National Gallery of Canada, I entered the main Canadian collection from the moderns and traversed backwards to the colonial and pre-colonial eras.

Usually, I start old and end new, but I found going backwards was a refreshing way to get a different perspective on the collection.

In addition to the large collection of Canadian art on the main floor, the National Gallery also includes a comprehensive collection of European and American art, and a large area devoted to contemporary work (most of which was kind of missable, to be honest).

Because I’m limiting this post to just 20 of my faves, I’m focusing only on the Canadian collection.

Ready? Let’s start with the moderns.

Modern art–as opposed to contemporary art–includes works from the mid 20th century until about the 1970s.

I’ve limited myself to five faves, presented in the order in which I came across them and listed by artist name rather than the name of the work.

Norval Morrisseau (called Copper Thunderhead)

Norval Morrisseau is credited with creating a completely new art movement inspired by non-European aesthetic conventions and iconography.

His work is a visual translation of an Anishnaabe worldview that is based on oral tradition, individual experience, and heritage.

I don’t think anyone could look at a painting by Morrisseau and not be enchanted. The vibrant colors and intriguing shapes, along with his original depictions of animals and people, are irresistible.

His work is immediately recognizable and so compelling. This painting was the first I gravitated to when I entered the room.

Vibrant painting by Norval Morrisseau with bold, colorful figures, birds, and an abstract eagle, rendered in Indigenous Woodland art style.
Norval Morrisseau (called Copper Thunderhead), Artist and Shaman between Two Worlds (1980)

Alex Colville

Alex Colville’s hyper-realistic paintings depict everyday life in the Maritimes. This piece is one of my favorites (and probably Colville’s most famous) because it beautifully captures the feel of a sunny, breezy day in summer.

Also, what is the woman looking at? Prince Edward Island? Another boat? Us? It’s enigmatic and yet relatable.

The painting depicts Colville in the background and his wife Rhoda in the foreground holding the binoculars.

Realistic painting by Alex Colville of a woman with binoculars looking toward the viewer, seated on a boat with a large white funnel and blue sky in the background.
Alex Colville, To Prince Edward Island (1965)

Art McKay

I was unfamiliar with Art McKay, although my husband, painter Gregg Simpson, has since told me that he met him back in the 1970s.

I included his work simply because I really liked it. It reminds me of a Pollock but with more fluid movement. Apparently, McKay was inspired to pursue abstraction after meeting the American abstract painter Barnett Newman in 1959.

In this painting, the limited palette (black, white, blue) produces a compellingly energetic work that drew me in. I wanted to sit with it for a while, to feel the paint swirling around me like clouds seen from outer space.

Abstract painting by Art McKay with a splatter design featuring textured black and white patches on a deep blue background.
Art McKay, Flat Blue, Flat White, Stove Enamel (1960)

Jean Paul Riopelle

The National Gallery of Canada includes several paintings by Jean Paul Riopelle in its collection, which is good news for me because I’m a big fan of his work.

This massive triptych is so fabulously joyous. Riopelle used a palette knife to apply paint directly to the surface using free and “automatic” gestures. He is known as the most ambitious artist in the Automatistes movement.

The title of the piece, “Pavane”, refers to the 16th century Spanish dance that is characterized by a stately and processional rhythm. And this painting fairly pulsates with rhythm.

I couldn’t do the piece justice with a single photograph and so took this video.

Jean Paul Riopelle, Pavane (1954)

Kathleen Munn

I had never heard of Kathleen Munn (1887-1974) whom I discovered was one of the leading modernist painters in Toronto in the 1920s.

I’m happy to see that the National Gallery is including more women in its collection. This appealing piece reminds me of a Franz Marc with its colorful shapes and abstracted landscape elements.

Painting with colorful, overlapping geometric shapes and lines in vivid hues of yellow, red, and blue, creating a dynamic composition.
Kathleen Munn, Untitled (1926-28)

Group of Seven & Friends at the National Gallery

The Group of Seven are justifiably famous for creating paintings that showed the Canadian landscape to the world back in the early 20th century.

Also known as the Algonquin School, the Group of Seven includes Frank Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Fred Varley. Other artists associated with the group are A. J. Casson, Tom Thomson, and Emily Carr.

The National Gallery devotes several rooms to showcasing the work of these artists. I’ve selected my favorites in no particular order, except that I start with my fave, Lawren Harris.

Lawren Harris

Lawren Harris is hands-down my most beloved Group of Seven artist. I particularly appreciate his later work when he moved away from landscape and toward a spiritually-inspired form of abstraction.

The painting below is an example of his later work when he was focusing on producing abstract art using geometric compositions with layered planes.

Geometric abstract painting with angular shapes in shades of blue, yellow, and red, depicting a stylized modern design.
Lawren Harris, Abstraction (1939)

This piece is one of Harris’s most famous. It depicts the north shore of Lake Superior and was painted in 1926 when Harris traveled to the region with fellow Group of Seven artist A. Y. Jackson.

Painting of a tall, jagged rock formation with beams of light streaming through clouds and a serene body of water in the background.
Lawren Harris, North Shore, Lake Superior (1926)

Call me a tourist (an artsy tourist), but I couldn’t resist taking a selfie in front of this most iconic of paintings.

Selfie of a woman wearing a red jacket in front of a Lawren Harris painting depicting a surreal, towering formation under a dramatic sky, displayed in a gallery.
Geeking out at the National Gallery of Canada

J. E. H. MacDonald

Apparently, this painting by J. E. H. MacDonald was panned by the critics when it was first exhibited in the 1920s. One critic even compared the painting to a huge tomato salad. That seems a bit harsh!

I was immediately drawn to this painting because of its exuberant depiction of fecundity. Some of the plants are decaying, some are blooming, and all are jumbled together in a glorious mess of in-your-face nature. It’s awesome!

A lush garden scene filled with colorful flowers, drooping sunflowers, and rich foliage, painted with expressive, textured brushwork.
J. E. H. MacDonald, The Tangled Garden (1916)

A. Y. Jackson

How much more Canadian can this get–red maple leaves in front of a rushing river. The painting is even called “The Red Maple” and is based on a sketch from nature produced along the Oxtongue River in Algonquin Park.

A landscape painting of a river with rapids flowing through a rocky scene, with bright red foliage in the foreground.
A. Y. Jackson, The Red Maple (1914)

Arthur Lismer

Is this iconically Ontario or what? To me, this depiction of Georgian Bay in a storm really captures the swirling clouds and choppy waves of the Great Lakes region. It really couldn’t be anywhere else in Canada!

A painting of a stormy sea with a twisted pine tree in the foreground, dramatic waves, and dark clouds in the sky.
Arthur Lismer, A September Gale, Georgian Bay (1921)

F. H. Varley

Same with this piece, which also depicts a storm on Georgian Bay. The Group of Seven artists are credited with being quintessentially Canadian, but really, they are at heart Ontarians.

As someone born and bred in British Columbia, I don’t particularly resonate with the Ontario landscape. However, I can appreciate it and also how its depiction by the Group of Seven artists showcased a corner of Canada’s vast landscape to the world.

A windswept coastal scene featuring a lone, twisted pine tree on a rocky outcrop, with turbulent water below and a moody sky.
F. H. Varley, Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay (1921)

Franklin Carmichael

Carmichael is my second favorite Group of Seven artist after Lawren Harris; I even have a print of one of his paintings in my office.

See how he smashes together landscape elements to produce a visual earthquake for the viewer. You can feel the seismic energy of the rain, the snow, and the wind in his paintings.

A painting of rolling hills and dramatic storm clouds with rays of sunlight breaking through, depicting a rugged, rural Canadian landscape.
Franklin Carmichael, Snow Clouds (1938)

Tom Thomson

Although he was not formally considered a member of the Group of Seven, the paintings by Tom Thomson are pretty much synonymous with most people’s idea of Group of Seven landscapes.

The National Gallery includes a large display of several dozen of Thomson’s small canvases. This video gives a good idea of the variety and quality of these exquisite gems.

Small paintings by Tom Thomson

Emily Carr

The other most famous artist who was not part of the Group of Seven, but definitely associated with them, is BC’s own Emily Carr. The National Gallery includes several of her pieces.

Most depict the brooding West Coast rainforest–a landscape I definitely resonate with since it’s the one I see outside my window as I write this!

A massive cedar tree is directly in my line of sight. It doesn’t take much imagination to see it as Carr did–a swirling, living mass of green energy thrusting skyward. Here are two of her pieces that I particularly liked.

A forest landscape painting with towering trees and swirling, textured brushstrokes, capturing the dense wilderness.
Emily Carr, Something Unnamed (1937)
A painting of totem poles standing in front of a dramatic landscape of mountains and water, painted in Carr’s signature post-impressionist style.
Emily Carr, Totems (1930)

Indigenous Art

The National Gallery does a good job of including several fabulous pieces of indigenous art in the collection of paintings by artists of mostly European descent.

Here are two pieces I admired.

A vibrant Indigenous mask adorned with bold red, blue, black, and white designs, featuring feathers and carved wings extending outward.
Marven G. Tallio, Raven Sun Transformation Mask (1966)
A traditional Indigenous wooden mask with intricate carvings of geometric and swirling patterns, displayed against a white background.
John Marston (QAP’U’LUQ), Spirit of the Forest – Mother Nature (2013)

Other Notable Pieces

While the stars of the show at the National Gallery are the paintings by the Group of Seven and the pieces of indigenous art, I saw some new-to-me pieces worth mentioning.

Here is yet another depiction of Lake Superior (there are many of them in the National Gallery!), which I liked because of the way in which the houses are all jumbled together in front of a massive landscape and because it’s painted by a woman artist I’d never heard of, Yvonne McKague Housser.

She painted this piece just a few years after Lawren Harris made the Lake Superior region famous.

A painting depicting a coastal scene with a small village nestled among rolling hills and a large, dark mountain in the background. The sky is filled with streaks of clouds and beams of light filtering through.
Yvonne McKague Housser, Rossport, Lake Superior (1929)

This piece from the 19th century of loggers clear-cutting the area where I now live resonated because of the interesting way in which the artist depicted the figures next to the logs.

The painting catches one moment during the workday. No one is posing; no one cares about posing. They are just getting on with a brutal day’s labor.

A historical painting of men in the process of logging, featuring several workers in hats and suspenders lifting and rolling large logs onto a cart, surrounded by fallen trees and horses in a dusty clearing.
George A. Reid, Logging (1888)

Yes, I’m a sucker for a good still life, and I particularly liked this piece by Quebec artist Joseph Légaré. Apparently, it’s the first still life executed in Canada, although I’m not sure how anyone can be 100% sure of that!

Anyway, it’s a nice painting.

A painting depicting a still life of red and white grape clusters, vines, and autumn leaves draped against a tree, with a scenic backdrop of distant hills and a golden sunset sky.
Joseph Légaré, Still-life with Grapes (1826)

And Finally – A Shout-Out to the Gift Shop

I love a good museum gift shop and the one at the National Gallery of Canada is right up there in my top ten all-time favorite museum gift shops.

There’s a wonderful selection of quality gift items, many with indigenous designs and the assurance that the money actually goes to the artists. Hopefully, that is true because in my last two trips to the National Gallery (February 2023 and December 2021), I purchased several indigenously-designed items there.

Definitely check it out after you’ve toured the National Gallery. I dare you to leave without buying something!

Practical Information

The National Gallery of Canada is located at 380 Sussex Drive in Ottawa (see #1 on the map at the beginning of this post). It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm (8 pm on Thursday), and closed on Monday. Adults cost $20; seniors $18; and 24 and under & students $10. Children under 11 are free.

Tours & Tickets in Ottawa

Here are some guided bus tours of Ottawa and options for tickets to some of Ottawa’s major museums with Tiqets.com to check out:

Looking for a good walking tour? I recommend GuruWalks. Here are the walks available in Ottawa:

Where to Stay in Ottawa

You’ll find lots of business-style hotels in downtown Ottawa in addition to the iconic Chateau Laurier. Here are a few suggestions for upscale choices within walking distance of the National Gallery of Canada the the Parliament Buildings.

  • Le Germain Hotel Ottawa: Close to Byward Market and a 2-minute walk from the Rideau Centre. Rooms are stylish and comfortable.
  • Lord Elgin Hotel: This is an oldie (I first stayed there in 1967 when I was very young!) and it’s certainly venerable and historic. A good choice if you want to be in the center of downtown Ottawa just steps from the Parliament Buildings.
  • Fairmount Chateau Laurier: If you’re feeling really flush and want to stay in one of Canada’s most iconic hotels, then treat yourself to the Chateau Laurier. You only live once!

Conclusion

The National Gallery of Canada’s permanent collection is stunning and extremely safe–some would say conservative. The focus is on the crowd-pleasing paintings by the Group of Seven (and hey, I was pleased), but there are very few paintings by more recent Canadian artists.

Still, it’s a great collection and worth a few hours of your time when visiting Ottawa, a city with its fair share of excellent museums.

Have you visited the National Gallery of Canada? What are some of your favorites? Share in the comments below.

Other Posts About Great Art Museums

Food as Art: FireWorks Feast at the Inn at Bay Fortune

Activities, Arts & Culture, Canada, Destinations, North America Artsy Traveler 1 Comment on Food as Art: FireWorks Feast at the Inn at Bay Fortune

Last updated on January 15th, 2025 at 06:06 pm

Looking for a unique experience on Prince Edward Island?

If so, then the FireWorks Feast at the Inn at Bay Fortune is an Experience with a capital E.

Treat yourself to a stay at the five-star Inn at Bay Fortune and an evening enjoying the FireWorks Feast. Billed as an “immersive farm-to-table dining experience”, the FireWorks Feast is the brainchild of Chef Michael Smith.

As a long-time fan of cooking shows, I was familiar with Chef Michael, one of Canada’s best-known chefs. He and his wife purchased the Inn at Bay Fortune a few years ago and have transformed it into a truly memorable destination.

A vibrant collage of gourmet dishes, including colorful salads, expertly plated entrees, and desserts, with the title "Food as Art: FireWorks Feast at the Inn at Bay Fortune" overlaid.

In this post, I describe my experience staying at the Inn at Bay Fortune and enjoying the FireWorks Feast. If you are traveling to Prince Edward Island during the summer months, get a reservation. Yes, it’s pricey, but I guarantee you won’t regret it!

Is Food Art?

When food is presented like it is at the Inn at Bay Fortune’s FireWorks Feast, I’d say yes. Very much so.

A rustic wooden inn with weathered shingles, a chimney, and a deck featuring colorful Adirondack chairs and a mural of a whale.
The Inn at Bay Fortune in Prince Edward Island, Canada

Farm Tour at the FireWorks Feast

We arrive at the Inn at 4 pm just in time to grab a drink and head out across the massive lawn overlooking Bay Fortune on the southeast coast of Prince Edward Island to join our fellow FireWorks Feasters for the first leg of the FireWorks Feast Experience.

A person wearing a vibrant blue floral dress and colorful sunglasses, holding a glass of lemonade and a wine glass, standing near Adirondack chairs with a waterfront in the background.
My daughter, Julia, holds her drink and mine in preparation for the Farm Tour portion of the FireWorks Feast

The Inn’s resident farmer, Kevin Petrie, stands in the middle of a circle of vibrantly painted Muskoka chairs (also known by my U.S. readers as Adirondack chairs) and holds forth about the Inn’s remarkable herb garden.

Wooden raised herb beds in a lush green field overlooking a serene waterfront on a sunny day.
Raised beds containing herbs on the front lawn of the Inn at Bay Fortune on Prince Edward Island, Canada

Kevin’s talk is the start of an hour-long farm tour that will take us from the front lawn to the extensive farm behind the Inn that features greenhouses, nursery beds, a mushroom patch, apple orchards, and even a Pots & Pans Trail.

A cluster of old metal pans hanging from the trunk of a tree in a wooded area.
Pots and pans hanging on a tree along the Pots & Pans Trail at the Inn at Bay Fortune on Prince Edward Island

Kevin is a font of information about growing organic food. I learn that the cilantro plant yields at least eight edible parts, including roots, leaves, and flowers that each have a different taste and texture. The seeds are called coriander – a tidbit of knowledge I’d vaguely known and have now confirmed.

I also sample a chunk of the crispest, sweetest cucumber I’ve ever tasted—almost crisp and sweet enough to turn me from a cucumber tolerator to a cucumber enthusiast.

A guide standing in front of a large transparent greenhouse, addressing a small group on a sunny day.
Farmer Petrie stands in front of one of several greenhouses on the farm at the Inn at Bay Fortune

I learn that the soil on the farm is like a chocolate layer cake – aerated and full of goodness, spongy, dark, delicious – and a wellspring of nutrition for the plants.

We tour an experimental area called the nursery to view dozens of varieties of tomatoes, some of which are almost black The purpose of the nursery is to discover which tomato varieties work best in the climate and the terroir.

Ah, the terroir – the earth from which the plants spring. Terroir garners tremendous respect, veneration even. The terroir creates the food we put into our bodies to nourish ourselves.

Oyster Hour at the FireWorks Feast

We walk from the farm back toward the Inn to find a tall man with grizzled grey hair tied in a tight ponytail. It’s Chef Michael himself standing with shovel in hand in front of a large, smoky fire on which oysters will soon be roasting.

A group of people gathered near a red tent, with a chef preparing food in a fire pit in an open grassy area surrounded by trees.
Chef Michael Smith greets guests in front of roasting oysters at the Inn at Bay Fortune

An engaging speaker, Chef Michael exudes an infectious enthusiasm and passion for food, for sustainability, and for terroir. He tells us that the oysters we’re about to slurp were harvested in Bay Fortune that very afternoon. No more than a few hours separate their plucking from the sea to Chef Michael’s shucking knife.

We’ve reached the Oyster Hour portion of the evening that is devoted to sampling a variety of appetizers, including as many oysters as we can slurp. First up are oysters dotted with butter and nestled into the coals of the open fire. I select one and suck it back—tasting the sea, of course, but also a warm, smoky, buttery flavor.

A rustic wooden bench displaying a row of prepared oysters next to a vintage-style brass cooking pot.
Oysters quickly roasted over an open fire are ready for savoring

Raw oysters are offered next, shucked right in front of us by Chef Michael and then dotted with dollops of fresh-chopped tomatoes from the farm. My daughter Julia is not a seafood lover (where did I go wrong?), but she gamely agrees to try her first raw oyster. Chef Michael instructs her—slurp, chew, swallow.

Julia holds the oyster to her lips, closes her eyes and tilts her head back.

And then, in full view of Chef Michael Smith, she spits the oyster back into the shell. Oops! But he is good-humored about it and commends her for at least trying.

Julia has better luck with some of the other appetizers. She enjoys slices of smoked salmon, delicate pink and so fresh as to be practically swimming, served atop a crisp, salty cracker, along lobster mushrooms on a taco with Sriracha  – heat exploding across chewy smoothness.

A smiling individual holding a small snack in front of a red and white striped lighthouse backdrop.
Julia has better luck with the salmon appetizer

Pre-Feast Toast

After an hour of sampling appetizers, we gather in front of the flagpole on the lawn overlooking Bay Fortune. Chef Michael directs our attention to the large Canadian flag snapping in the wind at half-mast. He alludes to why, but doesn’t explain, evidently trusting that the gathered company already knows. I wonder if they do and hope so. For readers who may not know, most Canadians have flown the flag at half-mast throughout the summer of 2021 in memory of the thousands of indigenous children across Canada who never returned from residential schools.

Chef Michael then proposes a toast with a sparkling, bubbling Prince Edward Island “champagne” (Benjamin Bridge Bubbles). The assembled guests (about 75 people) raise their glasses and then troop gratefully into the airy dining room to enjoy six more courses of the FireWorks Feast. Julia had thought we’d eat to the accompaniment of real fireworks, but no. FireWorks refers, literally, to fire and works, meaning that most of the food we consume has been cooked over fires fed with local wood.

The FireWorks Feast Begins

We are seated at the window – a perfect spot from which we survey the wide expanse of lawn leading to the sparkling waters of Bay Fortune. As the evening progresses, golden light floods across the grass, turning it into a shimmering expanse of brilliant, molten green. Slowly, the sky turns soft pink, then mauve, then indigo as night descends over peaceful Prince Edward Island. A bonfire flares, its bright orange flames a promise of life in the darkness.

A card from the Inn at Bay Fortune titled "Farm, Fires & Feast" featuring a scenic illustration with a blazing fire in the foreground.
Farm, Fires, & Feast booklet at our place setting

Special FireWorks Feast Bread

First up is the bread tree – a metal “tree” in which nestles a small loaf of warm, fresh-baked sourdough bread described as made from 100-year-old naturally fermented heritage flour and baked in a wood oven. It is brown, dense, and sinfully delicious.

A trio of spreads invites extensive investigation. My favorite is the maple brown butter – sweet and creamy, but also light—frothy even. Pork pâté made from a happy pig (that’s what the server said!) is subtly flavored; again, the texture is silky smooth. Finally, I savor a lighter-than-air cheese pâté, the flavors so delicate as to be almost undistinguished.

A rustic loaf of bread displayed on a wrought iron tree-like stand, accompanied by assorted flavored butters in ceramic dishes.
Our bread tree with a trio of spreads

Although I’m already almost full from the oysters and other scrumptious appies from the Oyster Hour, I nevertheless chow down on two hunks of fresh bread and far too many slatherings of spreads. I know this is a mistake – the bread is only course two of seven. Seven! Already, I need a rest.

A cool white wine from Nova Scotia provides the perfect accompaniment – not too strong, a blend that truly complements the food rather than overpowers it. There is the option to have four pours of four different wines for $75. I am tempted, but decide that even my indulgence quotient has limits.

Soup Swimming with Seafood

Course three is seafood chowder for me and a chicken broth with veggies for Julia. My chowder overflows with plump and sweet scallops and clams, bright orange mussels, dense clumps of crabmeat and lobster, along with haddock, salt cod, beach wort (whatever that is), dulse (seaweed?) and potatoes, all swimming in a delicate creamy broth. The flavors do not overpower. They blend and dance across the palate, inviting slow savoring.

This is not the place to gobble your food.

A jar of creamy seafood chowder topped with fresh greens, served alongside a lobster claw and decorative seaweed.
Delectable seafood chowder

Both of us eat only half our soups, prompting the lovely young server to ask if we liked it. I hastily reassure her that the chowder is spectacular but that I need to leave room. I’d taken Chef Michael’s exhortation to eat as many oysters as we wanted far too seriously and, not wanting to let down the side for western Canada, had eaten three or four too many.

The Best Salad in the World at the FireWorks Feast

The next course is my favorite – all vegetables, and OMG what vegetables! I watch Chef Michael at the open-plan chef station dump fresh greens plucked mere hours earlier from the farm into a massive bowl. Surrounded by an impressive number of earnest-looking and mostly young chefs-in-training, Chef Michael tosses the greens with his hands. The hefty price tag for this foodie experience is feeling increasingly reasonable considering the value we’re getting.

The chefs portion the salad of herbs, shoots, stalks, stems, leaves, buds, fruits, and a plethora of brilliantly colored edible flowers into a bowl for every two people. We also receive an individual plate smeared with root vegetable purées – ash-baked beets, smoked parsnips, and roasted carrots, along with lentil sprouts and something called seedy soil that turns out to be a pleasantly crunchy, sweet and salty garnish I could have eaten all night.

An artistic arrangement of pickled vegetables, colorful purees, sprouts, and crushed nuts on a terracotta plate.
Trio of vegetable purées with lentil sprouts and seedy soil

We are instructed to place a few tongfuls of the greens (studded with popcorn – seriously!) over the plate of pureed vegetables to experience the different textures and tastes.

The parsnip cream is to die for, and I don’t even like parsnips. Even the beets go down a treat – the rich red color alone worth the price of admission. I want to eat every scrap of the greens, but my tummy is starting to groan. How am I going to manage the main course?

But back to the greens – crisp, tart, sweet, earthy, fresh – I feel like I’m eating a garden, which I suppose I am. My favorites are the flowers – startling orange nasturtiums and soft violet pansies that are peppery and sweet and crunchy. I’ve only just discovered the glories of eating flowers and am now a firm convert. Every so often, a leaf from one of the farm’s 26 herb beds—mint, basil, and many more tastes I don’t recognize—glides across my palate like an Olympic speed skater.

A colorful salad featuring edible flowers, mixed greens, tomatoes, and popcorn pieces, creating a visually stunning dish.
Green salad studded with colorful flowers and popcorn at the FireWorks Feast

I reluctantly leave a fair amount of greens in the salad bowl, having practically licked the plate clean of its purée smears, and await the main course. Chef Michael and his crew are hard at work plating the two choices—brisket or halibut. I made the difficult choice when we arrived earlier but was torn. I adore halibut and almost never get it, but brisket! And I figure brisket smoked and prepared by a world-class chef had to be, well, world-class.

A chef in an apron and cap plating dishes in a rustic kitchen setting, focusing on precision and presentation.
Chef Michael plates the main course

Main Course – FireWorks Beautiful Brisket

The main course arrives, the slabs of brisket and flatiron steak artfully (well, duh) arranged over an intriguing assortment of roasted root vegetables. But alas, my stomach rebels. I can manage only a few nibbles of wonderfully flavored kale and some brisket before having to give up. Would it be completely low-brow to ask for a doggy bag in a place like this? I envision enjoying a slab of the brisket (melt-in-your-mouth, for sure) later that evening. It would taste sooooo good then, whereas now – nope. I am far too full to appreciate it.

Sliced medium-rare beef garnished with microgreens, served over kale and roasted vegetables, drizzled with a savory sauce on a speckled green plate.
The main course is brisket with root vegetables

But as my dad used to say, they’ll not see you again, so I asked our server if I could have the brisket to go and she cheerfully offers to bring me a box. Phew! Later that evening and again for breakfast, I feast on the most tender, flaky, flavorful brisket I’ve ever tasted. Just enough of the salty au jus clings to the meat to give it flavor without overwhelming it.

Always Room for Dessert

Can we manage dessert? Well, of course. Dessert is a different stomach, right? Also, the gap between main course and dessert is, to my relief, long enough to give my system time to re-calibrate.

Dessert is a haskap berry tarragon meringue/sponge cake topped with blueberry cream and a scoop of lemon verbena ice cream. I eat every morsel.

A beautifully plated dessert showcasing a chocolate tart topped with pink cream swirls, fresh blueberries, and an edible flower, accompanied by a scoop of ice cream and a crumble garnish.
Dessert at the FireWorks Feast

And still we are not done! Over at the chef station, one of the young chefs is affixing rectangles of blueberry marshmallow to the ends of long sticks. Outside the window, the crackling flames of the campfire beckon. We pick up our marshmallow sticks and proceed to the campfire. Melty, blueberry, sticky. Oh yeah!

But unfortunately, swarms of unwelcome guests also show up to enjoy campfire time. We learn the hard way that the mosquitoes on Prince Edward Island are tiny but vicious. Funny – I never remember reading about mosquitoes feasting on Anne of Green Gables.

The Morning After

Before checking out the next morning, I take a copy of my novel Love Among the Recipes to Reception and ask that it be given to Chef Michael as a thank-you for a wondrous experience. The woman at the desk tells me I can give it to him myself since he’s just around the corner in the dining room working on the evening menu.

Feeling a trifle presumptuous, I nevertheless present Chef Michael with my novel. He graciously accepts, telling me he thinks it looks like something he and his wife would enjoy. I’m honored, and float away from the Inn feeling that our Prince Edward Island splurge is one for the memory books.

Illustrated book cover featuring a basket of French picnic items like baguettes, cheese, wine, and fruit, with the title "Love Among the Recipes" in bold letters. The Parisian skyline, including the Eiffel Tower, forms the backdrop.
Love Among the Recipes finds a new home at The Inn at Bay Fortune

If you’re traveling to Prince Edward Island during the summer months, consider spending the night at the Inn at Bay Fortune and an evening enjoying the FireWorks Feast. You’ll come away with a renewed appreciation for fresh and nutritious food grown with love.