As if VanDusen Gardens isn’t pretty enough the rest of the year, it’s even more spectacular during December and early January thanks to the Festival of Lights. This is its 34th year of bringing light and magic to Vancouver’s Christmas season — so make sure it’s on your to-do list.
What’s there to see? First off, one million twinkly, colourful lights are on full display over 15 acres of vibrant gardens. Plan to spend an hour just walking and gazing as everything from buildings to evergreens are bathed in the warm glow of the season.
Try to time your visit to hit as many of the light shows as possible. Roughly every half hour, there’s an 8-minute show at Livingstone Lake, where the lights dance in time to different musical arrangements, including classic Christmas tunes, disco and soul.
Visiting with kids? Perfect. They’ll love strolling down Gingerbread Walk and Candy Cane Lane, their little hands warmed by cups of hot cocoa, as they tick two important experiences off their kiddie wish list. The first is to ride the carousel as it rotates them around this Winter Wonderland; and the second is a special visit with the season’s most important people — Santa and his elves.
For grown ups, it gets even more magical. (Imagine!) Bring your friends and gather around the licensed fireside area where you can sip a cocktail or dine on food truck fare immersed in vivid holiday brilliance. (Yes, one of the trucks sells mini donuts, so save room for those.
VanDusen Botanical Garden is located at 5151 Oak Street in Vancouver. Its main parking lot is just off West 37th Avenue with street parking along Oak and other side streets.
Hot tip: over 100,000 people visit this event every year. So buy your tickets online to save money, skip the line and ensure you get to visit on the day of your choice. Festival of Lights runs December 1, 2018 until January 6, 2019 (closed Christmas Day).