Vancouver reads expensive until you learn where locals actually go: a free suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon, $2.75 pork buns in Chinatown, and harbour panoramas for a $3.35 transit fare. Three days without the Capilano-and-Grouse price tag.
A 50-metre-high suspension bridge over a granite gorge, free of charge — unlike Capilano's $70 ticket across town. Open dawn to dusk year-round, with the Ecology Centre and the 30 Foot Pool trail loop also costing nothing.
Moshe Safdie's Colosseum-shaped library hides a free 2,000 m² rooftop garden on level 9, open 10:00–18:00. The concourse kiosks pour $4 coffee, and the Inspiration Lab gives you wifi, desks and power at no charge.
At 152 metres this is Vancouver's highest point, built inside a reclaimed basalt quarry. The sunken gardens, arbutus grove and Bloedel plaza deliver a 360° sweep from the North Shore peaks to Mount Baker, open dawn to dusk.
Beside the ticketed classical garden sits its free public twin: jade-green pond, limestone rockery and covered pavilion, open until dusk. Two blocks west the 2002 Millennium Gate anchors Pender Street's heritage spine.
Fifty-odd stalls under one roof: Lee's Donuts from $2.75, free samples at Oyama Sausage, and La Baguette loaves at half price late in the day. Open 09:00–18:00 daily, entry free, and browsing costs nothing at all.
The street cart that made Vancouver's Japanese hot dogs famous still runs on Burrard: Terimayo with teriyaki, mayo and nori, or the Oroshi with grated daikon and soy, roughly $6.50–8.75, plus seaweed-salt shaker fries.
A Chinatown institution since 1980 selling steamed BBQ pork bao around $2.75 and egg tarts near $2. Open 06:30–20:00; the diner counter behind the bakery serves congee and rice plates that stay under $12 all day.
Twelve blocks packing Italian espresso bars, Ethiopian injera platters and $3.50 pizza slices at Fresh Slice. No reservations anywhere, most kitchens run to 22:00, and the crowd is entirely local rather than touristic.
A 3.8 km return climb from Panorama Park through cedar and fern to a granite bluff above Indian Arm, about 90 minutes round trip. Entirely free, though the District of North Vancouver closes it periodically for repairs.
Deep Cove's counter has been frying honey-glazed doughnuts to order since 1975, about $3.25 each with $4 drip coffee alongside. The queue spills onto the pavement by noon; eat them on the waterfront at Panorama Park.
Twelve minutes of open harbour views for a single transit fare — the cheapest boat ride in the city. At the quay, the upper floor does $9 ramen and pierogi, while the Shipyards plaza and Polygon Gallery run on donation.
The 2010 Olympic Cauldron still burns at Jack Poole Plaza, and the Canadian Trail promenade wraps the cruise terminal with unobstructed views to Stanley Park and the North Shore. Open 24 hours, no ticket, no gate.