10 Affordable Places to visit Christmas Lights in Vancouver for Students

Typically, the Christmas holidays are a period when people spend time with their families. However, what about international students whose families are far away? What are some alternative activities can you do to enjoy your stay in Vancouver?

We arranged a fantastic list to watch magnificent Christmas lights in Vancouver to enjoy with your friends!

The good news is that Vancouver has so many activities for you during wintertime. You can go skiing, snowboarding and much more. If you prefer to stay in the city, it is the perfect time to enjoy the beautiful light displays and Christmas decorations. The city lightens up with all kinds of unique lights waiting for you to visit and snap some beautiful photos.

In this blog, we gathered 10 fantastic spots that you must visit in and around Vancouver (in no particular order), ranging from free entrance to some additional admission fees, where you could enjoy yourself with your family, friends or partner. Let’s take a look.

1. Christmas Display – Canada Place

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gotovan/23869929302/

Canada Place is only 5 minutes away from our main campus, 609 West Hastings Street! The best part? It is free for everyone to experience the colourful light displays.

During the winter period until January 2nd, Canada Place is decorated with a unique holiday-themed “Sails of Light” display and an outdoor experience that features the historic Woodward’s Windows and Avenue of Christmas Trees.

2. Christmas Light – Robson Street

Decorated with thousands of twinkle lights on trees along the pathway, Robson Street looks like a scene from classic winter movies. You can easily walk from the main campus, check out the lights after your class, enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, and explore the city with your friends and family.

Walking along Robson Street is free unless you decide to reward yourself with some Christmas presents.

3. The Giant Christmas Tree – Vancouver Art Gallery

Located next to Vancouver Art Gallery, you should not miss the Vancouver Christmas Tree. The tree is 75-feet-tall and decorated with 100,000 shimmering lights and foliage, and is perfect for your selfies. It takes only 7 minutes to walk from our main campus and is totally free! This year the event celebrates its 15th anniversary, so don’t miss out on the beautiful views.

4. Granville Island Festive lights – Granville Island

In the wintertime, The 40 acre of Granville Island is decorated with lights all the way from Public Market to the Granville Island Hotel. The Island’s highlights include the vintage crance, a big star and canopy of lights.

The Public Market is open every day from 9 am to 7 pm. The light displays start after sundown, and the market is closed on December 25th -26th and January 1st. You can take public transport to Granville Island from our main campus. Your journey will start from the Waterfront Station (Bay 2) and continue with bus number 50 toward S False Creek to Granville Island. The total transport time will be approximately 25 minutes.

5. PNE Winter Lights

Source: https://www.todocanada.ca/city/vancouver/event/pne-winter-lights-a-magical-journey-to-santa/

PNE Winter lights is a drive-through winter lights festival with a new snow globe village this year. The event is also decorated with illuminated tunnels, adorable foxes, seals, and moose made of Christmas lights.

If you’re not own a personal car – don’t worry. The event offers a “Reindeer Shuttle” service, co-operating with TransLink. It will cost you a little to visit the PNE Winterlight. You can be picked up and dropped off in the PNE Forum parking lot by the Gate 2 entrance.

The ticket costs varied from $10-$14 per person for the Reindeer Shuttle, and the price is $40.75 (ticket fee included) per car of a maximum of 8 passengers.

6. VanDusen Festival of Lights

The hoto is taken by Graeme Chendle

Decorated with more than one million lights, VanDusen Botanical Garden is illuminating a winter wonderland with themed areas, unique light features and holiday music. You can take a walk along the lake, check out Rose Garden and visit the Scottish Shelter to light a candle and donate to Make-A-Wish.

It costs approximately $10.25 – $ 17.50  to visit the VanDusen Festival of Lights, and you need to purchase an online ticket. The VanDusen Festival of Lights is open every day from 4 pm- 9 pm (the last entry time is 8.30 pm to 9 pm), and it is closed on December 24th.

7. Bright Nights Christmas Train – Stanley Park

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gotovan/6458446559/

Bright Nights Christmas Train is perfect for a family. You can take a train ride through a lit forest and sing along as the train runs. Even though the event visitors are mainly children, but hey, you’re here in Vancouver –go check it out! It may bring back your sweet childhood memories.

The entrance fee ranges from $6 – $13 depending on age and visiting time, and don’t forget to purchase a ticket online.

8. Canyon lights – Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

Located in North Vancouver, the world-famous Capilano Suspension Bridge is open to light displays. You will enjoy the most beautiful scenario and lights from the bridge to treetop adventure and cliff walk.

The student price is $41.95. If you’re a BC resident with BC cards, you will get annual free unlimited access after purchasing the ticket.

It is convenient to get to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Starting from Waterfront Station, you can take SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay (Bay 1), then take bus number 236 towards Grouse Moutain to NB Capilano Road  @ 3600 Block.

The park also offers a free shuttle bus service. You can book the free shuttle bus on their website at  https://www.capbridge.com/visit/.

9. Lights Walk – Grouse Mountain

Source: https://www.grousemountain.com/light-walk

From the mountaintop Skating Pond entrance to the path around Blue Grouse Lake, Grouse Mountain is decorated by glowing light and waits for you to visit.

It costs approximately $34 – $61 to visit Grouse Mountain. Yes, it is a bit pricey, but it is too beautiful not to see. The bright side is that you can spend your day there from morning to evening with the breathtaking view and light displays after dark.

Grouse Mountain is located in North Vancouver, so you’ll need to take a SeaBus from Waterfront Station to Lonsdale Quay (Bay 1), then take bus number 236 towards Grouse Moutain @ Skyride.

10. Lights to the Lodge – Cypress Mountain

Source: https://cypressmountain.com/lights-to-the-lodge

If you enjoy snow and trekking, visit Cypress Mountain and enjoy a one-kilometre snowshoe trek to the historic Hollyburn Lodge through the charming Old Growth Forest. The trail is 1 km to the Lodge and takes approximately 2.5 km as a loop.

Visiting Cypress Mountain during the winter costs around $36, including the rental of snowshoes, but if you bring your snowshoes, it will cost around $28.80.

Extra Tip: Explore your neighborhood

The fun and easiest way is to drive or walk around your neighbourhood. Canadians love to decorate their houses for Christmas and holidays. So take advantage of that. You might be surprised to see what your neighbours create for Christmas light this year.

Cornerstone International College Community of Canada wishes all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Keep warm, be safe and have fun!