Gastown

Step out onto Vancouver's oldest cobblestone street and walk to the iconic steam-powered clock. Watch it whistle on the quarter-hour as your guide tells the story of "Gassy Jack" Deighton, the saloon keeper whose barrel of whiskey founded the city in 1867. The Great Fire of 1886, the neighbourhood's decades as a skid row, and its revival as a heritage district — all told in 15 minutes on one of the most photogenic blocks in Canada.

Canada Place

Walk to the tip of Canada Place's iconic white sails for the defining Vancouver panorama: the North Shore mountains rising across Burrard Inlet, floatplanes banking in low over the water, cruise ships at the terminal beside you. Your guide covers Expo 86 — the world's fair that transformed Vancouver from a resource town into a cosmopolitan Pacific city — and points out the seaplane terminal, the Lions Gate Bridge in the distance, and the glass towers of Coal Harbour behind you.