Vancouver's Most Beautiful Public Sculptures

The public art around Vancouver represents a great deal of the city’s past and hope for the future. Each sculpture was carefully planned by the artist as something that encompasses the culture of the city, and many a lovely to look at. Here is an easy guide to some of the city’s most well-known and beautiful sculptures.

A-Maze-ing Laughter

A bronze statue located in Morton Park, A-Maze-Ing Laughter was created by Yue Mingjun for the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennial. The sculpture depicts a series of 14 figures, each 3m tall and weighing at approximately 250kgs. The artist sought to represent different stages of hysterical laughter, and in turn inspire laughter and playfulness in the viewer.

Built for the 2010 Winter Olympic Village, this pair of bird statues was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s movie of the same name. The sparrow are around 5 meters tall, making them more than 50 times the actual size sparrows. The artist, Myfanwy MacLeod, created them to be an ‘ode to immigration,’ as the house sparrows depicted are not native to North America. The sparrows also represent the history of the city’s shipyards, as it was common for sailors to have various different tattoos of sparrows.

The Drop

Located at Bon Voyage Plaza in the Coaltown neighborhood of Vancouver, The Drop was created by German artist group Inges Idee, and is over 65ft tall. The steel sculpture resembles a bright blue raindrop, and is meant to represent the fearsome power of nature and the human relationship with the water that surrounds us.

Gate to the Northwest Passage

Created in 1980 by Alan Chung Hung, the Gate to the Northwest Passage was built to commemorate the arrival of Captain George Vancouver to the Burrard Inlet in 1792, and sits next to the city’s Maritime Museum. The rusted steel sculpture is over 4.6 meters and has been likened to a twisted paper clip, as the square shape of the sculpture has been twisted to create an arc.

Girl in a Wetsuit

Located on a rock in the water on the north side of Stanley Park sits Girl in a Wetsuit, a sculpture created by Elek Imredy in 2007. As the name suggests, it represents a girl wearing a wetsuit and flippers sitting on a rock after what seems to be a long day of scuba diving. The statue is made of bronze and is lifesized, but doesn’t have any symbolic meaning other than to represent the growing interest in scuba diving in Vancouver at the time. The statue is beautiful to look at over the water, and has inspired others to take a swim or maybe even try diving for themselves. By Riley Londres

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.