Springtime Vancouver cherry blossom viewing trip

Head to Vancouver in the spring, where the Cherry Blossom Festival is also held.

Blessed with a mild climate, Vancouver welcomes spring earlier than most of Canada. The flower that heralds the arrival of spring in this city is, without a doubt, the cherry blossom. With over 40,000 cherry trees planted throughout the city, this is a place where you can enjoy cherry blossom viewing just like in Japan. Every year, from late March to early May, various varieties of cherry blossoms bloom one after another.

Well, the best cherry blossom viewing spot in the city is Stanley Park, an oasis in Vancouver located west of downtown. The park boasts a vast area of about 405 hectares, and various cherry trees, including Somei Yoshino, are planted, and you can see locals sitting on the grass enjoying cherry blossom viewing. The park is crisscrossed with countless trails, and there are many things to see, such as totem poles and giant trees that are over 800 years old! Please take your time to stroll around.

Vancouver also has other famous cherry blossom viewing spots such as Queen Elizabeth Park and Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, as well as rows of cherry trees in various locations throughout the city. The annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival will also be held from April 3rd to 29th, 2018! Various events will be held, including the Sakura Night Gala in Stanley Park and the Tree Talk & Walk, where you will walk with a guide around the city's famous cherry blossom viewing spots. If you are visiting Vancouver during the festival, be sure to check it out.

Walk through a tunnel of flowers at Van Dusen Botanical Gardens.

Of course, cherry blossoms are not the only flowers that color Vancouver in spring. For example, the Van Dusen Botanical Garden is a beautiful place where many flowers bloom in abundance. The garden, which boasts an area about five times the size of the Tokyo Dome, is home to about 7,500 types of plants collected from all over the world. In spring, colorful flowers such as cherry blossoms, crocuses, camellias, and poppies bloom in full bloom.

The springtime of the Van Dusen Botanical Garden is synonymous with the bright yellow color of the laburnum. At the Laburnum Walk in the garden, laburnum flowers bloom in abundance as if they are raining down from the trees, making you feel as if you are walking through a tunnel of flowers. The laburnum flowers usually reach full bloom around May to June. Be sure to see the fantastic scenery that fascinates photographers and travelers from all over the world.

Head out to the suburbs and enjoy the view of tulip fields stretching out before you.

If you're planning a cherry blossom viewing trip based in Vancouver, we recommend heading out to the suburbs.
The Tulip of the Valley Festival will be held from April 1st to 29th, 2018 in Chilliwack, located about an hour and a half's drive from Vancouver, and the Bloom the Abbotsford Tulip Festival will be held from April 9th to May 14th, 2018 (planned) in Abbotsford, also located about an hour's drive from Vancouver, so why not take a short trip to enjoy the flowers? The sight of a carpet of colorful tulips, including not only red and yellow but also pink, orange, and white, spreading as far as the eye can see, is truly a spectacular sight. If you want to see tulips in Vancouver, we also recommend visiting Queen Elizabeth Park.

A stroll around Vancouver enjoying the beauty of flowers on the street corners

Vancouver is a city where flowers such as cherry blossoms and laburnums are in full bloom in spring, but the city's charm is also in the encounter with the casual plants that decorate the street corners. There are a wide variety of street trees planted throughout the city, and you can enjoy a variety of expressions depending on the season. For example, lilacs, which have white and purple flowers, and magnolias, which have impressive large flowers, are plants that can be seen in large numbers on Vancouver's streets and residential areas. In addition, the rows of horse chestnut trees with their white and red flowers are breathtakingly beautiful. They can be seen in various places, including the Shaughnessy district, known as Vancouver's most luxurious residential area. The best time to see magnolias is from March to June. Lilacs and horse chestnuts are usually at their best around May. Enjoy an elegant stroll through Vancouver, admiring the flowers blooming on casual street corners.

A short trip to the beautiful "flower capital"

If you're going on a cherry blossom viewing trip in British Columbia, there's one city you absolutely can't miss: Victoria, the capital of the province, which can be reached from Vancouver by plane (about 25 minutes) or long-distance bus (about 4 hours) including ferry.

Located in the southern part of Vancouver Island, this beautiful city is a place where British culture remains strong. It is also known as the "Garden City" due to the beauty of its streets decorated with flowers and trees. If you want to enjoy spring flowers in Victoria, be sure to visit Butchart Gardens. Located about 21 km north of downtown, the gardens are dotted with five areas, including an Italian garden, a Japanese garden, and a Mediterranean garden. In particular, the roses in the rose garden are in full bloom from late May to late June, and the gardens are enveloped in a particularly gorgeous atmosphere.
Victoria has many attractions, such as downtown decorated with colorful hanging baskets (hanging pots with flowers planted in them) and Beacon Hill Park, where more than 100,000 daffodils bloom in early spring. It is possible to make a day trip from Vancouver, but we recommend you take the time to stay and experience the charm of the "Garden City" in spring.