Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours

Forbidden Vancouver runs walking tours that treat the city's history as a series of stories, many of them darker than the postcard image of Vancouver. Most tours last about two hours and are led by storytellers, and one is performed by an actor. The company has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence every year from 2012 to 2026, is listed as a Top Choice by Lonely Planet and has been awarded the City of Vancouver Heritage Medal of Honour.

The most popular tour is Lost Souls of Gastown, an actor-led walk through Victorian Gastown that tells of murder, fire and smallpox in the city's early days. The Forbidden Vancouver Tour, the company's longest-running walk, also covers Gastown, focusing on Prohibition-era rum-running, riots and mobsters. The Really Gay History Tour explores the LGBTQ2+ history of Davie Village, and Dark Secrets of Stanley Park looks at Indigenous history, evictions and Deadman's Island inside the city's best-known park.

For something more relaxed, Downtown Sinners and Sweets visits heritage buildings downtown and includes treats from local bakers and chocolatiers. In the festive season, Holiday History and Hot Chocolate is a shorter walk of about 90 minutes with hot chocolate along the way. Special events with their own themes, such as Vancouver Vice, Last Gang in Town, Secrets of the Penthouse and The Death and Life of Granville Street, are scheduled through the year.

Tours run rain or shine, which matters in Vancouver, and in autumn and winter most of the route is indoors or under cover. Booking is required online. If your plans change, you can exchange your date or get a full refund with at least 24 hours' notice. Private group tours can be arranged at custom start times, and gift certificates with no expiry date are sold online. Guides accept tips in cash or by card.

These tours suit curious adults, couples and groups of friends, and they make a good first-evening activity to understand the city's past before exploring on your own. Gastown, where several tours run, is a National Historic Site that grew from Gassy Jack Deighton's saloon of 1867, and a walk here combines naturally with dinner at a nearby restaurant such as St. Lawrence on Powell Street or a drink at the Pourhouse on Water Street. Meeting points are not listed on the tour overview page, so check the details in your booking confirmation before you set out.