Gastown Walking Tour: Vancouver's Prohibition-Era Secrets
4.9
434 Ratings
Vancouver

Delve into the darkest tales of Prohibition-era Vancouver. This historical walking tour unveils the city’s hidden narratives, from gangsters and bootleggers to dishonest policymakers. The route trails through Gastown’s oldest roads and lanes, recounting its most forbidden histories.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Cambie Bar & Grill - A Vancouver institution, now a lively local bar, hostel and restaurant. The Cambie has history dating back to the Gold Rush!
  • The Dominion Building - Hear about the tallest building in town in 1910!
  • Woodward’s 43 - Learn about the Historic Woodward’s building in Gastown. What role it had in the city over the last 100 years.
  • Gastown - The tour wraps up on the cobblestone streets of Gastown, the historic centre of Vancouver.
  • Water Street - Explore the main street in Gastown and learn about our Prohibition Commissioner - Walter Findlay.
  • Hotel Europe - Nestled in Gastown’s historic Maple Tree Square, there was once a near beer parlour in this location.
What's Included
  • Professional guide
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • Please arrive at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time
Location
356 Water St
Water Street
Meet outside 356 Water street at the entrance to historic Gastown at Water and Cordova Streets.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(434 Ratings)
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Merrylegs12
May 20, 2024
Great walking tour in Vancouver - An interesting walk and talk about the history and characters of the oldest part of Vancouver. Friendly, informative guide, great storing telling, and an interesting mix of info
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katrina_b
Apr 29, 2024
Great fun - Rob was fantastic,entertaining and engaging. Recommend highly. Be sure to put on your walking shoes it is a hike.
Review provided by Viator
A6183haclarab
Apr 28, 2024
Wonderful and original tour of Vancouver Gastown - It was our 3rd tour with this company and they did not disappoint! Our guide Rob was an incredible story teller and we truly enjoyed learning more about Vancouver and the prohibition. Thank you again for a great experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carolineeeee606
Apr 20, 2024
A unique and very very fun tour! - We took a tour last night, April 19th with the amazing character tour guide, Stewart! What a tour it was!! Stewart made the tour that little bit more special with his personal touches and very very funny additional jokes. Using the sounds of the surrounding traffic and moving vehicles or public as part of the tour show instead of allowing them to disrupt our experience. He took us around Gastown acting as a character which is something very unique to the tour and my friends and I have not experienced before. I am a tour lover and this definitely hit the tour spot for me! Honestly, worth every dollar and cent! We can't wait for the next one already. Oh, and if you're lucky, you'll get a few candies along the way :D
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jackbj2325db
Apr 19, 2024
Entertaining and informative! Glenn was great! - Glenn was fantastic! We appreciated his depth of historical knowledge and how he incorporated it into his presentation. He had a fun and engaging way of telling the stories and, with his sense of humour, skillfully included the listeners’ observations and questions along the way. Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Simplytree0363
Apr 19, 2024
Glenn is the best storyteller! - Absolutely entertaining tour covering what I never realized was such a complicated topic! Glenn was an amazing storyteller. I have participated in walking tours around the world, and he made this tour one of my absolute favourites!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Q1283nrkr
Nov 2, 2023
Entertaining and educational - This is a great tour to do for tourists or locals. We are locals familiar with gastown, but we still managed to learn new things about this neighbourhood. I highly recommend doing this tour on Halloween night as we did, as it makes for extra spooky story telling. Cole Breckell was our guide and did a fantastic job portraying a character named "George" from the late 1800s, recounting true stories of murder, drowning, fires, and much more. We'll definitely recommend to friends and Vancouver visitors.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
693jamese
Oct 26, 2023
Great Walking Tours - We did two tours with this company while we were in Vancouver the first was the "Lost Souls of Gastown" tour with Samantha. This tour takes your around the Gastown and your guide will tell you a story about an individual and relate their experiences in the area during the early days of Vancouver. Our guide, Samantha was only on her second tour and she was fantastic, she shared her characters story and answer questions about the area. Our group was about 20 people and the pace was good, so most people would have no problem keeping up. Great Tour and History Lesson all in one. Our Second tour was the Sunday Morning "Really Gay History Tour" and this one was FANTASTIC, our guide for this one was Glenn and as the creator/curator of this particular tour he was passionate about the subject matter. For this one we had a small group of 6 and with the small group Glenn was able to engage with us even more, the tour was scheduled for 2 hours but we ended up going a little bit over but there is so much to share that it didn't seem like we spent that much time walking around Vancouver. Glenn is full of knowledge about the Gay history of Vancouver, the people, the businesses and the changes that have happened over the years. This tour is great for anyone that is interested in the history of Vancouver, and especially the trials and tribulations the LGBTQ groups went though from the pre-colonial day up to the 21st century. We enjoyed both tours and are only sorry that our schedule in Vancouver only allowed us to attend two tours. The prices are very reasonable and the actors and guides are fantastic.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alcathy
Oct 6, 2023
A well worth time and money Vancouver walking tour to know the history & events - Glenn the tour guide was excellent & knowledgeable. We were being entertained by him for 2 solid hours, walking through side streets, back allies of Vancouver. He's experienced & with theatre background, his storytelling is alive and captivating. We highly recommend this tour and him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jodimp2748uj
Apr 21, 2024
Great Prohibition Tour - We really enjoyed our tour with Lenard learning about prohibition in Canada. It was a great tour, felt informal but super informative was a lovely atmosphere. The only reason it doesnt get 5/5 is because there isnt a designated toilet opportunity/stop. Would definitely recommend and we will be trying their other tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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