Granville Island is a bustling marketplace overlooking False Creek and the downtown Vancouver skyline and bridges, home to the popular Granville Island Public Market as well as boat yards and boat rentals, art galleries and art studios (including local art school Emily Carr University of Art + Design), half a dozen independent theatres, restaurants, cafes, and whimsical artisan boutiques. There's even a brewery, hotel, and community centre. Needless to say, Granville Island attracts visitors and locals alike.

Technically Granville Island is not a real island, but a tiny peninsula underneath the Granville Street Bridge. Although the Granville Island Public Market is the biggest attraction on the island, it is only one of dozens of buildings to explore - don't just limit yourself to the market.

Getting to Granville Island is very easy. If taking public transit, take the #50 False Creek bus from downtown Vancouver. The most scenic/fun way to get there, however, is to take the False Creek Ferry or Aquabus water taxi. These water taxi services are available from the eastern foot of Davie Street, the southern foot of Hornby Street, or the southern foot of Thurlow. There are also water taxi docks by Science World, Olympic Village, and Vanier Park in Kitsilano. These tiny water taxis cost $3-5 to travel one way and offer you a quick, efficient way of accessing Granville Island. If you have a car, you can also drive to Granville Island (via Hemlock/W 4th Avenue) however this is not recommended because traffic on Granville Island is often gridlock and the free parking fills up so you may need to pay for parking. Finally, you can also walk to Granville Island from downtown Vancouver, but this will take the longest amount of time to get there as you must walk the entirety of the Granville Street Bridge and then retrace your steps almost half way to access Granville Island underneath the bridge.

Note that Granville Island is best experienced earlier in the day as the shops begin to close at 6pm with the Granville Island Public Market closting at 7pm. Give yourself a minimum of 2 hours if this is your first visit. Granville Island then becomes a destination for theatre-goers by evening with restaurants remaining open. Weekends and sunny days are the liveliest times to visit, often attracting live music and entertainment performing in the public squares. If trying to avoid crowds, visit on weekday mornings.