Vancouver Murals: Self guided tour of Vancouver street art

Vancouver street art can be found in a few places across the city.

There are the angel wings in Kitsilano, and the pink alleyway near Gastown but Main Street and the surrounding blocks is definitely the best place to find street art in Vancouver.

When you think of Vancouver you probably think of mountains and (possibly) beaches.

It’s unlikely you’d think of Vancouver murals and Vancouver street art. But, guess what? We’re actually pretty good at that and there’s some beautiful Vancouver street art around the city.

If you’re looking to explore the Vancouver art scene then there’s no better place than Vancouver’s Main Street murals.

I used to see the artists painting their murals each year when I worked as a dog walker in Vancouver. I’d also attend the festival at the weekends because it’s super fun with music, food trucks, and more.

If you’re looking for unusual things to do in Vancouver this summer, or any time of year really since they stay up year-round, be sure to check out the festival!

I’ve put together a guide to how you can take a self-guided Vancouver street art walking tour below that takes you past some of my favorite street murals in Vancouver, BC. You’ll also find a handy Vancouver murals map.

Vancouver Murals: A self-guided Vancouver street art tour

The murals of Vancouver are constantly expanding.

Every year there’s the Vancouver Muralfest where local artists apply to have the opportunity to turn some of the back alleys into something pretty or refresh a previously drab building.

This means that every year there’s a whole new load of murals to discover! 

About Vancouver Mural Festival

Vancouver Mural Fest (VMF) loves transforming the Mount Pleasant neighborhood (one of Vancouver’s hippest neighborhoods) into an even brighter and better place with their murals all while putting on an epic street party.

Vancouver Mural fest supports local artists and has helped produce over 150 murals since 2016! That means there are a lot of murals for you to check out!

The festival usually takes place during the first week of August, but obviously, you can see the murals all year round. Most of them are in the Main Street/Cambie area, but you’ll find some East Van murals too.

A Vancouver Main Street street art walking tour

This street art walking tour takes you past a lot of Vancouver murals in the Main Street area. I’ve also included a couple of stops for interesting shops and some delicious cake at the BEST place for tea and cake in Vancouver. 

Vancouver mural walking tour map

Add this Vancouver mural map to your Google Maps app and you’ll be able to see all the murals mentioned below on your phone as you wander around. You can also see a photo of each mural mentioned below.

Start: Science World Station

Get the Skytrain, cycle, walk, or bus to Science World Station as this is where your Vancouver street art tour begins. Upon leaving the station on the Terminal Avenue side, turn left and then right onto Western Street. 

Go 3 blocks down Western Street to Southern Street and here are your first murals! 

Murals

• Peter Ricq
• THE DARK – “Looking For People”
• Shannon Elliot
• Julia Iredale
• Kyle J Scott
• Katie Maasik  – Everything matters, nothing’s important

At the end of Southern Street, turn right on to Station Street (or check out the other mural on the left beforehand), and then right again onto Industrial Avenue.

Murals

• Ola Volo
• Cody Lecoy
• Paige Bowman

Manitoba & Ontario Street Murals

From here, cross over Main Street which should be in front of you. Walk one block west until you get to Quebec Street and make a left turn to begin walking uphill on Quebec Street.

 At 3rd Avenue, turn right. There will be a couple of murals along here. 

• Oneq 
• Olivia Di Liberto – “Cosmic Breeze”

Continuing walking down 3rd Avenue until you reach Manitoba Street where you’ll make a left turn. Walk up Manitoba Street to the alleyway between 5th & 6th Avenue. You’ll see the following murals by the following artists along this section of your street art tour in Vancouver.

• Sonny Green
• Pablo Zamudio 
• KC Hall
• Kathy Ager
• Eva Eskelinen
• Alex Joukov
• Sebastien Curi
• William Liao (just in the alleyway)

Carry on walking uphill in Manitoba to 7 1/2 Avenue (an alleyway). Turn left into the alleyway to find the next lot of murals. 

• Jordan Gallie
• Charlie Edmiston
• Lindsay Levendall
• Alexia Tryfon
• Syd Danger & Pamela Pinard
• Ciara Havishya & Zox – “Rat Race”

Cross over Ontario and stick with the alleyway for murals by these artists. 

• iHeart – “Missing Piece”
• Def 3 & Renos
• T-Bone & Other

There’ll be a parking lot on your right-hand side and on the wall of the building here, there’s another mural by artist Kyle Scott that I rather liked. 

Quebec Cross & Main Street Murals

Cross over Quebec Street & stick in the 7 1/2 Avenue alleyway. Here you’ll find:

• Michelle Nguyen – “Monster in Hiding”
• The Jealous Curator (Danielle Krysa)
• Hannah Lee Joshi – “Echo Portal”
• Thrive Art Studio – “No Rain, No Flowers”

Take a left when you reach the end of 7 1/2 Avenue. There are a few more murals on your right-hand side that you can view, or turn left to continue this street art walking tour. Turning left will take you slightly downhill back towards where we began. 

As you go downhill you’ll see various murals by the following mural designers:

• David Ullock & Douglas Nhung – “Luxurious Dreamscape Bubblebath”
• KHELSILEM – Mural which asks “Is this our land?” in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (Musqueam/Tsleil-Watuth) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim (Squamish) languages.
• Paul Windsor – “Eagle Opens Up”

On 5th Avenue, there are lots of murals to your right-hand side. 

• Low Brows
• Jnasty
• Naks
• Crums
• Siloh
• Take 5

Mural spotting break

After viewing the murals on 5th Avenue, take a left turn to walk westwards on 5th to Ontario Street.

On the right-hand corner, there’s Purebread which makes the BEST cakes, pastries, muffins, and sweet treats in Vancouver. Get a tea or coffee and enjoy some treats. 

Or, if beer is more your thing, make a right and walk one block down to 4th Avenue. At 4th Avenue, turn right again and walk back towards Main Street.

Along this road, you’ll find Electric Bicycle Brewery and R&B Ale House.

R&B is our favorite of the two and they’ve got some outside seating too. 

Back to the alleyway murals 

Beer drunk, and cake eaten, head back to the ally way before Main Street and go left.

On this part of the tour you’ll see these murals Vancouver has to offer:

• David Shillinglaw – “We are croutons floating in cosmic soup”
• Tyler Keeton Robbins – “Trees Burn While Flowers Bloom”
• Ari de la Mora & Irving Cano – “Dance the Dance my Girl” 
• Carson Ting – “Ride Wild”

And that’s the end of this tour. There are so many more murals to discover, and the Vancouver Mural Festival website is the best place to see them and learn about the artists.

If you’re peckish, try out Ernest Ice Cream before heading back to the Skytrain and home after a fun day of discovering street art in Vancouver.

Looking for more things to do in Vancouver and nearby? Check out my Vancouver travel guides which are full of information on the best things to do in Vancouver, the best Vancouver restaurants, and detailed guides for each of the main neighborhoods.

Last Updated on October 12, 2023 by Hannah