VanDusen Botanical Garden is back this winter season with their annual Festival of Lights. They have over one million lights decorating VanDusen Botanical Garden open until January 2. My mother in law and M came here on Christmas Eve and it was packed. Lot of families were visiting before Christmas to get a view of the garden all covered in lights.
It was our first time coming here and we were astonished by the different areas of the garden.
Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake
Once you enter from the main gate, you will be facing Livingstone Lake. You can marvel at Vancouver’s most unique light show programmed to modern and classic festive tunes. A lot of people were in this area taking photos.
Carousel
This year they’ve expanded the experience to include a new carousel, which all tickets include a free ride on the carousel. The line was long when we went, but you can keep warm with a few of the food trucks in the area as you wait to get on the ride.
Jardins de Paris
There is a small area sponsored by Air France and YVR airport. The trees are covered in red, blue and white lights, and there is even an Eiffel Tower to pose with. If you take a selfie under the dazzling lights and share on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #JardinsDeParis, you can have a chance to win two economy tickets to Paris.
Gingerbread Woods
Deep inside the Gingerbread Woods are gingerbread houses, gingerbread men, and tons of lights. Each are has it’s own theme and I kinda like it since it looks like it’s taking your on a holiday adventure.
Other areas
Of course there are other areas to see and take photos. There’s no shortage of photo opportunities in the garden.
Some areas of the garden are closed, but there is lots of walk around. We spent about an hour here, but we could have spent more time, but it was getting quite chilly.
A lot of the people visiting were very friendly, instead of taking selfies, there were lots of people offering to help take each others photos. You won’t be stranded without a picture of your whole group.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was worth it to go into VanDusen Botanical Gardens for the Festival of Lights. Even with the entrance fee, it’s still cheaper that some of the other options in town to see lights. Coming closer to Christmas was very busy, but if you plan your visit earlier in December.
Website:
http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/festival-of-lights.aspx
Address:
5251 Oak St, Vancouver, BC
2 Comments
This looks amazing. How much is it?
Adults are $15.24 per person. Check out their website for more prices http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/festival-of-lights.aspx