Burnaby city guide

Burnaby at a glance

Burnaby fills the middle of the Burrard Peninsula, wedged between Vancouver to the west and New Westminster and Coquitlam to the east. Burrard Inlet forms its northern shore and the Fraser River its southern edge. In between, the city mixes clusters of residential towers with quiet streets of houses, light industry, and an unusual amount of green space: roughly a quarter of the land is parks and open space.

The city is organized around four town centres. Metrotown, in the south, is the de facto downtown, with the region’s biggest mall and a skyline of condo towers. Brentwood, on the Lougheed Highway, has grown into a second high-rise hub. Lougheed Town Centre in the east and Edmonds in the southeast round out the list. Older neighbourhoods such as the Heights in North Burnaby, the South Slope and Capitol Hill keep a more low-key, residential feel.

With about a quarter of a million residents, Burnaby is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population. It appeals to students at Simon Fraser University and BCIT, to young professionals who want a SkyTrain commute, and to families drawn by big parks and a central location.

Neighbourhoods at a glance

• Metrotown: towers, the big mall and Central Park, with the busiest SkyTrain hub in the city.
• Brentwood: a newer high-rise district on the Millennium Line, built around a redeveloped mall.
• The Heights: North Burnaby’s older main street along Hastings, with views of Burrard Inlet and the North Shore.
• Edmonds and the South Slope: a mix of apartments and houses running downhill toward the Fraser River flats.
• Lougheed and Burnaby Mountain: eastern Burnaby, home to the Lougheed town centre and the SFU campus community on the mountaintop.

A short history

Burnaby lies on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations, whose ancestors have fished, hunted and gathered on these lakes, creeks and shorelines for thousands of years. Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River were important travel and harvesting routes long before the city existed.

European settlement followed the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858 and the founding of New Westminster. The city takes its name from Burnaby Lake, which was named after Robert Burnaby, a legislator and explorer who served as private secretary to Colonel Richard Moody of the Royal Engineers. Burnaby was incorporated as a district municipality on 22 September 1892, around the time the interurban tram began linking Vancouver and New Westminster across its farms and forests. It officially became a city exactly a century later, in 1992.

After the Second World War, Burnaby shifted from farmland and small holdings to suburbs and industry. Simon Fraser University opened on top of Burnaby Mountain in 1965, and BCIT, founded in 1960, grew on the Willingdon campus. The Expo Line arrived in 1986 along the old interurban corridor, and the Millennium Line followed in 2002 along the Lougheed Highway, setting the pattern for the high-rise town centres you see today.

Top things to do in Burnaby

Parks and nature

• Burnaby Mountain is the city’s highest point, at about 370 metres. Burnaby Mountain Park has a rose garden, wide lawns and a lookout over Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm, plus the carved Ainu-inspired sculptures known as the Playground of the Gods. Forest trails loop around the mountain below SFU.
• Deer Lake Park is a peaceful lake ringed by trails and boardwalk, popular for paddling in summer, with an easy shoreline walk that suits all ages.
• Burnaby Lake Regional Park has a flat loop trail of about 10 kilometres around the lake and some of the best birdwatching in the city, especially from the pier at Piper Spit.
• Central Park, on the Vancouver border by Patterson Station, is an old-growth-feeling forest with a pitch-and-putt course, an outdoor pool and Swangard Stadium.
• Barnet Marine Park on Burrard Inlet is the place for a waterfront picnic and a stroll out on the pier.

Culture and history

• Burnaby Village Museum, beside Deer Lake, is an open-air re-creation of a 1920s tram-era village, complete with a restored carousel and an interurban tram car.
• Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and the Burnaby Art Gallery sit within the Deer Lake cultural precinct, with exhibitions, classes and performances.
• Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre tells the history of Japanese Canadians, including wartime internment.
• SFU‘s hilltop campus, designed by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey, is worth a visit for the architecture alone, and the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is on campus.

Shopping

• Metropolis at Metrotown is the largest shopping centre in British Columbia, connected to Metrotown Station.
• The Amazing Brentwood and Lougheed malls anchor the Millennium Line town centres, surrounded by new towers, plazas and street-front shops.
• Hastings Street in the Heights is a traditional high street of independent businesses, delis and bakeries.

Family fun

• The village museum’s carousel, Deer Lake’s beach area and the playgrounds in Central Park make easy half-day outings.
• Burnaby has a large network of community centres and outdoor pools, which are good bets on rainy or hot days.

A suggested day in Burnaby

Start with a morning walk around Deer Lake, then visit the Burnaby Village Museum next door. After lunch near Metrotown, take the bus or drive up Burnaby Mountain for the views and a stroll around the SFU campus. Finish with dinner on Kingsway or Hastings Street. Everything on this route is reachable by transit, though a car makes the mountain easier.

Food and drink

Burnaby is one of the best places in Metro Vancouver to eat Asian food, especially Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese. The blocks around Metrotown and along Kingsway are packed with noodle shops, hot pot, bubble tea and food courts, and the mall itself has a large food hall. Kingsway continues east through Edmonds with Vietnamese, Filipino and other family-run spots.

North Burnaby has a different flavour. Hastings Street through the Heights has long been known for Italian delis, pizza and neighbourhood cafés, and is increasingly mixed. Brentwood and Lougheed, both reshaped by tower development, now offer Korean barbecue, dessert cafés and casual chains near the SkyTrain. Burnaby also has a handful of craft breweries tucked into its light-industrial areas.

Food courts are a big part of the local experience. The mall food halls around Metrotown, Brentwood and Lougheed are where many residents grab a quick lunch, and they are an easy way for visitors to sample several cuisines in one stop. Near SFU, the campus and its surrounding residential community have their own cluster of casual places geared to students.

Where to stay

Metrotown is the most convenient base. A direct Expo Line ride takes you to downtown Vancouver, and the mall, restaurants and Central Park are all on foot. It is a good choice for visitors who want lower rates than downtown Vancouver without sacrificing transit access.

Brentwood works well for Millennium Line access and for anyone heading to North Burnaby, the PNE in nearby Hastings Park, or the Lougheed Highway. Accommodation near Lougheed Town Centre puts you on both the Expo and Millennium lines, handy for trips to Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities. Hotels also line the Canada Way and Highway 1 corridors, which suit drivers.

Burnaby’s central location is its biggest advantage for visitors. From Metrotown or Brentwood you can reach downtown Vancouver, New Westminster’s riverfront and the Tri-Cities by SkyTrain without changing lines more than once, and Highway 1 gives drivers quick access to the North Shore and the Fraser Valley.

Getting around

Burnaby is crossed by both SkyTrain lines that run east from Vancouver:

• Expo Line: Patterson, Metrotown, Royal Oak and Edmonds stations in south Burnaby, then on into New Westminster, where the line splits. One branch continues to Surrey; the other turns back north into Burnaby to Lougheed Town Centre and Production Way–University.
• Millennium Line: Gilmore, Brentwood Town Centre, Holdom, Sperling–Burnaby Lake, Lake City Way, Production Way–University and Lougheed Town Centre, before heading on to Coquitlam.

The R5 Hastings St RapidBus links downtown Vancouver with SFU along Hastings Street, and frequent buses climb Burnaby Mountain from Production Way–University Station. Highway 1 runs through the middle of the city, with the Lougheed Highway and Canada Way as major arterials. For cyclists, the Central Valley Greenway and the BC Parkway, which follows the Expo Line, are off-street or traffic-calmed routes linking Vancouver and New Westminster.

Seasons and events

Burnaby shares Vancouver’s mild, rainy winters and dry summers, though the top of Burnaby Mountain often sits in cloud or gets snow when the rest of the city stays green. Summer is the best season for the lakes, outdoor pools and Deer Lake paddling, while autumn colour in Central Park and around Burnaby Lake is a highlight.

Burnaby Village Museum runs seasonal programming, including the summer season and a winter holiday season, so check its calendar for current dates. Big regional events are easy to reach: the PNE Fair at Hastings Park sits just over the Vancouver boundary from North Burnaby, and New Westminster’s Hyack Parade happens each May next door.

On rainy days, Burnaby has plenty of indoor options: a few hours at Metropolis at Metrotown, a swim at one of the city’s indoor aquatic centres, or an afternoon at the Nikkei National Museum or the Burnaby Art Gallery. When the weather clears, the trails around Burnaby Lake and Central Park drain well and are walkable year-round, while the higher paths on Burnaby Mountain can stay muddy into spring.

Spring is a lovely time to visit, with cherry and magnolia blossoms along residential streets and fresh green growth in the city’s forests. Late summer evenings are ideal for a sunset from the Burnaby Mountain lookout.

Living in Burnaby

Housing in Burnaby is split between high-rise condos in the four town centres and detached homes, duplexes and older low-rise rentals elsewhere. Metrotown and Brentwood have seen a rapid wave of new towers, while neighbourhoods such as Capitol Hill, Burnaby Heights, the South Slope and Forest Glen keep a quieter, more established feel. Townhouse developments are common in the eastern half of the city.

Each town centre is planned as a complete community, with shops, services, community centres and libraries close to transit, and the city has a large network of recreation centres, pools, rinks and sports fields. Industrial and business parks, including the Big Bend area near the Fraser and the corridors along Still Creek, provide a significant number of local jobs, so not every resident commutes to Vancouver.

Public schools are run by the Burnaby School District. For post-secondary education, residents have two major institutions on their doorstep: Simon Fraser University on Burnaby Mountain and BCIT’s main campus on Willingdon Avenue.

Burnaby suits people who want city amenities and quick SkyTrain access to downtown Vancouver, but with more space and parkland. Practical notes: look for homes within walking distance of a SkyTrain station if you plan to commute without a car, and if you are studying at SFU, remember that the mountain-top campus can see snow and fog that the rest of the region misses.