Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours

This tour was a perfect blend of history and decadence, architecture and scandal. Glenn is an engaging story teller and the delicious treats gave us wonderful sugar rushes. The tour is a wonderful way to learn more this amazing city and Glenn is the perfect host.

Our tour guide Billy was a great performer telling the stories of the lost souls and history of Gastown as we toured the area. He made it so entertaining and interesting by staying in character the entire time telling the story from the point of view of a citizen of Vancouver from the late 1800's.

Glenn was absolutely fantastic! He's a gifted storyteller, and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour. After five years of living in Vancouver, we were amazed by all the fascinating facts and historical events he shared that we had never heard before. Thank you for an incredible experience!

We enjoyed the Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tour, Lost Souls of Gastown with guide Amy Lee. Not only was it informative it was interactive and theatrical, providing a background, context and history of this complex area of Vancouver. It was great for our 16- and 13-year-olds along with mom and dad. The tour was about 1 ½ hours and we walked over most of Gastown. A great way to spend an evening in Vancouver.

This was by far the best LGBTQ+ walking tour I’ve ever been on! Glenn was incredible — super engaging, informative, and you could genuinely feel his passion for sharing this history. ‘The Really Gay History Tour’ was not only fun and educational, but also really heartfelt and touching. Glenn created such a welcoming atmosphere for the group and made the whole experience memorable. Highly recommend to anyone visiting the city!

I absolutely loved the Lost Souls of Gastown walking tour. Our guide, Amy Newman, was absolutely fantastic! Her passion and enthusiasm was so entertaining and educational. I could have listened to her all day! I really appreciate her female perspective on the history of Vancouver.

The tour was excellent! Highly reommended. Our guide was very informative focusing on both in the history of the park as well as the trees and plant life growing in the park. He was very passionate about keeping the oral culture of the native tribes alive. I would have been happy listening to him for another hour or two!

Glenn is a treasure - I appreciated so much how we welcomed us, shared all his hard work in researching the stories to treat them so tenderly in their recounting, he does each hero of the community beautiful justice. His belonging and sense of responsibility in sharing these stories which risk fading with history.. it's touching. Glenn is speaking from his heart, he's community-building, he's inspiring others to interrogate their understanding of how closely linked our shared history is including First Nations, Canadians of colour, women.. the intersectionality and the confusing, messy and often heartbreaking stories bring you to a place of finally being grateful in a time when people are free to love, and free to be. I don't take that for granted as a Canadian, and now more than ever, we need to be supporting local creators, community storytellers, people that are emboldened through these stories to act and to share. I am so grateful for Glenn's caring approach to answering questions, he creates a safe and peaceful place for everyone to belong, and he's doing such important work. If you live in Vancouver, GO NOW. If you don't and you're visiting, GO SOON. You will be so glad you did. Our group was about 20ish people and I know Glenn would delight in any size of group, his delivery is just perfection, his voice travels, his heart shows.. it's one of my favourite memories in Vancouver ever. I'll never forget our tour Glenn, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so so much.

We enjoyed the Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tour, Lost Souls of Gastown with guide Amy Lee. Not only was it informative it was interactive and theatrical, providing a background, context and history of this complex area of Vancouver. It was great for our 16- and 13-year-olds along with mom and dad. The tour was about 1 1/2 hours and we walked over most of Gastown. A great way to spend an evening in Vancouver.

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.

My daughter and I did the Really Gay History Tour and although we both knew we were in for something special, the entire experience went well beyond our expectations. Whether you're a Vancouver local or you're in town on holidays or for a staycation, put this walking tour at the top of your list of things to do. Glenn, our host, is both a trained actor/storyteller and an extraordinarily detail-oriented researcher who left no important name, date, or event unexplored. Our group (which was also fantastic - really lucked out there!) experienced a tour of Vancouver's West End and the role the neighbourhood played in much of our gay history that felt like it wrapped far too soon. We even overshot the two-hour mark (thanks to so much group engagement, questions, and discussion.) It was awesome! What we learned was incredible. Better than any history book could ever hope to impart because story vignettes came from interviews, catalogues, police reports, and more to create an unbiased, real-life, gritty - sometimes heart-wrenching - wholly powerful presentation. Can't wait to do the Stanley Park and Scandals tours, next!

Stuart! Wonderful Tour! Thank you from San Francisco! We did not realize we were staying in the oldest hotel in Vancouver, how harrowing the fire, how horrid the small pox....blacksmiths, loggers, Bertie, the greed of the railroad! Thank you for helping us begin to scratch the surface of this city. Donni and Jay

We did the "Really Gay History Tour" with our tour guide Glenn. This was one of the most educational and entertaining tours we have ever done! Glenn was super personable and incredibly knowledgeable. We would like to sincerely thank him for providing one of the best tours we have experienced. Thanks Glenn! ACM Advisors

We thoroughly enjoyed our spooky, rainy Lost Souls walking tour of Gastown. As a group of Vancouverites, we learned much about our fair (and not-so-fair!) city. Our guide, Janet, was a hoot, staying in character throughout. She embellished her stories with enough humour and pathos that they carried us away--highly recommended.

We had such a good time taking the Hidden History and Sweet Treats Tour with Rob as our guide. He was entertaining, informative and educational. He made sure that we could all both see him and hear him at all times. The sweet treats were a bright red cherry on top of a really good time. I would take any of the tours offered by Vancouver Walking Tours because this one, the only one I've ever taken, was so excellent. Keep up the good work!

We did the tour today with Rob, he is wonderful. The tour is incredibly informative and fun. He is inclusive and educational. Definitely worth the 2 hours!!!

My brother and I did the Hidden History and Sweet Treats tour. It was fun, informative, and yummy. Last year I did the Lost Souls of Gastown tour and it was fun, informative, creepy, and a sad. I highly recommend both tours.

I attended the Lost Souls Forbidden tour during the Vancouver Tourism Passport event and thoroughly enjoyed it! It was so interesting to learn about the history of Gastown and retrace the steps with our host Rowen Jang. The host was so in character it truly felt like I was one of the local citizens dating back in the Victorian era. Highly recommend to those who are curious about the Gastown history or even those who enjoy taking a stroll around the area!

Fun tour of historic Gastown with Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours yesterday. Enjoyed it a lot.

It excellent tour and interesting story that you would never have guessed. As local, I didn't know what some of dark and interesting story about Stanley's park. I am interested try out other tour. I have great time with our tour guide Glenn with two n.

Amazing evening with Stuart on the Lost Souls of Gastown, Vancouver, walking tour. He was friendly, great in character and informative. Definitely worth signing up for his tour!!

When we arrived in Vancouver I set us up to join the Forbidden Vancouver Tour. I like to learn about cities from the people who live there. We met up at Cathedral park and had Rowan as our guide. He was a wonderful story teller, sharing the rich history of his city, as well as his own family history woven through the threads. Like many PNW cities, people first descended on the area as a result of the Gold Rush, and the stories are legendary. I enjoyed walking and the stopping to hear a story. Rowan encouraged participation, so we all had the opportunity to guess, correctly or otherwise, and it was fun as well has funny. There were some thought prevoking elements of the history, from prohibition, opium dens, gender inequality, and racism. All shared with a mix of gravity reality and humor. Not an easy task. I would definitely join another Forbidden your.

We enjoyed our tour with Tim as our guide. Learning about historic Vancouver was a treat and hearing about the back stories about prohibition and Chinatown was fascinating. We found about the tour on Trip Advisor and it is one of the top tours. Definitely worth it if you're in town.

I did the Really Gay History Tour with Glenn and I'm so happy that I did. If you are even just slightly considering this tour, do not hesitate and buy your tickets now! Glenn is not only knowledgeable about LGBTQIA and two-spirited history in Vancouver, he is fervently passionate about it. His storytelling is engaging and entertaining and you will find yourself laughing with him as well as shedding tears with him. This tour was truly a highlight of my time in Vancouver .

Excellent research and story telling! Racheal was great! Highly recommend. Looking forward to try the other tours- lost souls in Gastown is worth it

The tour was great, Samantha was a good story teller, clear voice, enjoyable story.

Sandra/Sarah was an amazing guide, highly recommend this fun tour. Learned a lot about this historic area.

Fantastic tour, our guide, Emmett Hamly was engaging and very immersed in his character. it made the tour quite enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone in Vancouver!

REALLY good tour! Nevada was our tour guide she was very knowledgeable about the city history! Definitely do it again!

Went on the Lost Souls of Gastown tour with Alison: amazing performer, great singer (!), and a fabulous story. This particular tour was done in character as someone from the period, with historical fiction interspersed with ripped-from-the-headlines stories. A fun early evening activity, and great for near Halloween: trips down back alleys and historical stories that haunt you a bit.

We went to the PENTHOUSE last night for the tour and dinner. We really enjoyed ourselves and the meal at the end was excellent. Thank you to Danny for opening up his 'family home' to us. The 3 hosts were very entertaining. We would certainly recommend this tour and found it to be good value. We will do the Gastown one next! Cathy & Randy

We were a small group that gathered outside the Vancouver Aquarium as we got to meet and greet Roxanne, a knowledgable historian from the great state of Minnesota! Living in Canada she really got to know the place and took us on a nature walk of sorts through Stanley Park, telling tales of the original First Nations peoples, and how they got a bum deal from the Europeans. I liked how she pulled out a photo from her bag to further emphasize her tale. I got to wondering how much stuff she got on there! Liked the walk, quite refreshing on a nippy November day in Vancouver before the rains came. Great views, interesting history such as the 9:00 firing of a cannon, the history of the bridge connecting West Vancouver and how it almost didn't happen, and my friend asking her questions about flora and fauna (which surprised myself and the tour guide a bit, I'd wager!). Great tour, would do it again. Thanks Roxanne and the company that puts these tours together.

This was an excellent tour! We went with Ammon and he had so much deep information and pictures about the forbidden history of Vancouver and told stories in such an engaging manner that by The. End of the tour I felt like a local. This was way better than the usual tour guide talking about dull facts. Interesting and enlightening highly recommended. Let's tourists connect deeply with the historic underbelly of the City! Loved this tour!!!

Speakeasies, behind hidden doors with no signage, are a "thing" these days but did you ever stop to wonder their origin? Hell no. You just wanted a a drink. Forbidden Vancouver leads a little 2-hour "Prohibition City" walking tour that sprinkles just the right amount of historical facts (about the city, the colorful folks who shaped it, and booze) into a gentle stroll through some of the older and seedier (though by no means the seediest) parts of Vancouver. The tour is led by an actor, playing a part but saying that makes it sound cheesy and it's not. It's interesting, informative, and above all, amusing and fun. Our tour group, of about 16 people (1/2 locals), were smiling throughout. The tour provides the right amount of facts, woven into an interesting and engaging story and involves the group in a way that rewards paying attention. And, importantly, the tour ends before you grow bored or tired of standing or listening. It's right in every regard. You can advance book Forbidden Vancouver tours online for $22 Canadian (less for seniors and students). You can also take your chances and book on tour day; Vancouver's Tickets Tonight site was selling same day tickets for 1/2 price while I was there (which is a steal). That the tour ends in Gastown, where you'll likely feel ready to throw back a double in honor of those who drank before you, is fitting. Forbidden Vancouver also offers another well regarded tour, The Lost Souls of Gastown. It says a lot that I'd consider taking this tour on a future trip.

We did the "Prohibition City" walking tour and loved it. I pride myself on knowing Vancouver history, and have even won some photo contests with pictures of the very buildings explored on this tour,.. but clearly I didn't now as much as I thought. The first few stops highlighted beautiful buildings I've probably walked by all my life,.. and never noticed. Also,.. prohibition is something that happened in the US and made Canadians a ton of money by selling them booze, right? Wrong, we had out own right here in BC,... who knew?! Our guide was the owner of the tour company and he truly has crafted something special here. He stays in character for the duration and makes it quite interactive by making you be an old time Vancouver reporter (but not in an uncomfy way). It was light, and fun, and Will was an excellent presenter with a passion for the city. Will told us that he was a former employee of a major accounting firm and then made a life choice to start this company and take acting lessons (something I didn't have the guts to do when faced with the same choice),.. that alone makes this awesome, but it is awesome all on its own regardless. I do think this particular tour was probably best enjoyed more by locals than if you came from another city and didn't know anything about Vancouver at all.

8/14/17 My wife and I did the Prohibition walking tour of forbidden Vancouver with Glenn Tkach and had a wonderful time. While he imparted a lot of information in a short period time the presentation never seemed forced or memorized. He made us feel very comfortable, charmed and entertained throughout the tour. As a rule I love tours and have done many in my travels and this is right at the top of the list.

Unexpected highlight of our Vancouver visit, and merits one of my rare 5-stars. Much better than a similar walking tour I had taken in a different large city. My wife and I did the Prohibition City tour. There were a total of 14 people in the group, from around the world. Our guide, Amman, was brilliant, knowledgeable, and seemed to really enjoy his work. He kept us engaged for the entire time of the almost 2 hour tour. He played his role and us well, making us feel as if our comments were original and truly valuable. His use of large glossy black and white photos of key historic personalities and early street scenes added to the atmosphere. We learned much, including about the saloon culture, the two tallest (in their time) buildings in the British Empire, and the 1970's era riot related to marijuana. Highly recommended.

the amount of historical research and effort to craft the script is beyond the scope of a simple touristic tour. Hiring a professional performer who knows the area history and actually loves what she is doing was walking the extra mile. I am grateful for your hard work. It as really a s special event that i will always remember. And thanks for the recommendations and the free booklet

This was absolutely one of the best tours I have been on. You will not regret going. I attended The Lost Souls of Gastown by Janet. She was captivating and a great storyteller as she told the history of Vancouver. We ended up in Gastown with some food recommendations. They mentioned they are a new company hence the few reviews.

A fabulous early evening tour through the "low spots" of Vancouver. Tour leader Giselle was an animated and knowledgeable guide through the early history of Vancouver. Solid facts delivered with a wink - or should I say "sordid facts" - learn how prohibition contributed to the liveliness of Vancouver and what a "blind pig" is. Did you know we had the tallest buildings in the British Empire for a few years? An easy pace, with stops to listen to Giselle tell tales. Wear comfortable shoes, and dress according to the weather. A very worthwhile tour!

Looking for a different way to learn more about Vancouver's history? My wife and I had a great time in the Lost Souls of Gastown tour. It definitely took us out of the beaten path and opened our eyes to some interesting facts about the city and its past. We had the pleasure of being guided by Will Woods, the founder of Forbidden Vancouver, who definitely put his heart and soul into the whole tour. The mix of facts and fiction definitely makes it all more captivating, even on colder nights, and we had our eyes and ears wide open all the way until the end! If you are the tipping type, don't forget to bring some cash. ;)

I went on the Gastown tour and Forbidden tour. Rowen and Tracy were my guides. Both were knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. It was the perfect mix of education, kitsch, humor, theatrics, and gore. I love dark history so these tours were a must for me and the time flew by. I learned a lot from both of them, and now have a more detailed description of small pox which I will go on and share with friends lol. I work part time as an agent and will recommend them anytime I do an Alaska booking or Canadian Rockies one (contact me!). I only wish I would have been able to have done the Stanley Park tour but the line at customs was much longer than anticipated so I sadly missed it. 100% recommend and would easily do other tours offered by them.

Tim was a great guide for the Forbidden Vancouver Tour. He was entertaining and really seemed to enjoy his work. We highly recommend it. Go early in your stay for a good intro to the city. If staying in Yaletown or nearby, it is very walkable. Avoid the traffic and parking if possible.

I recently took the brand new "Art Deco and Chocolate Tasting Tour" with an amazing storyteller, Tim Everett. I live in Vancouver and have been here for almost 30 years - and there were so many cool details of many of the city's iconic buildings that I didn't know about and never really took the time to stop and examine before. This tour was a lot of fun and Tim really stepped up to the plate in delivering the stories - along with some pictures to help and a wee bit of acting. Well done, Forbidden Vancouver! I will go on more tours for sure.

I attended the Forbidden Vancouver Tour as part of a birthday gift and it was an absolute treat! Our guide for the evening was Aman Johal and he had us captivated from start to finish. I felt incredibly safe despite walking around Vancouver including some alleyways on a dark and rainy night. Aman is a great story teller and had all the answers to the questions we had along the way. Although he had mentioned if he didn't know the answers he would be happy to take it away and find out. He clearly loves delving into and sharing the city's very interesting history. I would 100% recommend this tour and am looking forward to trying some of the others too.

Despite the rain really enjoyed Theo's enthusiastic and knowledgeable Forbidden Vancouver tour. He was glad to answer questions ranging far and wide and left me with more I want to learn. Recommended.

Erikks was our tour guide and she really brought the stories to life. She never broke character during the tour and she was open to all questions.

First time visiting Vancouver. Beautiful city and parks. We decided to try the Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tour. The previous night we walked around Gastown and admired the architecture of the older buildings. Our tour was lead/narrated by a very well versed guide named Aman. He was very informative and his delivery was excellent. His comedic timing and choice of phrasing was spot on. I learned things I didn't know I wanted to learn. A very colorful city history told by a very colorful tour guide. Thanks Aman. P.S. - To Aman's wife, he did mention he loves you very much, even though he forget to put you in his bio.

My boyfriend and I saw a group of people walking around with a guide all dressed in Victorian era outfit, and thought it would be something fun and different for us to do. I wanted to go on the tour as a gift for my boyfriend but unfortunately the group tour was unavailable until March. Thankfully Forbidden Vancouver offered a private tour, and although it was a very last minute request, Will (the founder of the company) was so accommodating and arranged a tour for us right away. My boyfriend and I have been living in Vancouver for 10+ years, but we learned so much about the city from Will. Will was informative and fun, and he gave us a truly memorable experience, as he promised on his bio! Thank you so much for a great time guys :)

I've gone on lots of these tours and they always ask at then end to give them 5-star reviews which my opinion skews what should be the actual average. This tour had a bit more walking, more lecture, and less interesting sightseeing than comparable tours I've done in other cities. We enjoyed it, but most the places we stopped were unremarkable and the lecture time at each stop was a tad too long. I'd recommend it as an economical way to get a feel for a good part of the city and stretch your legs while learning a thing or two, but manage your expectations beyond that unless you are a big history buff.

My wife and I saw the Penthouse Tour as we had a great experience with Forbidden Vancouver before. This one however was not what we expected from what was advertised. We thought it would be a tour full of crimes and mysteries (possibly paranormal as it was near Halloween) of the Penthouse (similar to the Lost Souls of Gastown - which was great). As it turned out, it was tour that essentially promoted the current owner's new book and the his family that owns the establishment. Felt the marketing was misleading and falsely advertised. The stories of "revelry, crime and sin" were greatly exaggerated. Due to this we did not feel it was worth the money as we paid $60 per person! It included a spaghetti dinner, but did not make up for it. As a final note, much of the references were way too old for us to appreciate. Does not feel relevant for people under 30 unless you are a great Vancity History buff.

A wonderful story and walk around a colourful part of Vancouver. History and entertainment! Allison was very entertaining!

We had tons of fun learning about Vancouver on the Historic walk with Will. He was so captivating and entertaining that we didn't even mind the rain :) I highly recommend going on one of their tours with friends or colleagues. Thanks for being a great tour guide, Will!!

We did the Lost Souls of Gastown tour with Rowan. It was a Friday evening and the weather was great. Expect some foot traffic on Water St., but nothing too crazy. Rowan did a wonderful job with his character. We actually learned quite a bit. No spoilers, but Hackman is an ass. We would definitely do more walking tours with them.

This tour was absolutely amazing! It was interesting and fun and quite a hike! Janet did an amazing job leading us through all the historical spots and did a great job portraying her character! We live in Washington and we will definitely be back to more of their tours! Highly recommend!

This was the best thing we did while in Vancouver! Very interesting and quite animating. My husband and I enjoyed and learned so much on this tour! Tracy was so much fun and friendly! Don't think we would have enjoyed it as much if she wasn't giving the tour! If you are able to request her, I recommend doing so! This experience was like reading a great novel.

I did the tour with my Mom, and we are from California. Our tour guide with Glenn and he dressed up in period costume. I throughly enjoyed the tour and I learned a lot about the history of Vancouver. We did the Forbidden Tour which it talked about prohibition and vices of the city of a specific period. I really enjoy the tour and I would recommend people to this tour.