Nature + culture
Deer Lake
Walk the lake, then choose Burnaby Village Museum, the Art Gallery or Shadbolt Centre.
Explore Deer Lake →
BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Discover Burnaby, BC
A practical independent guide to Burnaby's parks, town centres, neighbourhoods, culture, transit and everyday life.
START HERE
Burnaby is city, mountain, lake and neighbourhood all at once
Burnaby sits between Vancouver and the Tri-Cities, but it is more than a place people pass through. Metrotown is a regional city centre; Brentwood, Lougheed and Edmonds are major town centres; Deer Lake concentrates arts, heritage and parkland; Burnaby Mountain combines SFU with forest trails and viewpoints; and Burnaby Lake provides a large wetland nature experience. The best way to explore the city is to choose the experience first and stay geographically focused.
CHOOSE YOUR BURNABY
Start with what interests you
Trails + views
Burnaby Mountain & SFU
Forest trails, university architecture, viewpoints and a different climate above the city.
Explore the mountain →
Urban Burnaby
Metrotown + Central Park
Rapid transit, shopping and food beside one of Burnaby's largest urban parks.
Explore Metrotown →FEATURED GUIDE
Deer Lake shows why Burnaby deserves its own city guide
Few Metro Vancouver areas combine a large natural lake, an open-air museum, public art gallery, performance centre and major festival lawn within the same district. A visitor can spend half a day here without turning the experience into a driving itinerary.
Good for
First-time visitors
First-time visitors
Style
Nature + culture
Nature + culture
Allow
Half day or longer
Half day or longer
Add nearby
Metrotown
Metrotown
GUIDES FOR REAL TRIPS
Choose a guide that fits the day
First visit
Things to Do in Burnaby
Compare the city's major experiences by area, interest, weather and available time.
Start exploring →Burnaby with Kids
Build a manageable family day around one anchor activity and a nearby backup.
Family guide →Rainy Day Burnaby
Arts, museums, recreation and town centres when the outdoor plan changes.
Rainy-day guide →Getting Around
Understand where SkyTrain works well and where buses, walking or a car still matter.
Transportation guide →Living in Burnaby
Neighbourhood, commute, school and everyday-service questions for newcomers.
Resident guide →SIMPLE ITINERARIES
Three Burnaby days that actually fit together
Half day
Deer Lake + culture
One cultural facility, a lakeside walk and enough time for lunch without rushing.
Build this day →
North Burnaby
Burnaby Mountain + Heights
Views or a trail first, then Hastings Street for food and neighbourhood character.
See the weekend guide →
Easy transit
Metrotown + Central Park
Urban convenience with a forested outdoor break beside the Expo Line.
Explore Metrotown →BURNABY'S TOWN CENTRES
Do not treat every Burnaby address as the same destination
The City identifies Metrotown as Burnaby's regional city centre and Brentwood, Lougheed and Edmonds as municipal town centres. Each has rapid transit and major services, but the feel, surrounding neighbourhoods and regional connections differ. Our community guides explain those differences rather than ranking them.
Metrotown
Expo Line, major retail and Central Park.
Community guide →Brentwood
Millennium Line and a fast-changing north Burnaby skyline.
Community guide →Lougheed
East Burnaby with strong Tri-Cities connections.
Community guide →Edmonds
Southeast Burnaby, recreation and New Westminster access.
Community guide →FOR RESIDENTS & NEWCOMERS
Use the city guide after the weekend
Compare neighbourhoods, commuting, schools, libraries, recreation and official resources before making a longer-term decision. Burnaby's rapid-transit centres and established neighbourhoods create very different daily routines.