Vancouver museums and art galleries that are completely free to visit
Vancouver is not an easy place to afford the basics, much less to splurge on fancy meals or daytime excursions. The good news is that there are a handful of museums and art galleries that are completely free to visit, which means you can support your local arts scene without breaking the bank.
Here are all the museums and galleries you can visit for free in and around Vancouver.
The Belkin Gallery
The Belkin Gallery is currently exhibiting One Hundred Years by Abbas Akhavan, which presents largely new works, including ephemeral installations, video, and sculpture that blur the boundaries between the stage, set, gameboard, studio, and gallery. According to the gallery, these pieces continue the artist’s interest in institutional and domestic spaces, contending with the coexistence of hospitality and hostility.
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and from noon to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Where: 1825 Main Mall, UBC
The Gallery George
Situated in Gastown, the Gallery George always has plenty of amazing artists on rotation. Right now, you can check out the work of The Professional Photographers of Canada until Nov. 12, 2025. Art lovers can also mark their calendars for Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, when the gallery hosts an opening reception for its next upcoming exhibit: Palette of Possibilities, Artistry Unleashed.
The gallery is open from Wednesday to Sunday from noon until 5 p.m.
Where: 140 West Hastings St.
Pendulum Gallery
The Pendulum Gallery also showcases some incredible artwork free of charge to view, including Ann Goldberg’s Acmegram, which will be on display until Oct. 31, 2025. This gallery will be one of hundreds to soon open their doors for the annual Eastside Culture Crawl, which kicks off on Nov. 3, 2025.
The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Wednesday, until 9 p.m. from Thursday to Friday, and until 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Where: 885 West Georgia St.
Contemporary Art Gallery
Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery has a ton of exciting exhibits and programming in the works. Visitors can check out Hail the New Puritan by Charles Atlas and Soujourner Truth Parsons by Louise until Feb. 28, 2026.
The gallery is open from noon until 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday.
Where: 555 Nelson St.
Burnaby Village Museum
Aside from its upcoming Haunted Village attraction, the Burnaby Village Museum is always free to visit. Built in 1971 in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of B.C. joining Canada, Burnaby Village Museum originally covered 4.3 acres, intending to depict how a small pioneer village once operated. Today, the open-air museum spans 10 acres and offers visitors from all over the chance to see first-hand what life in B.C. looked like around the turn of the 20th century.
Note that the museum will resume its free admission on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025.
Where: 6501 Deer Lake Ave., Burnaby
Vancouver Bienne Open Air Museum
At the crux of local art, social action, and community engagement is The Vancouver Biennale, a nonprofit exhibiting public art throughout the city.
The open-air museum includes everything from sculptures and murals to new media, music, and film projected at various locations in Vancouver, all by a range of talented international artists.
One staple piece that you’ve likely seen hundreds of times is Giants by OSGEMEOS, which transformed the silos on Granville Island into 70-foot murals, now a part of the Ocean Concrete manufacturing and distribution plant.
Where: Public art throughout Vancouver
Gallery Jones Fine Art
At Gallery Jones, visitors can check out the current exhibition, Make Do by Michael Batty, until Nov. 15, 2025. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from noon until 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
Where: 258 East 1st Ave.
Equinox Gallery
From now until Nov. 22, 2025, visitors of Equinox Gallery can check out an exhibit entitled Some Paintings by Kim Dorland, a series of small-scale paintings focusing on unsettling mystery and vividness of the natural world. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday.
Where: 3642 Commercial Dr.
Vancouver Art Gallery
Want to check out a new exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery? You can visit for free on the first Friday of every month, and there are plenty of current and upcoming exhibits to get excited about. Right now, you can see Enemy Alien by Tamio Wakayama, Otani Workshop: Monsters in My Head, and Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape.
Soon, the gallery will transform Jim Lambie’s Zobop (Colour Chrome), a vibrant exhibit that combines visuals and sound to produce a “psychedelic, performative experience.”
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week except Tuesdays.
Where: 750 Hornby St.
Chali-Rosso Art Gallery
The Charli-Rosso Art Gallery offers a look at original works of art by some of the most well-known modern artists, like Picasso, Dalí, Chagall, Matisse, and more.
The gallery is located at the Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place, open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday.
Where: 312-999 Canada Place
Time to plan your own art crawl!
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