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Joey Hadden
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- Vancouver, British Columbia, is one of Canada's wealthiest cities.
- I visited Vancouver for the first time in May 2025 and spotted signs of extreme wealth.
- I noticed flashy cars, dozens of yachts, and mansions resembling palaces.
From Ferraris and five-star hotels to beachside mansions that looked like palaces, extravagant wealth was around every corner during my trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada.
According to Henley and Partners' World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2025, a ranking based on the number of millionaire residents, Vancouver is the second-richest city in Canada after Toronto. The report said the city is home to 46,400 millionaire residents, 90 centimillionaires, and 11 billionaires.
I visited Vancouver for the first time in May 2025. My three-day trip was nothing short of lavish, from the signs of wealth around me to the luxuries I experienced firsthand.
Vancouver's streets were decked out with fancy cars.
The luxury cars in Vancouver are hard to miss. I explored neighborhoods on foot and spotted many luxury cars, from BMWs to Maseratis, parked on the street and gliding by.
In one affluent neighborhood, Kitsilano, I spotted Audi and Ferrari dealerships located across the street from each other.
The city was full of high-end boutiques.
I spent one morning in Vancouver exploring Gastown, an artsy neighborhood known for its designer shops and upscale boutiques, like Stüssy and Le Labo, among others.
I lit up when I spotted a John Fluevog store in Gastown. Fluevog is one of my favorite shoe designers. But I didn't want to tempt myself, so I didn't go inside.
I saw even more high-end stores on Alberni Street, a shopping district in Vancouver's West End neighborhood. Here, I found some of the biggest names in luxury retail — Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci, to name a few.
The city has top-tier hotels, like the five-star Fairmont Pacific Rim.
Vancouver has no shortage of upscale hotels. In fact, seven hotels in the Canadian city won a 2025 Forbes Travel Guide Star Award, which rates the world's best hotels.
I stayed in three of the hotels on the list, and my favorite was the five-star Fairmont Pacific Rim, which was also named one of the best hotels in Western Canada in Condé Nast Traveler's 2024 Readers' Choice Awards.
I spent one night at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in a room that typically costs $725 a night, although Business Insider received a media rate. It was so luxurious that I wished I'd booked it for a longer stay.
My bathroom at the hotel felt like a private spa.
Everything about my Gold Harbour Mountain View room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim was luxurious — from the custom furniture to the artistic decor.
But the oversize black marble bathroom stood out to me most. I sank into a deep tub, put a glass of ice water and provided Le Labo toiletries on top of a caramel-colored resin bath tray, and turned on the room's essential oil diffuser to relax.
Then I rinsed off in a standing glass shower with two showerheads and used a Dyson hair dryer in front of a large, lit-up mirror. Afterward, I thought I looked like I'd just gotten a blowout at a salon.
I can't forget to mention the toilet, which was separated by a sliding door. The bowl glowed with a blue light, and an upscale bidet was on the wall, featuring settings to heat the seat and change the water temperature. There was even a massage mode and a dryer mode.
From my balcony at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, I spotted yachts in the harbor.
My balcony faced Coal Harbour, and my room was on the 21st floor. So I had a wide view of the water, city buildings, and surrounding mountains.
Down in the water, I spotted docked yachts. Some were tucked into covered spaces, while others were fully exposed, allowing me to gawk at their sleek designs.
Later, while exploring one of Vancouver's wealthy neighborhoods, I spotted a yacht club with entry fees of up to $40,000.
In Vancouver's Point Grey neighborhood, I spotted Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, which has two home ports — Coal Harbour (the one I spotted from my balcony) and Jericho Marina.
I looked up the cost to join and was shocked by the price point. In addition to monthly dues, members must pay an entrance fee that varies depending on age. Those 41 or older pay $40,000, according to the club's membership request form.
Nearby, Vancouver's Billionaires' Row is a beachside street with views of the ocean, mountains, and skyline.
For me, seeing a mountain, ocean, and city skyline simultaneously is a rarity. But the ultrawealthy wake up to this view daily on Vancouver's Billionaires' Row.
I'm talking about Belmont Avenue, the elite street in Vancouver's West Point Grey neighborhood that covets some of the city's priciest real estate, according to Coast Reporter.
The high-priced street had modern estates with a mix of architectural materials.
The contemporary homes on Belmont Avenue had sleek exteriors, mixing glass, concrete, and other materials. Flat roofs and right angles gave them a boxy feel.
Many also had rooftop decks with glass barriers.
I also spotted old-world European-style mansions that looked like a page out of a fairy tale.
Not every home on Belmont Avenue is modern. I spotted many classic mansions with Victorian, Renaissance, and Revival architecture, which made me feel as though I were in Europe.
The stark contrast of architectural styles made this street feel unique among other wealthy neighborhoods I've explored around North America.
Most homes on this street had gated entrances and tall hedges that provided privacy.
Though the street itself was public, the homes were individually gated. Most of these estates maximized privacy with large, trimmed hedges and bushes blocking the front yard. The extravagant landscaping reminded me of palaces I've seen in Europe.
With construction underway on new homes on Billionaires' Row, Vancouver's wealth appeared to be growing.
I spotted a few mansions-in-the-making in between lavish estates on the seaside street. Next time I'm in Vancouver, I'll return to Billionaires' Row to see how they turned out.
