City Stories Index · Canada · 2026 edition
Ottawa vs Vancouver
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Vancouver leads 3–2. Character is a different question: Ottawa is the capital on the canal; Vancouver is the city between mountains and sea.
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| What we measure | Ottawa | Vancouver | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 32 | 37 | Vancouver |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 645 | 350 | Vancouver |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 5 | 1 | Ottawa |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 78 | — | Ottawa |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 23 | 25 | Vancouver |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 9 | 0 | Ottawa |
Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.
What their stories are about
How many places with a story each city has per theme: Ottawa in orange, Vancouver in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
OttawaVancouver
6 places
industry & modern era14 places
9 places
arts & culture3 places
5 places
parks & leisure5 places
4 places
royalty & nobility1 place
1 place
guilds & trade4 places
Ottawa scorecard →
The capital on the canal
Vancouver scorecard →
The city between mountains and sea