ChrisChemainus is a small town on the east coast of Vancouver Island in Canada full of Street Art, or beautiful murals. In total there are almost 100 murals in this town and you can see them all in about half an hour. You walk right through it!
The murals in Chemainus are unique and definitely worth a visit. The city is nice for a short stopover and to spend the night at one of the free motorhome pitches. In this article I will tell you more about the artworks and about the free overnight stay in the city.
Also read: Tips for Vancouver | Complete travel guide – by a local (!)
Plan your vacation to Canada here
- Itineraries : TUI, canada plus, sawadee en Djoser.
- Fly & drives : canada plus en Travelworld.
- Cruises and city trips for Canada you book with Travel deal.
- Flight tickets for Canada you book with TUI, KLM, KAYAK of Skyscanner.
- Rental cars : Sunnycars, Alamo en rental cars.
- Tours and Activities in Canada you book through GetYourGuide.
- Camping sites in National Parks you book on Park Canada.
- Hotels & Resorts in Canada you book with Booking.com.
- SIM cards en e-sims for Canada you buy at International sim.
- Parking at the airport you can arrange via Parkos, park care of iParking.
- travel items (suitcases, bags, world plugs, etc. can be ordered at Bol.com.
Table of contents
Our journey through the United States and Canada
This article is part of a major one-year journey that we (Chris and Malou van Wereldreizigers.nl), are currently making by the United States en Canada† We started in New York City and are through Washington DC en Baltimore (where we shipped our RV), first traveled south (Florida) and then made a full round of the country. At the end of July we crossed the border to Canada via Montana.
Organizing this trip took a lot of time and energy. So we had to US B1/B2 visa of one year and we spent weeks working on it renovating our 4×4 camper† Then we got to work on the RV to America to ship and in hindsight it turned out to be a Dutch vehicle insurance in America to be one of the biggest challenges.
When that was all over, we could finally focus on the anticipation: figuring out and planning all the beautiful places we want to visit. I built the ultimate roadtrip route through America and Canada of roughly 50.000 kilometers in Google maps and we are now making our dream come true! The interactive map can be viewed below.
More blogs from our trip through America and Canada
America
- Roadtrip USA (1) | New York City Tips and Travel Guide
- Roadtrip USA (2) | Tips for Annapolis
- Roadtrip USA (3) | Washington DC Tips and Travel Guide
- Roadtrip USA (4) | Tips for Baltimore (picking up the motorhome)
- Roadtrip USA (5) | Tips for Savannah
- More America articles? We wrote in total 37 articles about America. The full list can be found in one of the five links above.
Canada
- Roadtrip Canada (38) | Canada Tour Starts – Route
- Roadtrip Canada (39) | Tips for Calgary, Alberta
- Roadtrip Canada (40) | Tips for Banff National Park
- Roadtrip Canada (41) | Tips for Yoho National Park
- Roadtrip Canada (42) | Tips about bears and other wildlife
- Roadtrip Canada (43) | Tips and Hiking in Glacier National Park
- Roadtrip Canada (44) | What we're going to miss about Canada
- Roadtrip Canada (45) | Tips for Jasper National Park
- Roadtrip Canada (46) | From Jasper to Vancouver – Leaping Salmon and Waterfalls
- Roadtrip Canada (47) | Biking in Vancouver
- Roadtrip Canada (48) | Ferry Vancouver–Vancouver Island
- Roadtrip Canada (49) | Campbell River, Bear Watching and Elk Falls
- Roadtrip Canada (50) | Orca & Whale Watching Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island
- Roadtrip Canada (51) | 20x Street Art (murals) in Chemainus
- Roadtrip Canada (52) | Tips Pacific Rim National Park, West Coast Vancouver Island
- Roadtrip Canada (53) | Tips & Highlights Vancouver Island
About Chemainus
Chemainus (Location here ), is a town on the east coast of Vancouver Island about 30 km north of the city of Victoria and 30 km south of Nanaimo. Chemainus has long been ignored by tourists visiting the island, as there was simply little to see or do.
That has changed in recent years. In an effort to attract tourists, the residents and the municipality have drawn up a plan together. They hired a number of Street-Art artists from all over the world to decorate their city with countless murals. Many of these murals tell a story about the history of the city, the region and the indigenous inhabitants, which makes it unique.
Free motorhome pitches in Chemainus
To make the city even more attractive for travelers, they have designated a street for free overnight stays with your camper. This street and the RV parking spaces are therefore purely and only reserved for camper travelers who want to spend the night for free. You are not allowed to park there with a normal car. It is hoped that this new approach will attract more tourists to view the murals and spend money in the city, for example in one of the restaurants or shops.
This seems to be a success because the street is often used by camper travelers. It is very difficult to legally park somewhere overnight in this part of Vancouver Island. It's one of only a handful of free standing spots in the southern part of Vancouver Island.
There are two streets marked where you can park for free and spend the night with your camper. These are Victoria street en Croft Street, see image above. To navigate directly there, click here to open Google Maps.
Street Art Murals in Chemainus
Conclusion
Those who love Street-Art and murals will really enjoy themselves in Chemainus. I have never seen so many beautiful works of art in such a small area! The Street-Art District Wynwood, Miami I also thought it was very cool, but what makes the murals in Chemainus so special is that they have really tried to transfer a piece of history in the various works of art. It's like walking through a large open-air museum.
The fact that you can stay overnight with a camper for free is also a good reason to visit the town. Free places to stay are scarce on the southern part of Vancouver island. If you are in the region of Nanaimo and / or Victoria If you are looking for a place to stay, definitely consider Chemainus' free overnight parking spots!
Plan your vacation to Canada here
- Itineraries : TUI, canada plus, sawadee en Djoser.
- Fly & drives : canada plus en Travelworld.
- Cruises and city trips for Canada you book with Travel deal.
- Flight tickets for Canada you book with TUI, KLM, KAYAK of Skyscanner.
- Rental cars : Sunnycars, Alamo en rental cars.
- Tours and Activities in Canada you book through GetYourGuide.
- Camping sites in National Parks you book on Park Canada.
- Hotels & Resorts in Canada you book with Booking.com.
- SIM cards en e-sims for Canada you buy at International sim.
- Parking at the airport you can arrange via Parkos, Central parking of iParking.
- travel items (suitcases, bags, world plugs, etc. can be ordered at Bol.com.
Seen a mistake? Ask? Remark? Let us know in the comments!