Vancouver
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Vancouver is a delicious juxtaposition of urban sophistication and on-your-doorstep wilderness adventure. The mountains and seascape make the city an outdoor playground for hiking, skiing, kayaking, cycling, and sailing—and so much more—while the cuisine and arts scenes are equally diverse, reflecting the makeup of Vancouver's ethnic (predominantly Asian) mosaic.
Vancouver is consistently ranked as one of the world's most livable cities, and it's easy for visitors to see why. It's beautiful, it's outdoorsy, and there's a laid-back West Coast vibe. On the one hand, there's easy access to a variety of outdoor activities, a fabulous variety of beaches, and amazing parks. At the same time, the city has a multicultural vitality and cosmopolitan flair. The attraction is as much in the range of food choices—the fresh seafood and local produce are some of North America's best—as it is in the museums, shopping, and nightlife.
Vancouver's landscaping also adds to the city's walking appeal. In spring, flowerbeds spill over with tulips and daffodils while sea breezes scatter scented cherry blossoms throughout Downtown; in summer, office workers take to the beaches, parks, and urban courtyards for picnic lunches and laptop meetings.
More than 9 million visitors each year come to Vancouver, Canada's third-largest metropolitan area. Because of its peninsula location, traffic flow is a contentious issue. Thankfully, Vancouver is wonderfully walkable, especially in the downtown core. The North Shore is a scoot across the harbor, and the rapid-transit system to Richmond and the airport means that staying in the more affordable ’burbs doesn't have to be synonymous with sacrificing convenience. The mild climate, exquisite natural scenery, and relaxed outdoor lifestyle keep attracting residents, and the number of visitors is increasing for the same reasons. People often get their first glimpse of Vancouver when catching an Alaskan cruise, and many return at some point to spend more time here.
Things to Do
Performing Arts
Arts Club Theatre Company
Carousel Theatre for Young People
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
Firehall Arts Centre
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Rio Theatre
The Cultch
Theatre Under the Stars
Vancouver TheatreSports League
Other
Ambleside Park and Beach
Ballet British Columbia
English Bay Beach
Fifth Avenue Cinemas
Jericho Beach
Kitsilano Beach
Pacific Cinémathèque
Spanish Banks Beaches
Stanley Park Beaches
Sunset Beach
The Dance Centre
Trout Lake Beach
Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Whytecliff Park
Activities
Beaches
Biking
Diving
Ecotours and Wildlife Viewing
Fishing
Golf
Health, Fitness, and Yoga
Hiking
Hockey
Running
Water Sports
Winter Sports
Top Destinations
Cambie Corridor
Two of Vancouver's top garden attractions are over the Cambie Bridge, south of Downtown: Queen Elizabeth Park (just off Cambie at 33rd Avenue), and the VanDusen Botanical Garden, which is at Oak Street at 37th Avenue, west of Cambie. The Cambie Corridor has also become something of a shopping destination, with several big box stores clustered near the intersection of Broadway and Cambie, and more independent shops in the blocks between 18th and 20th avenues.
Chinatown
Although a large percentage of Vancouver's Chinese community has shifted to suburban Richmond, there's still a wonderful buzz of authenticity in the open-front markets, bakeries, and herbalist and import shops of the city's historic Chinatown. Street signs are in Chinese lettering, streetlights look like lanterns topped with decorative dragons, and much of the architecture is patterned on that of Guangzhou (Canton). Chinatown's early residents, immigrants who arrived from China in the late 1800s, came primarily to seek work in BC's emerging railroad and mining industries. More recently, hip young newcomers have been settling in the neighborhood, bringing funky shops, eclectic eateries, and even a few condominium buildings. You can still linger over a traditional dim sum lunch, but you can also settle in for a creative cocktail, a currywurst, or a slice of pie before scoping out the indie fashions.
You could easily spend an hour wandering around Chinatown, checking out the architecture and exotic wares; add at least an hour if you also want to visit the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Be aware that you might come across one or two seedy corners in Chinatown; it's all pretty safe by day, but you might prefer to cab it at night.
Downtown
At the top of a gentle rise up from the water, the intersection of Georgia and Granville streets is considered Downtown's epicenter, and it's always bustling with activity. Georgia Street runs east–west, past Library Square and Rogers Arena (home of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks), straight through to Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge (which leads to the North Shore and on to Whistler, a two-hour drive away). North–south Granville Street is a pedestrian-friendly strip of funky shops, nightclubs, and street-side cafés, with a few pockets of grunge to keep things feeling real. From this corner of Georgia and Granville, there are many key attractions within a five-minute walk, including the Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson Square, and Pacific Centre Mall.
Gastown
Gastown is known for its cobblestone streets and Victorian era–style streetlamps; it's also joined Yaletown as one of Vancouver's trendiest neighborhoods, as überhip stores, ad agencies, high-tech companies, and restaurants take over refurbished brick warehouses. It's a relatively small area, bordered by Hastings, Richards, and Main streets and it was nicknamed for the garrulous ("Gassy") Jack Deighton who opened his saloon where his statue now stands on Maple Tree Square. This is essentially where Vancouver originated and it's the zero point from which all Vancouver street addresses start. By the time the first transcontinental train arrived in 1887, the waterfront area was crowded with hotels, warehouses, brothels, and dozens of saloons—you can still see place names such as Gaoler's Mews and Blood Alley, which hint at those early rough-and-tumble days.
Granville Island
An indoor food market and a thriving diversity of artist studios as well as performing arts spaces, specialty shops (there's not a chain store or designer label in sight), and a busy marina make Granville Island one of Vancouver's top attractions.
Explore at your leisure but try to plan your expedition over a meal, because the market is an excellent place for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and shopping. The buildings behind the market are as diverse as the island's main attractions and house all sorts of crafts shops. The waterside boardwalk behind the Arts Club and around the Creekhouse building will bring you to Ocean Art Works, an open-sided longhouse-style structure where you can watch First Nations artists at work. Make time to visit the free contemporary galleries beside the covered walkway, and Sea Village, one of the few houseboat communities in Vancouver. Other nooks and alleys to note are Ron Basford Park, a natural amphitheater for outdoor performances, and Railspur Alley, home to about a dozen studios and galleries that produce everything from jewelry to leather work and sake.
Granville Island is also a venue for Vancouver's many performing arts festivals—and a great place to catch top-quality street entertainment at any time.
In the early 20th century False Creek was dredged for better access to the sawmills that lined the shore, and the sludge was heaped onto a sandbar that grew large enough to house much-needed industrial and logging-equipment plants. Although businesses thrived in the 1920s, most fell into derelict status by the '60s. In the early '70s, though, the federal government came up with a creative plan to redevelop the island with a public market, marine activities, and artisans' studios. The refurbished Granville Island opened to the public in 1979 and was an immediate hit with locals and visitors alike.
Kitsilano
The beachfront district of Kitsilano (popularly known as Kits) is one of Vancouver's trendiest neighborhoods. Originally inhabited by the Squamish people, whose Chief Khahtsahlanough gave the area its name, Kitsilano has fashionable shops, popular clubs and cafés, and three museums (the Museum of Vancouver, the Vancouver Maritime Museum, and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre), all in beachside Vanier Park. Kits has hidden treasures, too: rare boats moored at Heritage Harbour, stately mansions on forested lots, and, all along the waterfront, quiet coves and shady paths within a stone's throw of lively Kits Beach , one of the city's most popular spots for sun and sand.
Main St. and Mt. Pleasant
Main Street bisects Vancouver, running from the Burrard Inlet and Chinatown south to the Fraser River. Science World, the city's popular science museum is just off Main, as is the rail station and the Olympic Village, a residential community that housed Olympic athletes during the 2010 Winter Games. An arts district known as "The Flats" has emerged off Main, near East 2nd Avenue and Great Northern Way, where a growing number of contemporary art galleries have set up shop. On the south end, Main Street is lined with independent boutiques that showcase local designers, as well as lots of intriguing places to eat. At the intersection of Main and East 49th Avenue is the Punjabi Market, a long-established "Little India"; while many newer Indo-Canadian immigrants have settled outside Vancouver, in Surrey and other suburbs, the Punjabi Market is worth visiting for its jewelry stores, sari shops, and restaurants.
North Vancouver
North Vancouver is probably the most commercial of the North Shore communities, and it's where you'll find popular tourist destinations, including Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It's worth noting that there's another suspension bridge in the area, at lesser-known Lynn Canyon, and that one is free. If you're trying to decide between the two, the Lynn Canyon bridge is shorter (130 feet versus 450 feet at Capilano), and it's not quite as high over the canyon. Lynn Canyon is a little harder to get to than Capilano, especially if you don't have a car. The Capilano bridge is a high-profile tourist attraction whereas Lynn Canyon is a public park with the bridge and hiking trails.
Point Grey
Some of Vancouver's best gardens, natural sights, and museums, including the renowned Museum of Anthropology on the campus of the University of British Columbia, are southwest of downtown Vancouver in the Point Grey neighborhood. Established in 1908, UBC is the city's main university campus, with a student population of more than 60,000. The university is also where you'll find the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts , the Botanical Gardens, and Pacific Spirit Regional Park—the latter, although it can't compare with Stanley Park, is where the locals go for meandering forested trails that put you in touch with nature.
Richmond
The suburban community of Richmond, south of Vancouver proper, is the region's "new Chinatown."
The main attractions here are two lively summer night markets, several Hong Kong–style shopping malls, and hundreds of Asian restaurants. It's easy to get to on the Canada Line—about a 20 or 25 minute ride. Vancouver International Airport is also in Richmond.
South Granville
The section of Granville Street between 5th and 15th avenues is the city's traditional "Gallery Row." Although some showrooms have decamped to larger, less expensive quarters on the East Side, a number of high-end galleries remain, alongside furniture stores and upscale clothing boutiques.
Stanley Park
A 1,000-acre wilderness park, only blocks from the downtown section of a major city, is a rare treasure and Vancouverites make use of it to bike, walk, jog, in-line skate, play cricket and tennis, go the beach , and enjoy outdoor art shows and theater performances alongside attractions such as the renowned aquarium.
The fact that Stanley Park is so close to the city is actually sort of thanks to the Americans. In the 1860s, because of a threat of American invasion, this oceanfront peninsula was designated a military reserve, though it was never needed. When the City of Vancouver was incorporated in 1886, the council's first act was to request the land be set aside as a park. Permission was granted two years later and the grounds were named Stanley Park after Lord Stanley, then governor general of Canada.
When a storm swept across the park's shores in 2006, it destroyed close to 10,000 trees as well as parts of the perimeter seawall. Locals contributed thousands of dollars to the cleanup and replanting effort in addition to the monies set aside by local authorities. The storm's silver lining was that it cleared some dead-wood areas, making room for the reintroduction of many of the park's original species of trees. It also gave rise to an unusual ecological arts program in which ephemeral sculptures were placed in various outdoor locations. Made of natural and organic materials, the elements are constantly changing the look of each piece which, over time, will decay and return to the earth.
In addition to Stanley's Park Bar and Grill and Prospect Point Cafe, both of which are good for a quick bite , the Teahouse in Stanley Park is another restaurant in the park .
West End
Robson Street, Vancouver's prime shopping boulevard, runs from Downtown into the West End, a partly residential and partly commercial district. The West End has Vancouver's prettiest streetscapes and harks back to the early 1930s when it housed the affluent middle class: trees are plentiful, gardens are lushly planted, and homes and apartment buildings exude the character of that era. Vancouver's large gay community has a major presence here, too. There are lots of restaurants and cafés along the main arteries: Robson, Denman, and Davie streets.
West Vancouver
Posh "West Van," as the locals call the North Shore suburb of West Vancouver, has retained its well-heeled character from the time when the Guinness family developed the area in the 1930s. It’s a network of English-style winding country roads and multimillion-dollar homes. Cypress Mountain, which hosted the Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboard competitions, is in West Van. If you have a car, you can drive to the top of Cypress for spectacular vistas of Vancouver and beyond; unlike Grouse Mountain, the views here are free. West Van is also en route to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal for ferries to Vancouver Island and to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, which continues north to Squamish and Whistler.
Yaletown
Yaletown is one of Vancouver's most fashionable areas and one of the most impressive urban-redevelopment projects in North America.
Back in about 1985 the BC provincial government decided they were going to take a derelict industrial site on the north shore of False Creek, clean it up, and build a world's fair. Twenty million people showed up for Expo ’86, and Yaletown, on the site of the fair, was born. The brick warehouses were turned into apartment buildings and offices, and the old loading docks are now terraces for cappuccino bars and trendy restaurants. There are brewpubs, day spas, retail and wholesale fashion outlets, and shops selling upscale home decor.
There's also a seaside walk and cycle path that completely encircles False Creek. It's hard to imagine that back in the 1880s and ’90s this was probably the most lawless place in Canada: it was so far into the woods that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police complained they couldn't patrol it.
