Visiting Vancouver
Tuesday, 21 July 2009Heading up to Vancouver? Here’s a broad starting point. If you prefer a narrow starting point, I’ve also got a few notes for reference.
Arriving and getting around Vancouver
Vancouver has a great bus system. The busses are quiet and clean, the drivers are courteous, and you can get just about anywhere. The bus from the airport heads strait up Granville Street right into the city and takes 30 – 45 minutes. You can pre-purchase bus tickets at most convenience stores, or when you board the bus. The bus will either scan your ticket or issue you one (if you pay with cash). Hold onto it – it will work as your transfer for as long as it’s valid. There are different fare zones, but unless you head out east you don’t have to worry about them.
There is also the Sky Train, an elevated rail system that runs east-west from the city out to Burnaby, though it’s being extended south to the airport for the 2010 Olympics.
Vancouver is also very bike-able. The town is small enough that it never takes long to get anywhere. Unless you’re headed out to UBC, Vancouver isn’t too hilly, either. Stay along the coast if you want flat terrain.
Downtown
Downtown Vancouver is a peninsula that sticks out from the main land up towards North Vancouver, and is home to countless sky-scraping condominiums and more than 50,000 residents. On the northern tip is Stanley Park.
The skyline of downtown Vancouver is very impressive, but what always shocked me was how much was dedicated to living and how little was dedicated to business. I’ve no idea where all of the people work, especially since the service industry is the largest employer downtown.
Downtown has pockets of excitement. Davie Street runs just inland and is the gay district of Vancouver. Check out Stepho’s for abundant and affordable Greek food, and hang out along the beach on English Bay to people watch. The southern bit is called Yale Town and is where the yuppies and trophy wives hang out. Most anywhere on Hamilton St. is good to eat, and the waterfront is a great place to catch a water taxi to Granville Island. Gastown is the oldest part of Vancouver and has some nice quaint shops in-between the tourist traps. Steamworks Brew Pub has interesting seasonal brews and is good for a pint or two. Heading east of Gastown gets you into the raw inner city of Hastings Street. Canadians say it’s dangerous there, but most people will leave you alone. On the east side of Hastings is China Town, but most of Vancouver’s Chinese population lives south of the city in Richmond, so China Town is a little under-whelming.
During a sunny day, one of the best things to do downtown is to rent bicycles and ride around Stanley Park. It’s an hour – 90 minute ride around the route that hugs the coast, and there are also paths going into the middle of the park. It’s got great views of everything and is a great way to escape the city. There are plenty of places to rent bikes in the West End. If you’ve got the time, you can ride around the whole downtown peninsula, which is also well worth it.
If you prefer to walk, start out at the public library on Robson and Hamilton and then walk northwest on Georgia. The Vancouver Art Gallery is nice, especially if they’ve got a local artist’s show going on, and then after the Art Gallery Georgia St. is good for window shopping.
At nighttime, all the action is on Granville St. If you like music, the Commodore is an awesome venue and can accommodate maybe 750 – 1000 people. There are smaller holes-in-the-wall that also have a lot of class. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but Richards on Richards is one of the best venues in the city if good music is playing.
South of Downtown
If you do make it out of downtown, you’ll enter Kitsilano first. To live in Kitsilano, I believe there is actually a requirement that you wear yoga pants (Lulu Lemon is the preferred local brand) or are pushing a baby stroller. To visit, though anyone can come. The best parts of “Kits” are along the water: Kitsilano Beach on the east end, and Jericho Beach on the western end. By bicycle, take the Burrard St. Bridge to get to Kits and then ride along the waterfront. There are plenty of busses to take, too.
If you make it all the way west and make it up the hill, you’ll hit the University of British Columbia (UBC). They’ve got a nice rose garden, and tucked away on the western end is a few hundred stairs that take you down to Wreck Beach, the only nude beach in Vancouver. Be forewarned – only the people you don’t want to see naked actually go nude on this beach.
There isn’t much to catch your interest east of Kits except for Granville Island. It’s another tourist trip, but is more palatable as it’s populated by local artists, a farmers market, and half of the seagulls that live in the city. In the evening there are theatres that have shows on Granville Island, and there’s usually always something artsy going on.
If you do head further south on Granville St., VanDusen Botanical Garden is nice, especially in the evenings during the winter holiday season when it’s all lit up.
North Vancouver
If you seek more nature than you can get at Stanley Park, then head north. There are quite a few places to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Grouse Mountain is one popular destination, and there are two ways to the top. There is a gondola, which is picturesque, but expensive. And there is the Grouse Grind. It takes at least an hour of non-stop climbing to get to the top of the 1800 ft. climb. Make sure to take water if you go. The locals call it Nature’s Stairmaster, but also works as Nature’s Matchmaker; if you’re single, it’s a great place to meet other hot and sweaty singles. The top of Grouse has skiing in the winter (when there’s snow), two great restaurants (get there early to get a good seat), a spectacular view of the city (and a great but distant view of the fireworks if you’re there during the Festival of Lights), and a variety of outdoor activities for families. One way tickets on the gondola can be purchased for those who climb to the top.
Capilano Suspension Bridge can be fun as well. They also have a “treetop adventure” which makes you feel like an Ewok, but it’s pricy to get in. For a similar outdoors romp, Lynn Valley is free, less crowded, and just as beautiful. But there are no Ewoks. To really get away from things, head north from the city, then east to Deep Cove. This quaint town has great bed and breakfasts and is also good for kayaking.
And if you go north and want to keep going, the Sea to Sky highway to Whistler is a gorgeous drive, and Whistler is a fun and very self-explanatory town both in the summer and winter.
When to go, where to stay
Vancouver summers are the best in the world. They are mild, with temps in the high 70s during the day and 50s at night. There is always a nice breeze from the ocean which keeps the bugs away, and the sun doesn’t set until 10pm which makes the days really long. August is typically the best month, and summer doesn’t usually last more than 8 weeks. May and June are typically wet, as are January and February. Winters have been freakish the past few years, but they typically are a cold form of mild with thick fogs and temperatures above freezing.
Staying downtown anywhere close to Burrard St. or Georgia St. is a safe bet. If you stay outside of downtown, it will probably be a bed and breakfast. You don’t need a car to get around unless you have places to visit that the bus doesn’t go to frequently. Before you go, check out City of Glass by Douglas Coupland. It’s the book he put together as a travel guide for his friends who kept coming to visit him in the city.
Comments