Vancouver

Lucy Lu

I am off to Vancouver at the weekend and am just wondering has anybody any tips on what is worth a visit and where is good to eat?

ToxicPaddy

Definitely visit the Aquarium and take a walk through Stanley park as its cool to see
all the animals walking around without a care in the world.. Ducks, Geese, squirrels
etc all strolling around between the people..

The food in the Cambie Hostel in Gastown has a decent bar and does some nice
food, real barfood type stuff but grand for lunch during the day..

Cambie Hostel

Take a walk along the marina... very nice evening walk after a meal.. They have a
sky rail system, train that hangs from an overhead rail and ya see some nice sights
when on that.. has the usual tram rides etc..

Take a cruise through the harbour, there is a huge amusement park there aswell
which is supposed to be good but when I went it was closed for the winter..

There is a really cool cable car you can get to the top of Grouse Mountain and if the
day is clear the views are spectacular..

Grouse Mountain

Its a lovely city, nice climate and the people seemed friendly enough when there..

These are good enough sites and Im sure if you google it, you will find a lot more..

Vancouver Tourism
Discover Vancouver

A 2 day trip to Vancouver Island is definitely worth it, Victoria, the main city on the
island is cool, real colonial and some fantastic buildings. You can get a bus and ferry
from the main bus station in Vancouver.. About 5 hours on the bus in total and an
hour on the ferry, so if you dont mind that the go..

They do a good horse and kart sightseeing tour around the city that lasts an hour..
Lovely harbour area and lotsa nice restaurants..

You can do whale watching tours but they tend to be a lot more expensive than if
you were doing it on the east coast, around $100 for the day..

Not much in Naimimo to see, so dont bother going there..


On a more serious note:

STAY AWAY FROM EAST HASTINGS IN VANCOUVER!!!!

Its a hole and full of drunks and druggies.. so if being a tourist, youre making
yourself an unnecessary target..


Have a good one and let us know how you get on..

Tox

Lucy Lu

Thanks a million for the tips, i will let you know how the trip goes.

cerebus

Originally posted by ToxicPaddy
Definitely visit the Aquarium and take a walk through Stanley park as its cool to see
all the animals walking around without a care in the world.. Ducks, Geese, squirrels
etc all strolling around between the people..

Actually, watch out for the animals - there have been a number of warnings in the last few weeks about rabid skunks and racoons in Stanley Park. You don't want to get bitten by an animal with rabies...

Lots of great recommendations in ToxicPaddy's post.

Other things you could try - walk the seawall from Stanley park all the way to Granville island (long way - but a lovely walk). Take a wander around the food market on Granvile Island, and visit the Granville Island Brewery. You can shorten your walk by using the 'aquabus' water taxis to zip you across False Creek.

If you're up for it, rent a bike or a kayak and try some of the world-class mountain biking or sea kayaking.

There's a good season of Shakespeare plays down on the beach ("Bard on the Beach") - the setting is magnificent as the stage is open to the outside - quite a backdrop for the performers.

Eating wise, if you're a sushi fan then welcome to heaven (best outside Japan I'm told). Easy to find, cheap, fresh. I'd recommend Commercial Drive (you can skytrain to it from downtown) for some great restaurants at reasonable prices. If you are looking for an Irish pub, The Irish Heather (down in Gastown) is about the only one I could recommend you visit - everything else is very much a plastic paddy style bar.

Hope you enjoy your visit - it is a great city.

Bri

Yeah the city rocks. Some great places above.

Myself I didn't love Gastown - saw a lot of unsavoury stuff there last summer.
If your feeling adventerous get the #10 (or #4?) out towards UBC. It's an unbelievable location and you can get a BBQ there made to order for almost free. It overlooks the bay. We lived there for 3 months and only at the end discovered how good cycling in from UBC to Stanely park is - by the coast.

I'd say visit Tofino (surfer's paradise) if your going to bother making your way across to the Island. Hard to get accomodation to Victoria didn't really appeal to us.

The skytrain can take you out to Metrotown for a serious shopping day and about a million food halls. You can get away without paying for it (the Luas is a lame attempt at copying this system) - we didn't even realise for about a week that you had to pay!

The homeless/druggies are actually alot less threatening than many other cities. But as above, East Hastings, etc. is an UNBELIEVABLE place. We got the bus through it and got scared even at the lights.

Don't bother eating in Robson St...you should just look around a bit.

Ok so I've just realised you may have left already. :rolleyes:

Enjoy!