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So I'm taking a trip to Vancouver for 3-4 days in a couple of weeks with my girl and I'm trying to get a feel of some other places to check out besides the ones I'm familiar with. I've been taking short trips to Vancouver since I was a kid so I've been to Stanley Park, Gastown, Chinatown, Grouse Mountain, Robson Street and Whister/Blackcomb many times.
What I'm looking for are some other cool neighborhoods with good restaurants or bars..The kind of places locals in their 20-30s would hang out, maybe some good live music too, although we also like checking out different ethnic neighborhoods. Never spent much time in Kitsilano--is it still fun these days? Is the Richmond Night Market worth a trip? Any cool spots even further out in the Vancouver area?
Also, are there some other good spots to get into the mountains for a hike within an hour or so of Vancouver besides the well-known Grouse Mountain and Seymour Mountain spots? Or is it very easy to get to the Gulf Islands or Sunshine Coast for a daytrip?
Any advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Kitsilano? It's a great day time destination for the beach, and has some great restaurants and pubs. It's scenic and a great place to live, but unless you're with a group of friends or you're at the beach, you might find it a tad quiet and less of an actual nightlife kind of destination. It is fun though, but a casual, relaxed, beachy kind of fun. W 4th, Yew/Cornwall, and Broadway west of Macdonald are cool clusters of shops, restaurants, and pubs, however. Yaletown, Gastown, Main Street (between E 7th all the way up to beyond King Ed) and Commercial Drive (between Broadway and Venables) are much more fun in the evening (in my opinion) these days - a bit more vibrant because they're much more clustered together with shops, lounges, restaurants and nightlife venues these days.
Don't bother with the Sunshine Coast for a day trip - you'll want more time. If you can do an overnight, then the Sunshine Coast is certainly beautiful. Although I suppose if you do a day trip, you can explore the village of Gibsons (very cute!) and drive along the coast. Yeah, you could do a day trip, but it's just such a relaxing place, you'll want more time to explore!
The Gulf Islands have sporadic schedules, but if you can time it, they make excellent day trip destinations, especially Galiano Island. If you can make the Saturday 8:40am ferry, you'll be on Galiano at 9:20am, which gives you just under 12 hours on the island as the last Saturday ferry leaves Galiano at 8:40pm. Most Gulf Islands only have 2-4 ferry departures each day, so you really have to plan the logistics carefully - you can't wing it. You'll also want a reservation for those ferries as the ferries are very small - if you miss the ferry or if the ferry fills up before you get there, you typically will have long waits for the next one.
Besides Grouse, Seymour, and Cypress, drive up Hwy 99 just before Squamish and hike the Stawamus Chief. It's a climb, for sure, but sooooo worth it if you can spare 3-4 hours of hiking. The view is outstanding.
Also, I have a Vancouver-themed blog which I don't advertise, but you can click on my name and view my profile to access it. It may give you some extra ideas.
BTW - the Richmond Night Market is worth the trip just for the atmosphere. The stalls sell mostly cheap, junky trinkets but the food stalls offer some of the best Asian street food around. And that is worth it, in my opinion.
For other places to see, if you haven't been to Lynn Canyon yet, that's always fun for a short hike.
If you haven't been out to Steveston in Richmond, it's a good place for a maritime-themed historic fishing village - lots of little heritage sites, museums, and excellent fish and chips. Whale watching is based out of there if you can spare 5 hours of your day and several $$$.
Also, have you been out to Jericho/Locarno Beach or the Museum of Anthropology out at UBC? Those are worthy attractions if you're into that kind of thing. Locarno Beach is my favourite in Vancouver by far.
Awesome advice..Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for. My only quandry now is that I wish I had another day to check out all the stuff you mentioned. I guess I'll have to narrow it down to maybe a day trip to Galiano Island and another day-hike up Stawamus Chief in Squamish..and the rest of the time just hanging out in Vancouver.
In your other post you mentioned Mt. Pleasant--so this is a pretty hip part of town? Is it worth checking out? The Commercial Drive area I've never got to properly check out either, so I might stroll up there for a bit.
Yeah, I've been to Jericho Beach, stayed out the hostel out there back when I was in high school..cool place. I'll have to give Locarno Beach a look.
I love Vancouver..I live in Portland and spend a lot of time in Seattle, but of all the cities of the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver has the most amazing setting and feels the most international yet laidback. Can't wait to make it up there in a couple weeks.
BTW - the Richmond Night Market is worth the trip just for the atmosphere. The stalls sell mostly cheap, junky trinkets but the food stalls offer some of the best Asian street food around. And that is worth it, in my opinion.
For other places to see, if you haven't been to Lynn Canyon yet, that's always fun for a short hike.
If you haven't been out to Steveston in Richmond, it's a good place for a maritime-themed historic fishing village - lots of little heritage sites, museums, and excellent fish and chips. Whale watching is based out of there if you can spare 5 hours of your day and several $$$.
Man...leave it to you Robynater, you covered all my ol favorite spots. Steveston is great but you could have added about all the shops and restaurants there. That Spain Tapas place was real good as well as a couple tiny Bistros that I cant remember the name. There is also a nice park (Mariners Park??) on the one end where you can hike the trails along the water.
On the way out that way we used to stop in a little house boat village. What was the name of that? I think it was on the Fraser River. It was whole villages of home made house boats. I found that fasinating.
You failed to mention the BC Ferry to Victoria. We used to stay in Sooke. Loved the food on those ferries but I understand White Spot took over the food and ruined it.
My most favorite of all was Okanogan lake in Kelowna. If/when I come back to BC this is where I will choose to live. Has it changed much in recent years? That lake is so beautiful. So crystal clear. We used to rent speed boats. Kelowna has the worlds only fully floating all cement bridge still in use. It crosses over the big lake.
I did not think Kitsalano was as quite as you say. Bunch of Hippys like myself all seeming to just lay around and have no jobs but all happy. Is my favorite Bistro still there called The Rice Pot on I think it was Cornwall?
We lived in Lynn Valley and close to us was The Bean. It burned to the ground in about 1999. This was truely the place to find left over Hippys from 1969. We hung out there with those like us. Great food and iced mochas. I will forever miss that place. I wonder if they rebuilt.
In your other post you mentioned Mt. Pleasant--so this is a pretty hip part of town? Is it worth checking out? The Commercial Drive area I've never got to properly check out either, so I might stroll up there for a bit.
Yeah, I've been to Jericho Beach, stayed out the hostel out there back when I was in high school..cool place. I'll have to give Locarno Beach a look.
Mount Pleasant is also known as South Main, SoMa, or as I typically describe, "Main Street south of E 7th Ave..." basically a large stretch of Main Street south-east of downtown, and yeah, it's a pretty hip part of town but still has a bit of a grungey edge to it. It's hip in a scenester, art school chic, trendy sort of way, and I'm still surprised at how many locals are completely ignorant of its existence. It's been an area in transition for the past 10 years or so...lLots of little hole in the wall restaurants, lounges, pubs, and clothing boutiques run by local hipster designers, photographers, and so on. It has a real DIY vibe. An area best experienced by day as the boutiques are open. Some boutiques/restaurants in the area (to give you a sense of the kind of place)
I did not think Kitsalano was as quite as you say. Bunch of Hippys like myself all seeming to just lay around and have no jobs but all happy. Is my favorite Bistro still there called The Rice Pot on I think it was Cornwall?
I'm not familiar with the Rice Pot, unfortunately. Kitsilano has certainly changed. It still celebrates its past hippy legacy, but it's really an overpriced bubble of a neighbourhood. With the average single family house 1.2 million dollars, you can guarantee it's no longer the place where musicians and hippies lounge around. Instead, you might find doctors and lawyers and entertainment industry execs residing there, and yummy yoga mommies pushing their massive strollers while sipping on non-fat soy lattes. University students still reside there in basement suites, but hippies? Nope. Commercial Drive is certainly more of a bohemian neighbourhood these days. That's where you'll find the spontaneous drum circle in the park and hippies smoking pot - not Kits.
But Kits still has its grassroots identity and it's health-conscious "let's relax on the beach" laid back vibe, but it's definitely an affluent neighbourhood these days - residents tend to be fitness/health buffs with $$$ to spend. W 4th still has bits and pieces of its hippy past - the Naam and Annapurna still thrives - and while places like Zulu Records, the Comic Shop, Skull Skates, and Sophie's Cosmic Cafe give it its uniqueness, the reality is that W 4th has undergone a LOT of gentrification and chain stores have emerged. If you haven't been to Kits in 10+ years, you may be very surprised.
However, all is not lost. There are actually a lot of great restaurants that have emerged there, it's a bit of a foodie destination (ie: Fuel, Trattoria Italian Kitchen, Bishop's, Gastropod, etc).
Cornwall has some of the best Japanese food in the city = Octopus' Garden. But it also has chain convenient stores and a Nando's Chicken chain. And the busiest Starbucks on the corner of Yew and Cornwall.
Great stuff..Thanks again for the helpful advice. I sort of wish I had another day to explore Vancouver after reading all this! Can't wait for this trip..
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W 4th, Yew/Cornwall, and Broadway west of Macdonald are cool clusters of shops, restaurants, and pubs, however. Yaletown, Gastown, Main Street (between E 7th all the way up to beyond King Ed) and Commercial Drive (between Broadway and Venables) are much more fun in the evening (in my opinion) these days - a bit more vibrant because they're much more clustered together with shops, lounges, restaurants and nightlife venues these days.
