I can’t tell you how many times I have been to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This is a port City on the West Coast of Canada. It is the largest City in the Province, (with about 4 million people), but it is not the Capital City, (Victoria on Vancouver Island is the Capital and it is where I live now). It is the third largest City in Canada.
There are so many things to see and do that instead of writing a dissertation I will just list them in point form.
1) Gas Town is in the older section of the city. You will see a lot of old gas street lights, brick sidewalks, brick streets, old European style Buildings that are full of Antique Stores, Cafes and Tourist type Gift Shops. It’s great to visit during the day but it gets sleazy at night.
2) China Town is near Gas Town. This area has a lot of outdoor Markets, Chinese Gift Stores and great Cafes. You can choose any of them as they all make excellent food. We like to go for Dim Sum, (a Chinese style brunch).
3) Stanley Park is in the heart of the City. The Park is full a ’’wild’’ Park full of beautiful old tall trees flowers, paths, bike paths and Cafes. In the fields you can watch cricket games and rugby matches. It was honored by being called ’’the World’s greatest urban Park’’. The TOTEM POLES in the Park are wonderful. The ’’Chief Skedans Mortuary Totem Pole’’ was the one we liked best.
4) You watch the Cruise Ships, (that go to Alaska), arriving at the port near the PAN PACIFIC HOTEL. They arrive by going under the beautiful Lions Gate Bridge.
2) We love ROBSON STREET and never miss a visit here. It is in the middle of the City and has wonderful Shops and Cafes. We arrived just before sunset and the street did not have a lot of people walking on it. When the sunset the Stores turned on their lights and the sidewalks are always jammed with People. I was told that over 60, 000 People come here every day! We always shopped at the Designer Fashion Outlets in this area. When we are in this area we always have coffee Italian Coffeehouse. It costs $3.00 a cup but it is worth the price because the coffee is made from organic beans and is topped with the ’’froth’’ of steamed milk.
3) East of Robson Street we visited Granville area. We find it sleazy at night and I suggest you visit this area during the day. This is the place to buy jeans, T-Shirts and eat at the Fast-food Cafes.
4) There is a Mall where you will find the Paradise, (a movie theatre that once ran nothing but the Rocky Horror Picture Show), the Commodore Ballroom, (which has a ’’sprung’’ dance floor), the Orpheus Theatre, the Stores offer cash for used CDs with no questions asked, the Clothing Outlets that sell fringed leather outfits or the Porn Shops.
5) WE liked Denman Street and the Sun Set Beach. This area was once the most exciting Street in the City. It’s flair came from the large gay population that lived in the West End of the City. Most of the People who live downtown live in this area. Sadly AIDS has taken 2, 500 lives of the People use to live here. There is a winding ribbon of steel that is etched with the names of the dead.
6) When you cross Georgia Street you will find the SEAWALL that runs along the Waterfront. I don’t know how many miles the wall is but we walked for at least a mile and did not come to the end. The local People come here to run, jog or walk each day. In British Columbia the weather is so nice we can be outside all year long. This makes it easy to keep fit.
7) The ART GALLERY is wonderful. I want to warn you that be prepared to pass through a group of street people before you can get in the front door.
8) CANADA PLACE is a Building has a white sail design for the roof. There is a Cafe there and a lot of Convention Meeting Rooms.
9) Below Canada Place is The WATERFRONT STATION. The Train that goes from here has four stops and it runs south from the center of the City.
10) GRANDVILLE MARKET is a lot of fun. There is an Open Market, Cafes and Shops. I always go to the Bagel Shop to buy a dozen cottage cheese filled bagels to take home.
11) We loved the MUSEUM OF ANTROPOLOGY. This Museum has a display of Northwest Coast First Nations Art, Canoes, Totem Poles and Feast dishes Sculptures by the Haida Artist Bill Reid. You will find the ’’Ksan Master Carvers’’ are in the Museum’s Great Hall.
12) The new Mall in the East End is fabulous. It once was a place where ’’junkies’’ hung out but the City wants to cleaned up the area. The Mall is the first stage of doing this.
13) Don’t miss the VANCOUVER AQUARIUM. I know many people do not like to see Dolphins, (etc), taken from the Ocean and put into water cages. These people forget that doing this is saving the Dolphins and the Whales. Fishermen are killing both of them and they are on the endangered species list. This is a way of saving them.
14) The University of British Columbia is a half an hour drive from Down Town. It is on a peak that overlooks the Ocean. This is where you will find the MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY, the CHAN CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS and a beautiful BOTANICAL GARDEN.
15) Sunset Beach is the nicest Beach in the City. It is closed to down town. People come here to have a picnic, have an ice cream cone, (the best home made ice cream in Vancouver), and watch all the people who come to visit here.
16) Rogers Chocolates are the best! Each one is like a small round chocolate bar. All the chocolates are home made.
17) Merchies Tea House has teas from around the World. The Clerk told us that if you drank a different tea every day of your life you would not be able to drink all the blends that are made in the World. They have a place to eat, (try the mirange and nanimo bar pastries) and sell China and a lot of tea gadgets.
18) Vancouver has a Professional Hockey Team and Canadian Football Team.
19) This is a City with so many live Theaters I cannot mention them all. All the top traveling Dramas, Musicals, Musical Groups and Singers appear here.
20) All Canadian’s that drink beer love Molson’s Beer. If you visit Canada please try it.
I did not list all the Malls, Parks and Attractions. I also did not include the fabulous places to eat. To find our about what else Vancouver has to offer the web site is:
https://tourism-vancouver.org/docs/visit
©LL