V for Vancouver

I am not sure if I am quite ready for this yet. I mean this is a lot of responsibility and I have "only" been a Vancouverian for two years now! However, over the last couple of years, we had so many (old and new) friends and family visit or just pass through the city that the same question came up over and over again: What is there to do in Vancouver? I have written emails and messages, made lists and verbal suggestions, and I have always thought to myself "I should really write all of this down... somewhere". So here it goes, some tips and suggestions around Vancouver, completely subjective and up to now only to be found when talking directly to the Joli-Tourguide here in Vancouver.

Fairy Tales Vancouver 

There are many stories, legends, and tales around this city. Vancouver is really not that old, even for North American standards. It was incorporated on April 6, 1886 and is named after the explorer George Vancouver. Still, there are many little anecdotes and stories all over the city and especially around downtown. If you have some time to spare, I really recommend doing a free city walking tour. I have attended several of these tours (some even twice) and their style is very easy going and a lot of fun. How else would I know that the oldest church of Vancouver is owned by the Great-West Life Reality Advisors who transferred the air space over the church about two blocks further north to build a gigantic skyscraper with the ironic address of 666 Burrard Street. Just like this one, most of my Vancouver-fun-fact-knowledge comes from attending some of these walking tours. But even on your own, there is a lot to explore in and around downtown.

First of all, take some time to linger around the waterfront area (around the east and west wing of the convention center), have some ice cream (for example at Bella Gelateria, the best ice cream in town), a coffee, or a cold beer and watch the sea planes take off, land, and refuel right next to the heart of the city. By the way, the gigantic blue drop next to the west convention center was designed by some German engineers who thought that a rain drop would be the best symbol of the city. Yep, the "dry" German humor made it all the way out to Vancouver. While strolling around waterfront, also make sure to walk up to the Olympic fire (one of which arms didn't open in the opening ceremony of the 2010 winter Olympic's) and especially keep a look out for my all time favorite pixel whale (or digital orca), who represents the clash between nature and modern life and towers just next to the west side of the west wing of the convention center. Just a little further up on Burrard Street, you can find the Marine building which is a pretty nice building as such and  - if you are passing by anyways - you should definitely go into the foyer to take a look around. The J&J Beans inside the Marine building has good coffee and is a good place to rest the tired feet.

From here, it's not too far to make your way to Gastown. Main attractions here are the steam clock (which is pretty much always broken but apparently still worth to take a photo of, judging by the amount of tourists surrounding it), Gassy Jack (the first bar owner in Vancouver who apparently had the pub build in a day by eager and drink-needing workers that used tools that fell from the sky...), and generally the oldish style of this part of town. Gastown is full of old and new history. The lamp lighter (a random corner pub) is for example one of the first bars at the west coast (and the first in Vancouver) that allowed women to enter (well to be completely honest, they were only allowed in a separate room but still they were served alcohol) or the Hill's Native Art Store, which played an important role in proving Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky (poor Bill had bought a very unique piece of Canadian native art for Monica that could later be traced back). Depending on the time and day that you find yourself visiting Gastown, make sure to get a coffee at Revolver (Sundays closed) or a beer and a pork belly sandwich at the Alibi Room (not open for lunch).

Right next to Gastown, is the oldest part of Vancouver's Chinatown. Actually, the area today known as Chinatown was originally mostly inhabited by Italians and Greek, but as Chinese immigration grew, the South Europeans moved to settle further East of the city, while the Chinese took over the original "little Italy". You might be surprised how small today's Chinatown is, considering that more than 30% of Vancouver's population is Chinese. However, the Chinatown in downtown can be seen as the "historic Chinatown", since the modern (and maybe true) Chinatown has since then moved to Richmond (a suburb in the greater Vancouver area). Speaking of Richmond, if you feel like visiting  an authentic Chinese night market, Richmond is the place to go during the summer time (unfortunately I haven't been but I hear it's good!). There, and in downtown Chinatown adventurous travelers can try and purchase many original Chinese delicacies.

While moving around Chinatown and Gastown, you might come across the beginning of East Hastings Avenue. East Hastings, also called "Wastings" is a rather sad sight. Many homeless people all across Canada make their way to Vancouver, since it is the warmest city in Canada. In addition, drug abuse and mental illnesses are huge problems in the city. While one would maybe not expect to witness such sadness right next to touristy spots, Vancouver tries to deal with this just east of downtown so that stumbling into this poor area is quite common.

Other parts of downtown that I am not quite as familiar with include Yaletown and the West End. I am tempted to call Yaletown the part of the city, where the rich and the beautiful live, but one could argue that pretty much all of inner Vancouver is rich and beautiful. In either case, Yaletown has many bars and restaurants, maybe a little fancier than other places around town. I have not been, but I have heard from several people that the Flying Pig is worth a visit. When the owner of this place was younger, it was his dream to open up his own restaurant. However, his parents didn't think that was a particularly great idea and said that "pigs would be able to fly" before he opened a restaurant, hence the name. (Note, the flying pig also has a location in Gastown, and the Bella Gelateria also has a location in Yaletown). More restaurants and bars can be found in the downtown's Westend. There are many good Ramen and other Chinese as well as Japanese restaurants along Denman Street. Davie Street is also worth a visit. Always wearing rainbow, Davie Street is the heart of the proud gay community and has a very cool vibe. If you want to be real unhealthy and true Canadian, get yourself a Poutine at La Belle Patate. For people that enjoy slightly more sophisticated food, Stepho's Souvlaki Greek Taverna offers great Greek food, just come prepared to wait in line for a bit. 

Lastly, I should probably say a couple of words about options on rainy days (since this is a thing here). Well, I personally have not been to the art gallery, but it is most likely not the greatest art gallery you will see in your life. More info can probably be found in any city guide so I am not gonna talk about about what I don't know. However, it's pretty cool to hang out behind the art gallery for a bit (just on Robson square), get yourself something from a food truck or a coffee and just watch people for a bit. It's also worth to pay a visit to Fairmont Hotel (this used to be the perfect place to use a public bathroom but they have recently started renovating and might have changed things), take a look at the gigantic pendulum inside the HSBC building just across the art gallery, and definitely make a stop in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. This is a hotel full of history and art. Apparently you can even do a little art tour around the hotel, though I have only ever been on the main floor (on which they also have very cool art work).

For the cyclists and/or the Latschers ("walkers")

I can already hear the outrage from some of my readers that I wrote all this stuff about downtown but left out Stanley Park. Fair. So, Stanley Park is worth at least one trip. I am sure that in many tour guides you will find the top tip to rent a bike and cycle around the Seawall. Well, let me tell you, if you are a half decent cyclists and do not want to drive behind other (not so great cycling) tourists at a maximal speed of about 6.8 km/h, you should either go to non peak hours (so really, really early) or just not take a bicycle. My recommendation is to go per pedes and to start at English Bay (which is not possible on bike due to a one way restriction for bicycles). Hang out with the "A-maze-ing Laughter" statues at English Bay for a bit and then do the Seawall clockwise. It is definitely worth it and one of the nicest walks in the city. If you feel like the whole walk is a little bit too long you can cut off the end through the park (try to take a map I always get lost!) and if you have a Joli somewhere close by, make sure to make her take you to the Vancouver Rowing Club for a refreshing beer on one of the nicest patios in town.

Another good tour is from Kitsilano (aka Kits) beach along False Creek all the way to the science center and then on the downtown side along Yaletown back to Burrard bridge. This is a nice tour either on foot or on a bike and could be done in either direction. If you get hungry along the way, you could always stop at Earnest Ice Cream (third best ice cream in the city) and you will definitely not go wrong with "Go Fish!", a fish and ships place just before (or after) Granville Island. I guess I should say a couple of words about Granville Island as well. Well first of all (no surprise here), do the walking tour! Granville Island went through several different industrial phases until it became the touristy place it is today. The one thing that always bothered me was that cars are allowed on the little island. This is probably for to reasons: 1. The city is trying to keep Granville Island as a part of the local community by having a an art college as well as a community center (which both need to be reachable) on Granville Island. 2. The large public market is a place where tourists and local Vancouverians shop for fresh fruits, veggies, meat, cheese, and other delicacies. So, cars remain allowed on Granville Island and I guess Joli has to deal with it. Other than that, the Island has a very relaxed and artsy vibe. I can really recommend getting some food in the public market and enjoying it on the docks behind the hall, getting a coffee from Off the Tracks is also not the worst idea. People that are very thirsty can get some cold beer from the Granville Island Brewery and take it (warning - illegal!) to the Ron Basford Park (which is actually just some grass over a huge pile of industrial junk). In either case make sure to have a look at the house boats on the south east (facing downtown) end of the island. And a very fun way to get around (not only from Granville Island)  is to take one of these tiny nutshell water taxis!

Anyway, I was actually talking about cycling/walking trips you could take. A really nice day trip is to got to UBC (the University of British Columbia) situated at the very west end of Vancouver. Here, there are several things to do. The Museum of Anthropology is a very cool museum. Also at the west end of the Campus is the rose garden and a stroll along main mall makes you feel like a clever student from some kind of Hollywood College movie. For lunch Koerner's Pub or Great Dane Coffee are good options or, if you want to feel like a student again, you can go into the so called "village" a place with all kind of food options in the basement below the building on University Boulevard and Allison Road. However, life on Campus is only interesting for a brief period of time so that you'll probably want to leave student life behind eventually. If you are brave and want to have seen pretty much everything on your trip, you should make a little detour to Wreck Beach, Vancouver's very own nudist beach (discovering this home page just made me really happy). However, even if naked overly sun tanned oldish people do not tempt you, the way back from Campus is a real treat. Either on bike or on foot (by the way, only cycle up to UBC if you are very, very fit and do not fear sweating, otherwise take your bike on the front of the bus, the bus drivers are friendly and will assist you the first time you have to do this), take Marine Drive down to Spanish Banks. From here, a beautiful path leads all the way along Spanish banks and Jericho Beach with Vancouver lingering in the far back.

Once back in Kitsilano, you'll get to gaze at huge mansions and millions of dollars worth houses, towering over the Pacific. If you happen to be around here just at time of sunset, a small beach just off Cornwall and Trafalgar (or somewhere close to there) offers the best sunset view of the city.

Speaking of Kitsilano, I find just wandering around Kits a pretty decent activity. Beautiful houses and gardens that are mostly designed with a lot of love and creativity inhabit the Kits area and make it a beautiful neighborhood to live in and visit. If you have some more time, exploring Mount Pleasant also can't hurt. All these residential neighborhoods have mostly very quite streets and then single busy areas where you can shop and consume. In Kits this is 4th Avenue between Burrard and Macdonald, where many shops just wait for you to come in and spent your money (go to Rain or Shine if you are looking for the second best ice cream in the city). Spending a morning, afternoon, evening, or just an entire day at Kits beach is also an option especially if you like people (and/or beach volleyball) watching. If you ever find yourself hungry in the area, a good idea is to have some food on Darby's rooftop patio, at the Hapa Beach Bar (make sure to get a spot outside, preferable at the counter, perfect spot for people watching!), or the Naam, a completely Vegetarian restaurant that is open 24/7.

Greens, parks, and gardens

The absolute best and most amazing garden ever is of course to be found in my back yard, where I carefully produce quite a few home grown veggies and fail to produce quite a lot of home grown veggies as well. But honestly, there are many little parks around the city and you can usually not go wrong by stopping in any of them. Some I have already mentioned and other will appear in other parts of this post (like the Butchart's garden in Victoria - don't go there), but I would like to point out a couple that might not be so obvious to go to, but are in my opinion worth it. 

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen garden, situated in downtown Chinatown is a comforting and quite place in the middle of the busy inner area of Vancouver. I would recommend going during the week and at some early time when you might have a chance to enjoy it mostly to yourself. It has a very spiritual feeling that unfortunately gets lost when the many tourists start to invade the gardens. This traditional Chinese garden is not particularly big, but well known and discovered.

If you have time to go a little bit further out of the city, you should definitely visit Queen Elizabeth Park. It not only has very beautiful gardens, but also a great view of the city and the surrounding mountains. If you are interested in some North American tradition, you can combine a visit to the park with a visit to a local baseball game. Right next to the park, the Vancouver Canadians have their home field. I wouldn't say that baseball is the most exciting sport one could attend, but it is certainly one of the most authentic. Plus, there is a race of 4 different mascots dressed up as sushi, who wouldn't want to see that?

I've already mentioned Stanley Park which is probably also described in pretty much any Vancouver guide. A similar recreational area is the Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which has many easy trails, very large trees, and super fresh air. In general, if you would ask me what I like best about Vancouver, I would probably answer "the smell". so keep your nose open!

Lastly, a not very well known spot and really not all that spectacular of a park in general is the Trimble Park. Personally, I just really, really like the view of the city from up there, especially at night time. I wouldn't make a trip out there just for the sake of it, but if you happen to be in the area, a little side tour is worth it.

Endlich mal wieder ganz normale Leute - Hidden hot spots

If you want to get away from all the amazingly blinding beauty and elegance of the city, you should head out a little bit further east. I don't want to say that these parts of the town are ugly or unpleasant in any way, it's just that the inner city tends to be the home of a lot of very pretty and wealthy people so that it can sometimes feel like living in a bubble of a beautiful, happy, and mostly safe place. The area around Commercial Drive feels just a little more real. It's a wild mixture of punks, hippies, young families, old Italians, and other immigrants busily existing together. Another reason to spent some time out there is (of course) good food. My favorite Japanese restaurant, Kishimoto, is definitely a must go for Sushi lovers (be aware of long waiting times, so come early). Otherwise, there is many good bars (e.g. St. Agustine's, Storm Crow, or BierCraft, a Belgian beer bar) and cafes to spent the day and nights in. However, "the Drive" is very popular at night and especially on the weekend, so (again) make sure to go early or during the week.

If you have been to Berlin, Germany, or Portland, Oregon, you might have encountered a certain group of people colloquially called "hipsters". If you've instantly become a fan (as you should) or always wondered what this is all about, you are in the right city. All along Main Street, it's Hipster town. What does that mean? First of all, go and find out yourself! Second of all, bring a jar of home made tea, don't shave for a week (ladies and guys), go to a thrift shop and pick up something that was produced - but never in style - in the 80s, 90s, or 00s, and then just go blend in. If you are opposed to doing all of the above, but still want to experience the vibe of the hipster existence, you could also just visit one of the local craft beer breweries around Main Street.

Even though not central, the Commercial and Main Street are not very hidden spots in Vancouver. The Legion on Broadway and Alma, however, is a place you probably would not just stumble into. I am not even going to try to describe the legion because it is part of the experience to not know what to expect. Just do NOT expect the average bar or a normal crowd of people. Also come prepared to play pool, snooker, darts, or shuffle board and try to go on a Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday, since that are the nights they usually have live music. You should also eat before you go, since they don't serve food. A perfect place to do so would be Green Leaf Sushi on Broadway and Waterloo (make sure to order the Las Vegas roll) or if you - for some crazy reason - do not like Sushi, you could get a Burger at Moderne Burger and then walk (take W. 6th Avenue) or bus (take the 99 from Macdonald to Alma) over.

Day Trips - longer trips - beyond Vancouver

The fastest way to escape the city is to spent some time at the north shore. For this you should take the seabus from waterfront station to North Vancouver. While you are at waterfront station, have a look around the building, and especially the paintings near the ceiling, which are kind of nice (but dark). The Starbucks inside the station was - by the way - the first Starbucks that opened in Canada. When you take the seabus make sure that you have a 2 zone ticket. If you have 1 zone fare savers (a pack of 10 slightly cheaper bus tickets, I would recommend to get fare saver tickets at 7eleven or drug stores to get around Vancouver), you can easily make a fare upgrade at the blue ticket machines. If you encounter any problems doing so, just ask someone around you, people are nice here! Anyway, once on the seabus, make sure to go to the back of the ferry to get a good view of the city that you are leaving behind. Once you are landed in North Vancouver, you can climb up the red tower at Lonsdale Quay and take some amazing pictures of the far away Vancouver.

There are several activities to do in North Vancouver. The most popular one is probably to climb up the grouse grind. Be warned though, this is neither an easy nor a particular beautiful hike. Most people do it either to tick it off their bucket list or for some masochistic and ambitious reasons of getting a good time. If you are lazy, it is totally fine (but a little pricy) to take the Gondola up. Another way to avoid the thousands of people challenging the grind, is to take the BCMC trail, a slightly easier (but still quite steep) trail that also takes you to the top of the mountain. If you made your way up there on foot, you totally deserve to buy yourself a beer and enjoy it on the patio while looking over the city. In any case, make sure to visit the bears that live to entertain exhausted tourists (and locals) right at the top of the mountain. 

Another attraction on the North Shore is the Lynn Canyon. It's right next to the Capilano suspension bridge, which is another tourist hot spot. I personally haven't been to Capilano so I can't judge, but there is a suspension bridge in the Lynn Canyon park and it's very nice and very free. There are also all kinds of hikes around Lynn valley. You can easily spent a very recreational afternoon here. If you completely want to use the system, you can take the free shuttle bus from just outside the east convention center to either Grouse Mountain or Capilano suspension bridge and then take off to explore Lynn Canyon.

Another beautiful day trip is to go out to Deep Cove, a small community at the east end of North Vancouver. Deep Cove is perfect for kayaking as well as swimming swimming and there is a nice and not to difficult hike to the Quarry Rock, which ends on a big rock with a beautiful lookout over "the cove". So make sure to go on a sunny day. Either way (rain or shine), at the end (and/or the beginning) of the day you will deserve to eat a delicious sweet treat at Honey Doughnuts (seriously go for the chocolate doughnut!), the best doughnuts in probably all of BC.

Heading the other way out to West Vancouver is also worth a trip. Just last weekend we did a hike to Eagle Bluffs on Cypress Mountain, which ends with an amazing view of the greater Vancouver area. Generally, if you like hiking, you can't go wrong to stop at any of the north shore mountains (Grouse, Cypress, Seymour...), however, if you are more of a Spaziergänger ("Casual-walker"), Lighthouse Park might be a better place to visit. There are many spots where you can get a peak at either Vancouver, Vancouver Island, or the north shore mountains, while doing the lighthouse park loop. There is also (you might have guessed it by now) a very pretty lighthouse.

If you keep going further north, you are in for a beautiful drive. The highway between Vancouver and Squamish is called the "sea to sky highway" and that for a good reason. It's absolutely stunning and in my opinion worth it, just for the drive. For fit hikers, I recommend driving to the Stawamus Chief and doing a hike up to second and third peak (first peak is a zoo!). I personally like going to third peak first and then working my way back via second, but Jan prefers to go to second peak first because he likes the way down from third, so take your pick. If you are maybe not as fit as you once were or just plain lazy, another option is to take the Sea to Sky Gondola. There are easy hikes at the top and you get a beautiful view of the Squamish valley and even the top of the chief. 

Last but by far not least, I want to write a couple of sentences about Vancouver Island. Honestly, I could do an entire blog post of similar length just about Vancouver Island. So let me only say the most important things: First of all, you should really go! It is such a beautiful place on this earth and time seems to still go a little slower over there. If you have the chance take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay (Victoria). You can also take a little sea plane (with e.g. Harbour Air),  which is supposed to be a lot of fun. If you want to go whale watching, the tours starting in Victoria have a very high chance of seeing many, many whales. I would recommend to go with Eagle Wing Tours, they are fantastic. Afterwards make sure to have a meal at John's Place. Like I said earlier, I advise against going to Butchard's Garden, since there are more tourists than flowers in this thing during peak seasons. If you really, really want to go, do it on a Saturday and bring some kind of picnic to enjoy during the evening fireworks. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with renting a car and just driving all over the island. The beaches along the south west end are pretty wild and unexplored. If you have time, drive across to Tofino or Ucluelet (the latter is a little less touristy and I thought a bit nicer). You will literally be at the end of the world. But I hear the north end of the island (where I've never been) is also a heavenly place on earth. So really, just go, go, go!

PS: There is probably a lot of places that I forgot to mention. I tried to mostly describe places that one might not find in an ordinary guide. If I forgot anything very obvious, please feel free to comment!