What to do in Vancouver, BC?

[mkregel]

Been there once in my 20's - I remember it being a beautiful hip town where people dressed much better than I did (and still do.)

What do you reccomend wifey and I do on our first 'away from baby' vacation? We have about 3 days to actually do stuff - Vancouver Island? Stanley Park?

What do you recommend?

[Nay]

1. We went to Victoria/Vancouver last year. LOVED IT.

If you like gardens, I highly recommend Butchart Gardens in Victoria. It's $20 to get in, but worth every dime.

If you like to walk, take some of the walks north of Victoria that take you into the temperate rain forest.

Eat salmon every day. You will never again have it so fresh and delicious.

[MrPrax]

2. Born and Raised There

Tons of stuff to do...
Some of the best Asian restuarants anywhere--Chinese to Japanese to Thia, etc etc
Make sure you do a 'the' trip on the Skytrain--integrated with the Seabus--take it out on the space age bridge to Surrey and then back to North Van on the seabus--cheap and you see a whole lot of city.

Gastown, Kits, Granville Island Market, brew pubs in Yaletown, WestEnd's 'Robson strasse' and on to Denman to English Bay (big Gay community there)
You can pop up to Whistler easy enough--to see where the Olympics are going to be
Lots of aboriginal art (west coast Native stuff at UBC-anthropology museum)...there is the X files tour as well HEH

[CAB]

3. rent a tandem bike

and ride the seaside trail around falsecreek over to the SW beaches. Fanatastic easy car free ride.

[mkregel]

12. I remember there being more sushi bars

than you could shake a koro at. Damn good sushi too.

I'm definitely hoping to do some day hikes around Victoria Island. Only have 3 days but I wanna make those days matter.

[Jonte_1979]

4. Depends

How many years BC are we talking here? If we're talking say 15 000 BC, you could hunt mammoths.

[DagmarK]

5. Hey McKregl........what month will you guys be up there?

Cause if it's later in the year, you have the rain to contend with.....but if it's august...I am sure it will be very sunny. That might affect what you do one way or another.

[MrPrax]

6. Shh...don't Mention the Rain

:spank:

Psst...if it does rain and he goes at the end of Sept...you can go to the International Film Festival...specializes in lots of foreign and 3 world independents

[DagmarK]

7. Heck, if the rain keeps him away........

Then I can go and take his seats at that film festival! I wouldn't feel bad about that at all. LOL

[Lisa]

8. what do you like to do?

Arts/educational events? Sports? Shopping?


One thing about Vancouver -- you can blow a lot of money if you like, but it's also possible to enjoy yourself while spending relatively little. As an earlier poster said, the Skytrain is practically an entertainment in itself (and it's part of the regular transit system, so you can buy a book of tickets at most convenience stores).

There are good museums in town, like Science World and the UBC Museum of Anthropology. Lots of interesting places to shop (Granville Island, Chinatown).

Here's a link to an event guide. Once you get into town, The Georgia Straight is the free weekly alternative paper that carries listings of what's going on.

http://www.vancouver-bc.com/Events/
http://vancouver.com/whattoseedo/event/index.htm


Re: Vancouver Island, you can visit Victoria on a day trip, but it can be a bit rushed unless you know exactly where you want to go. (As a "local", I actually think the Butchart Gardens are a bit pricey unless you are really into gardening ... the Government House and Abkhazi gardens are more intimate and a lot cheaper ...)

Weather ... right now it is a bit hotter than normal (high 20s, maybe even >30 deg C). Not much rain in the summers in coastal BC (we are covered by the same weather system that keeps California dry), so it can be 7-14 days between rainfalls (not thunderstorm-downpours like in the East, but more subdued). Rainy season starts slowly in mid-late September or so, and is in full swing by the time November rolls around. Usually lasts until April. (It doesn't rain every day in the winter -- it just feels like it!)

[TrogL]

9. The aquarium and anthropology museum

it's a small aquarium so you can do it in a few hours.

Granville Island area is kewl.

[Lisa]

11. this reminds me, I have to go to UBC before the end of the summer

Doing a "publications run" for a colleague who is writing a book. I've promised him to get some stuff that he hasn't got at his library.

Of course, this doesn't preclude my slipping off to Granville Ave. so I can gorge on inexpensive sushi.

One of the nice things about living in this region is that it's possible to do all this on public transit, if you time it correctly. (I talked to Mike Harcourt and he said that when he was mayor of Vancouver, he went to a convention at a big city in Texas, and the delegates needed an armed guard to escort them to a limo because it was too dangerous to walk around downtown after 5 pm and there was nothing to do or see anyway because all the nightlife was in the suburbs. This inspired him to think about a walkable downtown core.)

One hour to the ferry terminal, 90 minutes on the boat, and another hour to get downtown ... leave in the morning and I can still find cheap digs at the UBC student residences, drop off my stuff, and meet friends in Burnaby for a late lunch.

[HEyHEY]

10. There are a few things...

Art Gallery for sure. What are you looking for? I live there.

[GCP]

13. Try the Capilano Suspension bridge

It's 230 ft high with a span of 450 ft over the Capilano Canyon. It's a walk-over bridge and it sways and bounces like hell!

There's also a cable car up the mountain across the bay from the city - great views.

Stanley park is beautiful to bike around, and there are plenty of places to hire a bike.

It's a lovely place, I'd love to visit it again.

[mkregel]

14. You will never get my wife on that

I dont think she could even watch someone on that bridge, let alone walk across it