Seattle is a very average ordinary US city-those Vancouver visitors I know who took the time to visit confirmed my opinion of the place as underwhelming.

Gastown is nothing special and an hour for the shops is lots-expect a somewhat Dickensian scene.

If you stay @ Coast Coal Harbour you'll be close to the park and that counts for a lot as you'll soon see.

Science World is for children-the Museum @ UBC is called the Anthropology Museum and is an easy 20 minute bus ride from downtown.

http://moa.ubc.ca/

As to restaurants this place literally heaves with choice-the Best of which are Asian.

http://www.guu-izakaya.com/

http://www.junobistro.ca/

A taste of the Middle East http://www.ayoubs.ca/

A bit of the Old Country as I know it http://www.ukrainianvillagerestaurant.com/

thanks sam - will leave Seattle for another time. What about a day trip over to Vancounver Island or to visit Victoria?

For some reason the link to Ukrainian Village isn't good. I googled it and that link was bad as well. I checked it out on Yelp and plan to put it on our list. My husband's grandfather was from Ukraine so it'll bring back food memories.

We had a great time at the Market(s) at Granville Island. Some 250 stalls, and more different chow than our stomachs could handle! Really worth a few hours....

A new hotel in Victoria Bc is the Oak Bay Beach hotel and don't forget to check out Le Soleil in Vancouver..very nice and reasonably priced.

In Vancouver and Victoria, there is WildPlay adventures...ziplines and adventure..total riot.

"What about a day trip over to Vancouver Island or to visit Victoria?"
Remember you only have 8 hours of daylight to deal with-a day trip to Victoria is certainly possible if you don't mind doing the return trip in the dark since it's an easy 3 hours each way taking tour might be the best way to do.

The highlight for me is always the trip between the Gulf Islands-wonderful in any weather.

6 hours round trip? yikes. that is a lot of time out of the day.

30 minute drive to each ferry terminal-90 minute ferry ride each way plus time to line up/wait for the lines to disperse-it's a long day.

Although we have done that as a day trip a few times, it was during summer/early fall. There is more daylight then, and the weather is generally fine. For me, part of the whole reason was just to enjoy the ferry ride. If it's choppy, you might now enjoy the ride across much.

Is there any way you could do an overnight in Victoria?

By the way, while you are in Vancouver, you might go up to Horseshoe Bay for dinner. That's one of the ferry terminals, so you can watch them come and go, and it is just a beautiful spot - especially if you have some clouds wrapping around the mountains. The Boathouse restaurant has some good tables on the water with excellent views.

Some pictures, to give you an idea: https://www.google.com/search?q=picture+horseshoe+bay+bc&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=86zAUNz0HIas2wWOiYHoDw&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1152&bih=572

For restaurants, I'd recommend the Boathouse and Bridges.

I saw that the hot restaurant according to "lists" is C Restaurant. Is it worth trying it out? Has anyone been?

Bridges looks really fun. I like their lunch menu for the Bistro - lots of great fish dishes.

michaelq - yes, the Boathouse in Horseshoe Bay is the one with the great views. I know there are several out there, this is my favorite spot.

We may not rent a car - will it be easy to get to the Boathouse from downtown. Public transporation? Taxi?

Vancouver has excellent public transportation. The bus will drop you off right at Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, and from there the Boathouse is just a couple of blocks.

Helpful links for public transportation planning:

http://www.translink.ca/?p=2.list

http://www.tourismvancouver.com/go/getting-around/transit-system/#buses

nanabee - Bridges IS a fun place - and it's great to
wander around the Granville Market - lots of interesting
crafty places and, of course, wonderful food stalls.

sludick - BC should give you a medal for Excellence in
Promoting Tourism!

yes! and the links everyone has posted have been very helpful and I appreciate it. Plus the public transit info will be valuable for us.

Such a kind thing to say, immimi; thank you! (It's an easy job, certainly.)

nanabee - enjoy your trip, will be thinking of you over the holidays. I'm hoping for a trip report from you. Vancouver is a wonderful city for food, especially locally-sourced. Pack for some cool rainy weather, of course - to me, that is perfect Christmas weather.

the coast coal harbour is the more business traveller oriented of the 2 coast hotels in vancouver proper. the coast plaza where i always stay is the one almost adjacent to the park. while it won't be as spiffy, the rooms will be generally nice. all come w/ balconies and if you ask nicely and they have the space they will usually move you to a higher floors. the views are fabulous from any exposure. the hotel sits above a small neighbourhood shopping mall complete w/ supermarket. some of the suites actually have functioning kitchens

cheers
AndrewDavid

denman, robson and davie streets are littered w/ restaurants @ all price points. 15 minute walk to cbd and frequent bus service on denman davie and robson

Hi nanabee,

I'll chime in with a differing opinion regarding Seattle. I liked the city and found it a fascinating contrast to nearby Vancouver. Mind you, I was blessed with some sunny clear sky days with temperatures pleasingly in the low 70s when I went in mid-June a few years back. So I'll admit that a lot of my pleasure stemmed from the fact that I could see Mount Rainier and the Olympic Mountains, that I could take a boat ride along the Puget Sound followed by a leisurely peaceful stroll along Alki Beach, that I could go jogging in Volunteer Park and cycling on the Burke-Gilman Trail. Even just wandering through charming neighbourhoods like Capitol Hill was likely made pleasant due to the perfect weather. The situation might be overcast, rainy and less pleasant in December. I also live near the east coast, so simply being surrounded by those beautiful tall evergreens influenced my pleasure too. For indoors activity, the only things that really drew me in Seattle were Pike Place Market and the Burke Museum in the "U" district.

Vancouver and Victoria's highlights for me were also the outdoorsy stuff. Cycling, long strolls by the beach, hiking, visiting gardens, so I really can't speak for December in this regard. Indoors in Vancouver I appreciated the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver and the truly-worlds-better-than-anything-I'd-had-on-the-East-Coast sushi. In Victoria, the Royal BC Museum is exceptional.

Have a great trip! Daniel

thanks so much to everyone! everyone's information is extremely helpful.

daniel, We will most likely now have to do Seattle another time - which is doable because our daughter lives in Portland, Ore and we visit her often. It is good to know that the trip might be best put off until spring or summer. Mid winter is probably not optimal! Same with Victoria. Because we don't have too much time - a day trip would mean 6 hours (roundtrip) on a boat. I get pretty seasick too.

Andrew & sludick thanks so much for the bus info. We have a guide that I checked out of the library - and I don't trust transporation info as it could be outdated. So good to have that info.

We are looking forward to the cooler and maybe even snow! That would be exciting. It'd be our first white Christmas!

Your first white Christmas???

Alrighty then, one more link: http://www.grousemountain.com/events/the-peak-of-christmas-2012

Needless to say, this is an easy public transportation destination.

sludick! that is really great!! thank you so much!

You will need that information regarding Grouse Mountain, or any of the northshore mountains, as it is very unlikely Vancouver itself will have snow. I believe it's only something like six white Christmas's in over one hundred years.