2 Days in Vancouver
 

We will be attending a wedding in Blaine, Wa. in late July and since we've never been into BC have managed to squeeze 2 additional days(24/25 July)to see a little of Vancouver. Will be staying in the Blue Horizon Hotel in West End. Would appreciate any suggestions concerning places to eat, sightseeing etc. Thanks, Bob

Bob, you got left out to dry!
Depends on what your interests are. You are well situated at the hotel to all the sights. I always recommend a hop on hop off double decker tour to get your bearings - then you can apend time where you want. Pickups are every twenty minutes throughout the key sightseeing areas.
www.graylinewest.com

Transit is not great in Vancouver and parking anywhere at that time of the year is a pain. Leave the driving to someone else and get your walking shoes on. Vancouver is meant to be explored.

other link
www.tourismvancouver.com

Hi Bob,

6069holland has given you good suggestions.

In addition to that, the Vancouver page of my website suggests how you might spend your time. Although I think my own suggestions regarding Vancouver are valid, what is neat about my Vancouver page is that it provides links to excellent websites that Vancouverites have created about their city.

I'll split the URL over 2 lines because it may be a tad long to fit into this box.

http://groups.msn.com/CalgaryandCana...iesTravelTips/
vancouver.msnw

I might add that the information that Fodor's has provided about Vancouver in the Destinations section of its website is excellent too. The link to Destinations is near the top left hand corner of this screen.

I was amused to see 6069holland's comment, "Transit is not great in Vancouver." My website states that Vancouver has a good public transportation system. Perhaps a person's opinion depends on his/her reference point. Compared with Calgary's public transportation system, Vancouver's is very good. When my son moved to Vancouver in September 2005, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. One of the reasons was his perception that Vancouver's public transportation system was so much better than Calgary's. Anyway, that's a minor point because, regardless of a person's opinion of the public transportation system, 6069holland is correct in saying that Vancouver is a very walkable city.

Hope that helps.

About restaurants, here's a very recent thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34820444

Judy, your website is well laid out and offers some great advice. Well done.

Not to belabour the transit comment...I am comparing it to the many other cities I know that readers come from. There sometimes is an expectation of a subway network. As you know, Vancouver is still a very young city and while the transit is improving, the bus network is held hostage by the increased population, traffic and lack of a highway system (which I don't mind, the highway part, that is).

Regardless, Vancouver is one of the great cities in the world. I lived in Calgary and Toronto, but this is the most livable urban region that I can think of.

Judy: It's taken me some time to get back to this site...but wanted to thank you as well as 6069holland for all the good info.It is coming in handy in planning this trip. Bob

Vancouver doesn't neeeeeeeeed a "highway system" as much as many places given the fact that you can't go too far west or north to anywhere useful.

And with the not-so-new-anymore trend of building "UP" all over, highways are bound to be a thing of the past in Vancouver-like cities of the future.

Vancouver IS a very walkable city... and furthermore there is almost never forbidding weather as there might be across inland Canada in either summer or winter.

I'd say that people visiting for two days need not worry at all about whether they'll be able to get around enough to gain a considerable sense of the city.

Vancouver is a wonderful city. By far, my favorite place to eat and which should not bew missed is Vij's. This is some of the best and most innovative East Indian food I have ever eaten. They do not take reservations but pass trays of appetizers while you wait. The crowd is comfortable, the dining room lovely and the experience a true Vancouver one.

Off the beaten track is Aurora Bistro now owned and "cheffed" by a former sous chef at Bishop's. We really did like this place. You will need to cab it but I think it's worth it. The food is BC as are the wines. Make reservations.