rncheryl

Arrive in Vancouver early afternoon on Wed. (from the east coast of the US, so will be tired). Then all day on Thursday. Will be staying in city center. We are interested in Butchart Gardens. Would you recommend an organized tour, or could we do it on our own?

Is there an easy sightseeing walk for Wed. afternoon?

What about a fab dinner: we are very eclectic in dining choices.

By the way, Friday we board the Rocky Mountaineer for Banff, so will be seeing plenty of scenery. Time frame is late Sept/early Oct.

Thank you.

elberko

FYI, Butchart Gardens are in Victoria, not Vancouver.

NWWanderer

If you want to see anything of Vancouver, then going to Butchart Gardens isn't going to work with the amount of time you have, as it's a full day trip. There are other gardens in and around Vancouver you could visit, saving Victoria and Butchart for another visit when you have more time.

I'd focus on Stanley Park (there's a great 6 mile walk around the seawall that would be good for getting the kinks out after your flight on Wednesday afternoon, or you could just do part of it or walk along the Coal Harbour seawall), Granville Island, Yaletown and Robson Street. I'm not a big fan of Gastown so I wouldn't spend time there but others enjoy it.

What type of food do you like? Vancouver has great restaurants. For something casual but good, I really like the Cactus Club on Burrard. The short rib sandwich with yam fries is very good.

NorthwestMale

IF you're from the east coast of the U.S., and have never been to the area before, then forGET Victoria and spend your precious time in Vancouver.

In fact, educate yourself on what is around, but don't even HAVE a specific itinerary. The downtown area is compact (by typical standards, due to water boundaries on 3 sides) and you can get around easily.

Vancouver is annually the "most livable city in North America" so just arrive and take-in as much as you can during what little time you have.

rncheryl

You all are making it sound like Vancouver is the place to be! (Yes I am aware of the location of Butchart Gardens and the ferry trip required to visit). Keep it coming about what to do for a full day in Vancouver, plus an afternoon and dinner.

I would say our dining preferences would be Italian, Chinese, and steak house.

LoveItaly

Hello, rncheryl, I can't give any restaurant recommendations since it has been too long since I have visited beautiful Vancouver but I would sure encourage you to visit Stanley Park. And since you expressed an interest in Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island (I would not try to do that this trip with the short amount of time you have) you might be interested in visiting Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. Here is their website for your review.
http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/queenelizabeth/

camelbak

One option for the Wednesday, if the weather is nice, is to take the hop on, hop off bus that toodles around the city center. It will give you a good idea of where you want to go on the Thursday.

if it was me, I would spend Wednesday afternoon checking out Robson and Granville Streets and do some people watching, taking it slow, etc. and then grab dinner somewhere on Robson. Zefferelli's is a great pasta restaurant right at Robson and Thurlow area (near CinCin). Prices are reasonable but the food is great...one of my favourite non-chain type restaurants.

Thursday I would walk down to Canada Place (where the cruise ships dock), watch the activity there, head to Jacke Poole plaza to see the Olympic cauldron and then head west along the Coal Harbour seawall into Stanley Park. You can walk around the entire seawall (about 10km), or cut throw near the totem poles. The views are great the you might see seals, lots of seagulls and starfish, etc. Keep going around the seawall until you hit English Bay and have lunch at Milestone's (preferrably on the patio if the weather is great). Head north along Denman Street and then south again back up Robson. All can easily be done in a morning and early afternoon.

If your feeling super ambitious after that you can either head over to Queen E gardens (bus or taxi) or Granville Island.

Don't forget to do what most Vancouverites do on a sunny day...head to the closest Starbucks for some great people watching and relaxing in the sun.

Dinner on Thursday - again there are tons of places along Robson Street and/or Burrard near Robson. Joey's at Robson and Burrard (across from Sutton Place hotel) is always a good bet, or if you want a bit of a seafood splurge head over to Joe Fortes at Robson and Thurlow. You will need reso's there as it can get busy but it's worth it. If you can snag a table on the rooftop patio you might just not want to leave!

Hope you have a lovely time in my fair city...and hope the weather warms up!!!!

NorthwestMale

LOL - One time, circa 1984, I was wandering around downtown Vancouver when I spotted one of my high school classmates and I recall her saying to me:

"They finally have a Starbucks up here"

camelbak

Funny! Starbucks has over run Vancouver! I walk by two of them on my 3 block walk to work...and have one in my office building.

recheryl - THE starbucks to try to find a patio seat at is at the corner of Robson & Thurlow. The ultimate in summer/fall people watching in Vancouver. Spent many an hour drinking lattes and watching the free entertainment walk by.

RainyDay09

Vancouver is the place to be! I totally agree with camelbak and NWMale. People watching and strolling down Robson, Denman, and Davie are our favorite things to do in Van-city. There are lots of simple inexpensive places to eat that are great, especially if you like Asian food (Korean barbecue, sushi, not so much Thai). If you like chocolate, stop by Dulcinea on Denman, near Comox street, for a cup of Spanish-style hot chocolate.

portobelloB

We recently were in Vancouver for a weekend visit and had a fantastic time. We stayed in a hotel right off Robson street and it was a great central location. We walked to Yaletown and enjoyed a nice lunch at the Yaletown Pub and sat outdoors. Yaletown covers a small area so it doesn't take long to see it. You can walk down on Hornsby street to the waterfront which is nearby and take a small boat taxi over to Granville Market. You will see creative displayed produce, arts and crafts, bakeries and food vendors under one big building. Save some appetite for some of the foods you will see here and especially the desserts at the Stuart's stand. The prettiest fruit tarts, eclairs, cream puffs, cookies, etc. that I have seen. There are also many small shops in the area to browse through.

We had dinner at Le Crocodile which is our favorite French restaurant.

I would vote for walking along the waterfront (Canada Place) and Stanley Park like the other posters suggested. You will be in awe of the beautiful scenery. It was also very enjoyable to feel the Olympic buzz.

Have a fabulous time in beautiful Vancouver!

camelbak

portobello - I had probably one of the best lunches ever at La Crocodile....amazing food and great service. Not bad prices for what you get in my opinion.

The buzz in Vancouver during the Olympics WAS amazing....was very proud of my city!

Oh..another good restaurant - a bit higher on the $ scale is Provence Marinaside at the base of Davie street in Yaletown. Entrees run $20-$30 I would guess but the food is great...and the view isn't bad either.

NorthwestMale

Y'know, I too was proud of Vancouver (from afar, though not very...) during the Olympics. And it really was "the buzz" (tempered by knowing that most celebrations would stop far short of 'hooliganism') that made it so special.

Now as to why there needed to be a 3-hour time delay on broadcasts just 150 miles away, I'll never understand, but at least the evening news was broadcast LIVE from Vancouver on those days.

cobbie

bookmarking

rncheryl

Thanking you all. So looking forward to our all too brief stay in Vancouver.