Lets_Go13

Hello Everyone,

I have a possible business trip to the Vancouver area in mid-October. I might be able to swing an extra day. Having never been to this city/area, what would you recommend me seeing or doing? Probably on Friday or Saturday. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

Wallace_and_Gromit

If you had more time - I would recommend a whale watching tour - but that takes most of the day, so you will just have to come back for that.

Take a ride up the observation tower. The ticket is good all day - so definitely go back at night and view the scenery all lit up at night. GORGEOUS!

Have lunch at the Canadian Maple Delights (769 Hornsby off of Robson) Everything there is made with their 100% organic top of the line syrup - the curry-maple chicken salad is to die for!! After lunch, you can purchase some syrup and other goodies to take home. ... follow that with gelato at Mundo Gelato on Robson (Mmmm)

Other than that... please tell me what kinds of things you like to do so I can help you better. Vancouver is awesome.

Sam_Salmon

No Whale watching in October-the weather starts to turn-the wind starts to blow *hard* and the season's over.
Start with breakfast @ www.caffeartigiano.com/ or Senses Bakery then a long walk around the Stanley Park Seawall followed by lunch @ Granville Island Market, some shopping in the one-of-a-kind stores on the Island, a quick trip down Robson Street and then a nap.
Dinner at some place like http://www.parksiderestaurant.ca/

Lets_Go13

Thanks W&G and Sam,

I'll make sure to make note of your suggestions. I might not know for sure about this trip for another week or two, but it can't hurt to get ideas now. As far as what I like to do...

Well, I guess it depends on if the weather is cooperating or not. If the Pacific Northwest is being nice, i.e. not raining - anything outdoors to get a sense of the city and its history would be great. Normally I wouldn't really care about dealing with "weather" if the trip were longer. But, with only a day, I'll go for indoor stuff if necessary. That said; museums, historic buildings, city parks or plazas, I'm not a huge shopper unless it is for truly local goods. Mmm, like the maple syrup! Is there any type of bus or trolley similar to the on/off bus in London, UK or the trolley in Boston, MA? Where it circles the city and you can ride all day to see the major points and then get off at a point that interests you?

Really, any good weather vs. rainy weather options would be welcome. Then I can choose from the list based on what I am facing that day.

Thanks again for your help!

Carmanah

Vancouver Trolley is probably what you'd be looking for. If you had one day, I'd suggest this, rain or shine.

I'm always a little bit hesitant about maple syrup products while in Vancouver though, because if you're looking for something truly "Vancouver" or at least within the province of BC, I'd be looking more for smoked salmon products. Maple syrup comes from Quebec, a nice 5 hour flight away, so not so local.

Regardless, the two must-see's in my opinion are Stanley Park and Granville Island. Gastown, which you'll read about, in my opinion is a tourist trap - the older historic part of the city but mainly just tacky souvenir shops. There are too many sides to Vancouver to be spending one day in Gastown, so, all in all, I think a tour, like the Vancouver Trolley tour would be ideal. The bonus is that you can hop on and off - you can take the tour around the city, then on the second round, hop off on the destinations you want to see.

www.vancouvertrolley.com

Lets_Go13

Thank you Carmanah! The trolley sounds perfect to get a good overview. Then I can choose where to spend the bulk of my time. As I research, I am finding more and more to see and do in Vancouver. I'll have to plan a longer trip in the future. Right now, it looks like the business trip is "on" - yea!

Sam_Salmon

Note that the so-called 'Trolley' is in fact just a ersatz trolley body on a bus frame powered by an internal combustion engine.
It's a bus tour with a circular route is all.

Wallace_and_Gromit

Sam, that is a true comment ... but it is STILL what Lets-Go is looking for. (He wanted a hop on/off bus and that is what it is) At least it is something.)

I took a guided bus tour while in Vancouver. Not sure if you would be interested in that, LG, but it was very nice. A shuttle bus picked me up at my B&B and dropped me off at the meeting place (Canada Place) We went all over and had a few really nice stops including an hour freetime at Granville Market. It was a great way to get a city overview.

EdEdwards

Just got back from brief convention trip to Vancouver, and only had very limited time to spend with my wife seeing the town. Our favorite things: 1) Renting bikes at the northern sea wall. A half day of easy and very scenic biking perhaps 6-8 miles total around Stanley Park, down past the Park to the quick ferry to pleasant Granville Island (which is mainly a tourist trap of predictable "crafts" shops of the sort you can find many other places in the city, if not all over the world!). You can easily bike north again, across downtown and back to the northern sea wall, to complete your circuit. Afternoon tea in Stanley Park was nice, along the way. 2) Bus or taxi down to Queen Elizabeth Park with lunch or dinner at Seasons Restaurant -- for a small but very beautiful garden area combined with a very pleasant restaurant that has a great view and extremely good food. 3) Later at night on Robson Street, where there's a youngish and very energetic crowd. Discovered a very authentic, brightly lit and bustling Chinese restaurant -- Hon's Wun-Tun House -- huge menu, crowds, basic downscale surroundings, very busy but rather disinterested waitstaff, very cheap but excellent food. We were in China in August, and this was the closest we've come to some of the restaurants we visited in Shanghai. Later, you can visit Mondo Gelato, which I think others have described already on this Board, but descriptions didn't do it justice. Very large selection of delicious gelato, cheaply priced, and they give the largest portions we've ever seen! Altogether, we certainly found it impossible to keep to a healthy diet in Vancouver, where the food options are generally too inviting. 4) A final note about Granville Island, which we'd visited a few years back, too, and continue to find overrated: We happened to hit great weather, so the little ferry across to Granville, and a half hour or hour walking around the Granville shops, were very nice. With less pleasant weather, I think Granville can well be skipped, but I suspect the bike rest of that bike ride would still be very enjoyale in a light rain. Hope this is helpful to someone!

HogtownJim

Cheap and pleasant things to do in Vancouver without a car:

1. Walk around the sea wall starting
from Beach Avenue and ending on
Georgia. Walk across West Georgia to Denman, up to Robson
and onwards to downtown. Stop in
the Robson Market.

2. Walk down to the harbour at the
end of Granville to check out the cruise ships,
containers, helicopters and float
planes and the Pan Pacific.

3. Take the sea bus to North Vancouver
and the bus along Marine Drive to
Lions Bay ferry terminal.

4. A stroll through to Gastown and up to Chinatown.

5. Hop on a bus to the Anthropology Museum at UBC to view Haida sculpture. Get off in the Kitsalano area
and stroll down Broadway or walk
down the West 4th

6. Sitting outside at Granville Island
with a good cup of coffee and pastry and watching the sailboats.

7. A visit to the Mountain Equipment
CO-OP's store at 130 Broadway west.

8. Two of Canada's finest Art Deco
works are in Vancouver - the Marine
Building on West Hastings and the
Burrard Street Bridge. Alas, the
medical arts building was demolished.
A link to the marine building is:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=113268

9. Visit the Vancouver Art Gallery which has an excellent collection of works by Emily Carr and her haunting paintings of BC's forests.

10. Ride the skytrain out to New Westminster.

Wallace_and_Gromit

I found Granville Island very pleasant. I went on the brewery tour, I had the BEST fish soup ever at the Stock Market, (an eatery inside the public market ... which is very nice!)I also enjoyed the children's market.

Here is the website so you can decide for yourself if it is something you would like. To some it may be overrated, but to others it may be a highlight. (But I really enjoy places like that. I will be in Toronto soon, and I am very excited about their Market)

http://www.granvilleisland.com/

Lets_Go13

My trip has now been postponed until January - Darn! But, I want to thank all of your for your input. I'm sure I'll be able to put the information to good use in January. Maybe I will be able to arrange more than one extra day.

Cheers!