We'll be traveling from St. Louis to downtown Vancouver this weekend (10/20 - 10/23). We'll have a car so we aren't limited to just the downtown area. We're looking for recommendations for fun, interesting and memorable things to do and wonderful places to eat. We're active people and are open to hiking around if that's what's good to do. We're looking forward to some fresh and delicious seafood (we have too many cows in the midwest)- we're open to hole in the wall shacks and upper scale restaurants. Anything good. Also - we love shopping! Where are the good places to go buy things? Are there any outlet malls in the area? What's a good souvenir to bring home from Vancouver? Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

Bring a couple of knives and forks in your luggage, and spend Saturday lunch tiome at the Granville Island Market, underneath the Granville island Bridge, in central Vancouver. Buy cream cheese, bagels or buns, fresh smoked salmon, greenhouse fruits and vegetables, some shrimps, etc., and have yourself a picnic outdoors beside the market. You'll need the knife to cut the bagel and spread the cheese, but you can make do with a lid from a take-out coffee cup if need be. <BR>Granville Island is good for a couple of hours walking around, you'll see houseboats and luxury yachts and get a good view of downtown. <BR>Forget discount malls. You'd need to drive to Washington State. <BR>Robson Street, again downtown, is a great shopping street, andhas good souvenirs, too. Good bets are vacumn packed somoked BC salmon to serve to friends as you describe your trip, and some west coast Canadian indian art, either paiintings or prints, or, perhaps more interesting, wood carvings. <BR> <BR>Vancouver's full of good restaurants, but I have not been there for a while, so there may be some changes. Check out The Cannery on Commissioners Street (a fifteen-twenty minute drive from downtown, pretty close the Burrard Bridge.) If it's still there, it will be hard to beat on the upscale side of things. Try www.umberto.com for info on teh restaurants run by a man named Umberto, one of Vancouver's great restauranteurs. Again,upscale. <BR>Late afternoon, when it starts to get dark, drive up the Capilano Canyon Road to the bottom of the Grouse Mountain gondola cars. Decide if you want to take the gondolas even further up the mountian, or if the view at the bottom of the gondolas, already part way up the mountain, is good enough for you. <BR> <BR>To see some of the best in west cost architecture,cross the Lions Gate Bridge and head west along the road closest to thewater, all the way to Horseshoe Bay, where the ferry docks to Vancouver Island are located. <BR> <BR>Turn around, and come back to the Lions Gate Bridge via thehighway partway up the side of the mountain. <BR> <BR>For a good medium length (long to me, but I'm no walker) just drive to Stanley Park, and walk around the perimeter, by the water. <BR> <BR>If you want a drink in a hotel lobby where you can people-watch, you can't beat the Four Seasons Hotel. <BR> <BR>BAK <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

The Cannery has a web site. <BR>http://www.canneryseafood.com/ <BR>I used to think this was the best restaurant in Canada, back in the days when I ate in good restaurants several times a week. It may still be. <BR>Make a reservation, and try to time your meal for sunset, to enjoy the view. <BR> <BR> <BR>Also, a good visitor advanture is totake the Seabus passenger ferry from downtown to West Vancouver, visit theshops at the Seabus dock, and take the seabus back to downtown. The seabus is only a couple of dollars. Also visit the cruise ship docks, about a five minute walk from the Seabus terminal downtown. <BR>BAK <BR>BAK

Brian's made some great suggestions. I especially love the 6-mile or so walk around the Stanley Park seawall. <BR> <BR>If you get a clear day while you're there, take the incredibly scenic drive up the Sea-to-Sky Highway toward Whistler. The most scenic part is from Horseshoe Bay to Squamish, but there's good (albeit expensive) shopping at Whistler if you do the entire drive (about two hours each way). Shannon Falls (just outside Squamish) is a worthwhile stop--it's just a short walk to the falls. <BR> <BR>My favorite restaurants in Vancouver (all splurges) are, in no particular order, Le Crocodile, Lumiere, Bishops, Diva at the Met, and C (elegant seafood).

I too highly suggest would suggest going to Vancouver. <BR> <BR>One of my favourite restaurants is the new "Cardero's". In my opinion it wins hands down for service and location. They even have a website: <BR>http://sequoiarestaurants.com/carderos_main.html <BR> <BR>I find that Vancouver Magazine's Dining Guide has reliable restaurant mini-reviews up at this link: <BR>http://www.vanmag.com/diningout/westcoast.html <BR> <BR>One thing to keep in mind when you're walking downtown is that the city workers are on strike. The strike is nicknamed the "garbage strike" because the public garbage cans haven't been emptied and they're just piling up. Vancouver's downtown streets are usually kept clutter-free - except for these instances. The strike could be over by the time you arrive, but it's hard to say.

I can't believe I wrote that first sentence! (I guess that's an indication of my lack of sleep last night!!) I meant to write, "I too would highly suggest going to Granville Island" - located just south of downtown Vancouver. <BR>

Maria, <BR> <BR>I thought I'd pass on one more link that might give you a few good ideas for when you're in town. <BR> <BR>www.vancouver.hm <BR> <BR>- Robyn

I just wanted to also suggest The Cannery great seafood, also there is Joe Fortes www.joefortesseafoodrestr.com, and C also has a website www.crestraurant.com. There are alot of sushi places i don't know how available sushi is in St. Louis so i would at least give it a try since its such a big part of Vancouver.

Lidija's right about sushi. It seems like sushi's Vancouver's unofficial food - it's everywhere. <BR> <BR>My personal favourites are Tsunami Sushi, on Robson Street. They have an excellent sushi bar that floats around on little miniature boats. <BR> <BR>Ichibankan (downstairs) on Thurlow Street is how I'd imagine a sushi bar to be in Tokyo. They're always playing lively jazz music there too! <BR> <BR>http://sushi.to/rest/na_canada_vancouver.htm (a list of sushi/Japanese restaurants within Vancouver, however I'm sure by walking down the downtown streets you'll pass by dozens!) <BR> <BR>Hope this helps

Also the great thing about the sushi places Robyn suggests is that you actual see the food floating around so you know what your getting. If you've never had sushi i guess a menu good be a little confusing and maybe surprising when you get your order. I also like Robo Sushi on Robson across the street from Safeway for quick takeout, actually thats what i think i'll be having for lunch today!

A lot of people have been asking about what to do in Vancouver recently, so I thought I'd put this post near the top as I think it has some great advice! <BR> <BR>ps. Maria - how did your trip go?

I'm going to Vancouver on business at the end of February, and it looks as though the weather is likely to be pretty cold and rainy. What if any of these things would work on a blustery day? Or do you have any other suggestions (museums, galleries, etc.)? Thank for letting me piggy-back on Maria's trip!

Hey Robyn, <BR> <BR>Vancouver's known for the winter rain... so life usually carries on as usual. If we waited indoors until the rain went away, we'd probably rarely go outside in the winter. Well... sort of... hehe <BR> <BR>There's tons of things to see and do when it's cold/rainy. If you don't actually mind the rain, a walk through Stanley Park (during the day), and to the Vancouver Aquarium makes a great day trip. The majority of the aquarium is indoors... you go through the new Pacific ocean exhibit, the tropical exhibit... complete with a tropical rainforest with sloths! The otters are my favourite. They're like marine cats! The aquarium also has beluga whales, sea lions, seals, a dolphin and an orca "killer" whale. I grew up in Vancouver, and I remember spending weekend afternoons at the aquarium. It's great. www.vanaqua.org is their website for more information. <BR> <BR>Other things to see and do: Do shopping at the Pacific Centre mall. It's underground, so you don't see the rain. <BR>Spend an afternoon at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It's nothing compared to the amazing art galleries in New York or Paris, but it focuses on a lot of local artists, usually with one main temporary exhibit. I believe this month they feature ancient Chinese art. In November when I last went, they were featuring impressionists (Gogh, Monet, Matisse, etc). <BR> <BR>The Museum of Anthropology, out at the UBC campus is a very scenic museum, home to probably the largest collection of native artifacts in North America. The building itself is pretty impressive as it was built nearby a cliff, overlooking the ocean. When it's rainy, the atmosphere is something. <BR> <BR>There's also the Vancouver Museum and the Vancouver Maritime Museum. I haven't been to those museums in such a long time. I believe the first museum features historical Vancouver artifacts, while the Maritime museum more or less features history on the coast, during the Canadian exploration era. <BR> <BR>Take the skytrain out to Metrotown one day if you want to get a lot of shopping done under one roof. It's Canada's second largest mall (after the West Edmonton Mall). It's huge. <BR> <BR>Granville Island's also a good idea. When it's cold and rainy out, it's always nice to get inside the market, and smell the wonderful aromas of the flowers, the fresh produce, the bakeries, the spices, the Italian delis.. all under one roof. And then visit around the little art galleries, shops and cafes. You could spend an entire morning or afternoon at Granville Island. <BR> <BR>Anyhow, these are only a few ideas. Hope this helps

Robin, sorry I spelled your name wrong. As you can imagine, it's sort of a forced habit to spell it with a Y.

Thanks-- those are great ideas! One more question-- is the Granville Island market the kind of thing that winds down by afternoon, or would it still be active? That sounds like fun.

It's bit quieter in the morning and much busier in the afternoon, but I think the actual "Granville Public Market" closes by evening (6pm? 7pm? I'm not sure). On the weekends the place is a madhouse. The Market is only one building out of many on Granville Island though. <BR> <BR>But even into dinner time, it sort of changes atmosphere. While the public market building closes, people arrive there for the nightlife (ie: the theatres, the comedy at the Arts Club, the restaurants, etc). There's also Emily Carr Institute of Art there, and there's tons of little art galleries. I'm sure some of them remain open into the evening too. <BR> <BR>www.granvilleisland.com is their website. It should give you a better idea of the place.

Vancouver is a very pretty city to visit...in the summer time. In teh winter, it gets a little wet and grey. Today, for example, it was snowin in the morning (first time this winter...well, since that one day in Dec) and now it's turned to rain. <BR>Like more North American cities, Vancouver is not a compact city. The public transportation is great, but car rental is better. Just remember that in downtown, becareful when the meters are no longer valid (i.e. 7-9 AM and 3-6 PM). <BR>Vancouver has GREAT restaurants of all sorts of variety. Japanese, Continental, French, CHINESE, seafood, you name it. It can get pricy. Places like Le Crocodile and Joe Fortes and the Keg can get expensive. <BR>The aquarium doesn't have live whale shows anymore...due to tree huggers protesting and stuff. The art gallery is nothing like you'd see in Europe, but it's a nice place to get away for a rainy afternoon. <BR>Vancouver is best for its natural beauty. The ocean, mountains and forests are beautiful. Mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, hiking....these are really easy to do this time of year. You can also go kayaking, whale watching, eagle watching, and camping (if you're brave). <BR>And Vancouver is multicultural. You will see more different kinds of people here than anywhere, although you may think that there are mostly asians. <BR>Any questions? post them...I'll try and answer them.

Thanks for your reply at another topic, Robyn. I've checked out the Vanmag site and it's very helpful! <BR> <BR>I would appreciate any info on transportation. Repeating myself here, I'm coming in during mid-March for the World Figure Skating Championships (as a spectator) with a friend. We'll be staying at a downtown hotel, Sutton Place or Hyatt. Most of our activities that week will revolve around attending events at GM Place and the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). I hear that the BC Transit will have a 10-day pass at $50 for unlimited use of any BC public transit during that period. I have some questions. <BR> <BR>The PNE at the Exhibition Park is 10km from downtown and not close to a skytrain station. My options are: car rental, buses or taxis. I've already checked out the parking rates for the hotels. Is anyone familiar with the parking situation at PNE or GM Place - rate and convenience? Some of the events will finish late in the evening like 10p or 11p. Would you recommend bus rides that late? How much would a taxi cost from PNE to downtown? <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

You can easily travel to the PNE grounds by bus from downtown. It would probably take around 20 minutes. Vancouver is an extremely safe city and taking a bus at night poses no danger. If you were to rent a car, parking at the PNE is, I think, around $7.00 Canadian ($4.50 U.S.). There are many lots around GM place as well, but GM Place would only be a 10-15 minute safe walk from the Hyatt or Sutton Place Hotels (both of which are very nice hotels).

I would strongly suggest taking the bus to the PNE grounds. Also remember lots of locals will be attending these events and alot of people will be taking transit to avoid the stress of parking at these venues. I would just walk to GM place from your hotel.