css

Hi, hoping to get feedback on my itinerary and a question or two answered. We will be in Vancouver in early July for 4 nights. We are a couple in early 40’s and we like to wander around cities, explore neighborhoods and throw in a little shopping and nature We will not have a car. Thanks ! Obviously what ever we don’t get to one day we’ll toss onto the next! We will arrive from the East coast around 11 am and check into the Fairmount Downtown. Planning on heading out to either explore Robson/West End or if we have more energy go to Stanley Park. The 1 hour open air carriage ride seems like a nice way to see a lot of the park. Day 2 planned to do Granville Market, then walk thru Kitsilano , then ferry over to Yaletown. Day 3 and 4: Lynn canyon Suspension Bridge, then what ever we didn’t get to the prior days. Questions: Does any of the above not make sense Can you walk from Granville Mkt to Kitsilano? Am I correct in choosing Lynn Caynon over Capilano? I heard good things about South Main St. between 16th and 25t Aves. but have no idea where that is Is the Richmond Night Market worth doing one night? Do I do that instead of going out to dinner? I know I am missing Victoria but spending 5-6 hours traveling seemed crazy and the sea plane was too expensive. Thanks for the help

NorthwestMale

Hi, I read it, and I visit Vancouver many times a year... and I think that Vancouver is a great match to who you say you are, and in truth I can't see a thing wrong with your anticipated game plan.

Downtown Vancouver is fairly flat and safe, and I think the carriage ride will make Stanley Park a bit more enjoyable than being totally on foot.

Have fun!

BikerScott

CSS - that's a fantastic itinerary! Obviously well-researched and thought-out.

Day 1 looks perfect - Robson St is shopping mecca. If you're into higher-end fashion, Holt Renfrew has just opened a new store in Pacific Centre at Dunsmuir and Granville.

Day 2 - it'd be a fair walk from Granville Island to the interesting part of Kits (Broadway, between Macdonald and Almo - lots of interesting shops - stop for a coffee at Calhouns - I used to pretty much live there while in university), but not too long - walking would probably take you about 20-30 minutes. If you don't want to walk the whole way, you can walk up to Granville street and take the 99B bus to Macdonald, or take a cab (probably cost around $5). The ferry back to Yaletown might be a bit more problematic, as it leaves from Granville Island. A better itinerary might be to wander around Kitsilano first, then Granville Island, then ferry over to Yaletown (if taking the bus, you can either take the 44 leaving from Hastings and Howe to Macdonald and 4th - Broadway is a few blocks south of there - or the 22 leaving from Pender at Howe and ending up at Macdonald and Broadway).

Day 3/4 - also a great plan - I'm a huge fan of the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge over the Capilano brige. It's free, its not quite as long but just as dramatic, and it's in a more natural setting with some pretty good walking trails around it, plus busloads of tourists don't get dropped off every 10 minutes.

I can't comment on South Main as I'm not sure what's down there...wouldn't be my first choice, but you never know...and despite growing up in Richmond, I've never been to the night market so I can't comment on that, although from things I've read here and pictures I've seen, it does seem like something else. Might be a bit tough to get to without a car, and pretty expensive via cab from downtown.

css

Thanks so much for all the feedback! If I do Kits before the market what time do the shops open in kits? Also is Ralspur Alley part of the market or part of Kits? Thanks!

BikerScott

I'm not positive about what time shops in Kits open - earlier on the weekend than during the week I'd expect, although I'd figure no later than 9am either way - perhaps someone in the area can give a bit more info on that.

Railspur Alley is on Granville Island, but is not part of the market (the market on Granville Island is contained in the Granville Island Market building on Johnston Street). The rest of the island has tourist shops, restaurants, loads of art stores, some theatres, the Emily Carr Institute of Art, and a little bit of light industrial (you can use Google Maps to see it - enter "granville island, vancouver bc" without the quotes to see the map, and also to get an idea of where it's located in relation to Kitsilano).

Carmanah

BikerScott has given you some great information, although I have a few things to add that weren't elaborated on - particulary the info on Kits and South Main.

I quite like that neighbourhood along Broadway between Macdonald and Alma, but that's actually the furthest part of Kits away from Granville Island. While it's an area full of little green grocers, cafes, delis, and retail shops, there are actually closer parts to Kits that are equally interesting.

For example, you can walk 10 minutes outside of Granville Island, underneath the bridge and up towards W 4th (west of Fir Street) which is probably the most famous and trendiest part of Kits. That stretch of W 4th is known for its trendy shopping and restaurants.

Another idea is to walk west out of Granville Island by taking the waterfront walkway to Vanier Park. Vanier Park is a relatively flat grassy waterfront park with sandy beaches on its north-western side. There are also three museums at Vanier Park - the Vancouver Museum, the Vancouver Maritime Museum, and the HR MacMillan Space Centre (aka: "the Planetarium&quot. But if you follow the path beyond the museums, you can follow a treed trail alongside some beautiful homes around the corner to Kits Beach. Very pretty beach area with gardens on one side and people sunbathing/playing beach volleyball/swimming on the other side. Bring a camera - this part of Kits is very scenic! The path eventually hooks up to the Arbutus/Cornwall intersection. One block over along Cornwall and Yew are a bunch of cafes, pubs, and restaurants.

If you walk up the hill from Cornwall, you'll pass by 4 residential blocks and you'll get to W 4th Ave in the heart of where all the shops/restaurants are.

So I guess what I'm saying is that Granville Island to Kits is an easy walk - I do it all the time. If you wanted to walk further to Macdonald and Broadway, Broadway is only 5 blocks south of W 4th, and Macdonald is several blocks west. If you take the side streets, you'll pass by a lot of nice houses with beautiful gardens along the way and you'll start to see why so many people want to live in that neighbourhood!

As for South Main, this is certainly an up-and-coming buzzing neighbourhood with a lot of unique one-of-a-kind boutiques. It really has developed its new artsy community-oriented identity over the past few years, and because of that, it's still a bit of a secret. And as you've discovered, many life long locals still have no idea what exists there.

While it's not the most scenic part of Vancouver (has a bit of strip mall vibe in some areas, it's inland away from the water), if you like to explore neighbourhoodings and throw in a little shopping - I'd highly recommend it. It's actually one of my favourite places in the city for shopping because it's not the same old mall crud you find virtually everywhere else. Many of the boutiques are independent and the people working there are often the ones that own the shop. The neighbourhood is older, so you can often find some beautiful early 1900's homes with mature trees along the side streets.

There are several "patches" along Main Street with clumps of neat shops. There's the E 7th to about E 12th "clump" which has some fantastic clothing boutiques - some feature local designers, some of the shop owners design the clothes themselves, while others import clothing from global designers. Some shops are super casual while others are more high end. And there are also the vintage clothing shops (which can be very eccentric!). Some of these boutiques are Lark (http://www.lark8thave.com), dadabase (http://www.dadabase.ca), Motherland (http://www.motherlandclothing.com), Burcu's Angels. These same blocks also has some good restaurant choices, like Aurora Bistro, Habit Lounge, Soma (a slick, newly opened wine bar/restaurant), and Slickety Jim's Chat & Chew (for breakfast).

The next interesting clump of blocks exists further south from E 20th to about E 30th - so 10 blocks. Front, Eugene Choo, Umeboshi (http://www.umeboshishoes.com/). Restaurants like The Reef (casual Caribbean-influenced restaurant) and Locus can be really good. Some restaurants that originated in Kits - Nyala (Ethiopian) and East is East (Afghani/Indian) is good for casual fare.

There are also some antique shops along Main Street in this area, mostly south of King Ed Avenue, but nothing that I've found particularly extraordinary - mostly run of the mill stuff. Okay, I've said enough on Main Street... that should give you plenty of ideas. Google search the neighbourhood further and you'll find it popping up on a lot of websites, especially in Vancouver shopping guides, blogs, etc.


Richmond Night Market is definitely worth getting to. I too grew up in Richmond, and I've been about 4 times now. I just wouldn't use it as a dinner replacement. Go several hours after dinner. The food is mostly Asian junk food or street food. Very, very tasty and addictive, but definitely not a dinner for weak stomachs! However, I'm guilty of doing just that and last Friday enjoyed a late night gorge-fest of BBQ chicken, taro bubble tea, Korean sweet rice pancakes, red bean cakes, and a cup of super spicy curried fish balls...

www.richmondnightmarket.com has some photos that should give you an idea of what it's like.

Carmanah

And please ignore my invention of the word "neighbourhoodings". Don't ask where that came from. Sometimes I type faster than my brain can process.

css

As always the fodors people are amazing sources of info and so generous with their help! Thanks for everything