Asking someone which is their favorite city is a silly question, how can you choose when you spend different amounts of time in different places during different phases of life?
What I can answer is that Vancouver is one of my favorite cities I have visited.
My sister decided to run one of her many half marathons in Vancouver in August 2017, so this was a perfect excuse to tag along and see a new city.
Quick Links:
Where to Stay
Grouse Mountain
Lynn Canyon
Stanley Park
Granville Island
Kitsilano Beach
Food
Concerts
Olympic Cauldron Plaza
Where to stay:
Walking distance to Gastown
Things to do:
- Hike Lynn Canyon
- Lynn Canyon suspension bridge
- Capilano suspension bridge*
- Kitsilano Neighborhood
- Grouse Mountain
- Gastown
- Granville Market
- Bike around Stanley Park
- Garibaldi Lake*
- Whistler*
- Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish*
*Didn’t do but recommended or researched
Notes:
- Vancouver is awesome
- Vancouver rent is very expensive
- The Grouse Grind is a really tough hike where you gain almost 3000 ft in elevation over less than 2 miles
- I can’t recommend any night life but I’m sure it’s out there!
- A warm day in Vancouver is 70 degrees
- We did not have a car but public transportation is good
- Gastown has a lot of great restaurants and actvitiy
- With more time a trip up to Squamish or Whistler would be cool
- Garibaldi Lake to the north looks really beautiful
Where to Stay
We stayed in an Airbnb in Vancouver Downtown near Nelson Park. This was a nice area because it was walking distance from Gastown (though a little on the far side) and very close to the southwestern shore to get to Granville Island or Kitsilano. This was a very residential area with lots of people walking and biking.
A spot slightly closer to Gastown may be preferable, though I can’t complain about our location.
Grouse Mountain
Grouse Mountain is in North Vancouver and offers skiing in the winter and beautiful views and hiking during the summer.
You can get to the top of Grouse Mountain by either taking a gondola OR by hiking the Grouse Grind. Because my family loves to hike we of course chose that route. To be perfectly honest I’m not sure that I recommend this hike, it is incredibly challenging. At least know what you’re getting yourself in to!
The Grind is only about 2 miles but the catch is that you gain about 2800ft in that short distance. The trail is made up of vertical stone and wooden stairs the entire way up and does not let up. The trail is shaded which is nice, though you don’t get much of a view until you are at the very top. I’ll never forget how my heart sank when I saw the 1/4 (of the trail) sign after thinking we were 3/4 done!
Once we made it to the top of the Grind (took us about 90 minutes) we found a few view points that look back at the city. However, we were there just as some massive wildfires were starting to die out and the air was still pretty smokey so the view was inhibited. I’ve seen photos when the air is clear and it’s pretty spectacular!
Aside from the views there are also a few places to grab a beer and some food, which we very much enjoyed. There are paths to wander along and even a bear habitat.
Lynn Canyon
One of my favorite sites in Vancouver was Lynn Canyon. The canyon offers a free suspension bridge (unlike Capilano which is $30) as well as hiking, swimming, and cliff jumping. There are a few swimming areas where the river is deeper, but the main one is the ’30 foot pool’ which is about a mile or less from the parking lot. You’ll know you’re there because everyone else will be too. People were cliff jumping, though of course this is at your own risk. I dipped my feet in the water and that’s as far as I got because despite it being August that water was cold.
You can keep following the trails past the pool, but we stopped there to picnic and relax as this was our next stop after the Grouse Grind. I would love to come back to this area for a full day.
Stanley Park
Stanley park is a peninsula that sits to the north of the Vancouver downtown and has a popular bike path that circles the park. The path is about 6 miles, but it will take some time with multiple stops for photo ops and some narrow areas that get backed up with other bikers. Despite the popularity, this was such a fun way to get different perspectives of the city and the crowd did lighten up on certain stretches of the path.
There are a few beaches along the way which if you are lucky with weather like we were, are nice for enjoying the sun and a snack. We didn’t explore the paths through the park, but I think these are more pedestrian friendly and there is some sort of a tea house.
Granville Island
Granville Island is not actually an island, but rather a peninsula (close enough) which is best known for the Granville Public Market. Here you can find everything from spices to souvenirs to fruits/ vegetables and full on meals.
The ‘island’ is separated from Vancouver downtown by water, but you can get there by vehicle OR by boat. Despite being from southern California, getting around by boat is so neat to me! I’ve grown up only knowing boats as a form of leisure not transportation.
Anyway – You can take a small boat from the Aquatic Center Ferry Dock on the west side of downtown over to the Granville Island stop. This is a short ride, around 10-15 minutes.
Kitsilano Beach
Kitsilano is a neighborhood in Vancouver and while I would not consider it a must visit, but it was neat to check out. The highlights here are some beaches, views looking back at Vancouver downtown, and shopping, and food.
There is a massive outdoor swimming pool that is unique because it is right up against the ocean. This reminds me of photos I’ve seen of a similar pool in Australia. The first Lululemon store can be found in Kitsilano which might interest some.
Similar to Granville Island, you can take a ferry to get from Vancouver downtown to this neighborhood. We got on at the Aquatic Center Ferry Dock and were dropped at the Maritime Museum Ferry Dock where you can walk to get deeper into Kits.
Food
FOOD! What everyone really wants to know about.
I am a self-proclaimed non-foodie, unless it comes to ramen then I’m a snob, but we did enjoy some good eats in Vancouver. Gastown has a lot of hip restaurants and bars and is where we had most of our meals.
The first notable spot is The Flying Pig. This restaurant is located right in the heart of Gastown and we actually went twice for dinner and for brunch. Good service, fun environment, and some good eggs benedict.
Another notable spot is Nicli Antica Pizzeria. This is a pizza spot if you didn’t guess by the name, and the main thing I remember is that they give you scissors to cut the pizza which was a first for me.
The final spot I’ll point out was Fritz Fries. This is a popular, well-known spot for Poutine fries.
Young the Giant Concert
I mentioned the reason we went to Vancouver was because my sister ran a half marathon, and this was a great race choice because they gave all runners free tickets to see Young the Giant with Cold War Kids in Stanley Park.
Talk about a great event and really beautiful venue! They offered free shuttles and had a stage set up in Brockton Field in the park which has a view of Vancouver Downtown.
This was a general admission, grassy field venue which I loved because you can get up close if you want or take a seat and enjoy from afar.
I first saw Young the Giant in 2011 at the Del Mar Fair in San Diego when they were not very well known and where therefore playing a free day time show. Just recently in LA summer 2019, they headlined the Forum in LA which is one of the biggest venues in the city.
So look for shows happening because you might get lucky!
Olympic Cauldron & Cactus Club
Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010 and had an ‘icy’ torch cauldron built next to the convention center. We found ourselves in this area a few times pre and post half marathon. The torch itself is neat, but the location right up against the harbor makes it extra special.
Adjacent to the torch is the Cactus Club Cafe which has food and drinks, but more important is that you can go on the roof and have a nice view of the harbor and surrounding area. The rooftop is partly green roof and partly a walkway with stairs.
The plaza between the Cactus Club and the Olympic Torch hosts different cultural events including a Christmas Market during the holidays.
Final
Despite enduring thick smoke from wildfires the first day, I really loved this trip to Vancouver and look forward to going back some day. I felt the city had a nice balance between nature and urban areas. Next time I will try to venture north and check out Whistler.
