This bright green bus leaves from the airport and goes downtown at the fraction of the cost of a taxi.

www.yvrairporter.com/

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Resting against the beach logs on this Kitsilano neighbourhood beach and watching the sunset, you will experience all the quintessential elements of Vancouver at once. The beach, a view of the mountains, the ocean air, and a purely laid-back West Coast vibe. To make it even better, stroll along barefoot with a specialty coffee or smoothie from any of the local cafes and take in dinner at the Naam restaurant a couple of blocks away, where the service is so refreshingly unhurried it IS the evening's entertainment. Namaste!

www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/community_profiles/kitsilano;
Naam restaurant: 2724 West Fourth Avenue, Kitsilano;
tel: 738 7151;
www.thenaam.com

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Great restaurant where the super chefs of tomorrow are being trained for a tiny fraction of the price you would expect for aplace of this quality. The standards are very high and the service is great. Also has a great bakery. A little known secret in Vancouver.

1505 West 2nd Avenue (just before entrance to Granville Market);
tel: 604 734-4488;
www.picachef.com

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Joe's Grill is the one of the best breakfast/brunch places I've ever been too. The service is quick and friendly, the prices are cheap, the portions are big and most importantly, delicious!!

It's a perfect place to sit and watch the world go by, read the papers or eat away a hangover!!

1031 Davie St.
Tel: 604 682 3683

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In the heart of China Town there is an oasis. The Chinese gardens are the biggest replica outside of China (I think) and are beautifully kept.

In the summer you can see turtles floating in the ponds and the flowers are stunning.

The guided tours are free and really interesting.

Well worth popping into especially if you happen to be in China town.

578 Carrall Street;
tel: 604 662 3207;
www.vancouverchinesegarden.com

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Main Street south of 49th avenue to about 55th is lined with shops selling wonderful Indian fabrics, foods and jewelery. Fabrics are beautiful, authentic and extremely reasonably priced, and the clothes are unique and beautiful.

Farther north on Main is also lovely, but quite different. Between about 33rd and 16th it has plenty of antique shops, second hand stores and cute little stores selling home furnishings and accessories (no chain stores). Between 16th and Seventh it's more eclectic, with some very good second-hand stores (the Salvation Army is on 12th just east of Main) and cafes. Urban Source, at 16th and Main, is a fantastic resource for craft supplies: they recycle industrial leftovers, and the results and the offerings are irresistable.

The strange triangle between Fraser, Main and Broadway is known as Dysfunction Junction, and hosts 2 outstanding second-hand bookstores, literary cafe Our Town, a pool hall, a neon art cafe, and several hole-in-the-wall galleries and restaurants. The Jem gallery is a particular gem; a recent exhibit featured the work of I.Braineater, an outstanding local artist.

Farther north again, Loomis arts and crafts superstore is an awesome place for paper junkies. Just to the west is the Seawall; you can go on the south side all the way to Kitsilano, or you can take the north side and go up to Yaletown, English Bay, and Stanley Park. If you know some tricks you can connect with Portside Road and skate all the way from Science World (near Loomis) to Stanley Park and back to the foot of Main street, a loop of about ten miles if you don't also skate around the park itself. And it's all on the Seawall, away from traffic, except for a mile along Portside Road.

North along Main is Chinatown, and then at the very foot of Main street is the Viaduct which will give you a fantastic view of the mountains, North Vancouver, and Downtown. It will also take you to Crab Park (closed after 10pm) which is the only beach on the Downtown Eastside, and features nesting eagles and hawks, seals in the water, and a marvelous break from city noise.

Nearby, on Alexander just west of Main is the Alibi Room, a very arty place with a very hot crowd, very good food, and very original (and tasty) cocktails. Open late, and for great Saturday brunch, but the DJ might be a bit loud if you're hungover. Not that I would know what that's like.

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It's the second-largest Chinatown outside of China, and perfectly authentic. It's a living, breathing cultural artefact. Go in the daytime, as everything shuts at six pm, unless it's a Friday or Saturday; the street market is on then in the summer.

See the Sun Yat-Sen garden and park, the Chinese Cultural Centre, and Pender Street between Carrall and Gore. Keefer Street is also Chinatown, between Columbia and Gore, and in the summer (late May-September) on Friday and Saturday nights it's closed to host the street market. This features entertainment, games, children's rides (dinky ones, but fun) and lots of bargains along the cheap bag/sunglasses/clothing line.

Good restaurants include Goldstone on Keefer (closes early), Hon's on Keefer, and Gain Wah on Keefer, which is open late. Great groceries are to be had at many of the local stores, or the local Asian supermarket, T&T, on Keefer near the Stadium Skytrain station.

After the street market (which runs till nine or so) walk over to La Casa Gelato on Venables and get one of their 200+ flavours of ice cream: rocky road, yes, but also durian, basil and pernod, or gorgonzola.

East Pender street between Carrall and Gore, Keefer Street between Columbia and Gore, East Georgia Street between Main and Gore. North-south axis is Main Street.

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A beautiful complex designed by Moshe Safdi (he designed Habitat in Montreal). The courtyard is a great place to grab a snack and sit. There is a calendar of readings/performances, etc.

350 West Georgia Street;
tel: 604 331 3603;
www.vpl.ca/branches/LibrarySquare/home.html

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The website below has info for all sorts of private parties, bars, and subculture events.

gothic.bc.ca/

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Vancouver's YWCA is clean, cheap and best of all, central. From the Y you're only a few minutes walk from Robson Street and the West End.

733 Beatty Street; Tel: 895 5830; www.ywcahotel.com/explore/rooms.html

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Shabusen Yakiniku House is an all-you-can-eat restaurant, with two central locations in Vancouver. It's got decent sushi, but the real experience is the Yakiniku (Korean BBQ) and Hot Pot options where you have a grill and/or a hot pot at your table and you cook your own food, be it meat, seafood or vegetables.

It's a tasty and fun experience. And it's only around £12 per person. It gets busy though, so either make reservations or be willing to wait a while (it's worth it!).

2993 Granville Street, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 737-6888
and
755 Burrard St, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 669-3883

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Nearby to Commercial Drive there is a quiet and unique park.

Trout lake is beautiful in all seasons. You can walk the perimeter of the lake taking in the breathtaking views of the rocky mountains with the echoes of children giggling whilst paddling in the water.

You will find Vancouverites riding bikes, reading books, sunbathing, swimming and occasionally even a samba band practicing!

In the summer it houses one of the best farmers markets in British Columbia.

Good place to visit if you need to warm your heart and soul.

Trout Lake Park (also known as John Hendry Park) is located at East 15th Avenue and Victoria Drive in East Vancouver.

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The University of British Columbia (UBC) throughout the summer has various types of accomodation available. The rooms are clean, comfortable and good value for money. There are great transport links and a few shops, bars and a beach in the vicinity. Around 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver, unless you get an express bus, which makes it around 25 minutes. Well worth checking out for those on a budget.

www.ubcconferences.com/accommodation.asp

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Cheap, central and secure. Friendly staff and you just can't beat it on price.

1114 Burnaby Street;
tel: 604 684 4565 / 1 888 203 4302 www.hihostels.ca/hostels/BC/BCRegion/VancouverDowntown/Hostels/index.html

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The Kingston is a great, small hotel near the centre of the business district. It's a little distant from Stanley Park (maybe a mile or so away?), but pretty close to Granville Island and very close to Chinatown... a nice walk in any case. It's fairly inexpensive, and there's nothing incredibly fancy about the rooms, and frankly, that's part of the Kingston's charm. It's clean, basic, family run, comfortable and a great place to rest your head before a full day of touring this great city.

757 Richards Street;
tel: 604 684-9024 (or 1 888 713 3304);
email: info@kingstonhotelvancouver.com;
www.kingstonhotelvancouver.com

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The best patio in all of Vancouver, sit back with a glass of wine and take in the stunning views of North and West Vancouver and the downtown skyline. Or just people watch along the stretch of beach, from dog walkers to windsailors, beach volleyball or joggers, everyone in Vancouver must pass through at least once! The menu is simple, as is the decor but don't be fooled by its exterior. We had burgers and a half litre of local Okanagan wine for less than $40 and it was all fantastic. This is a local hang out, so be prepared to queue and just hold out for the patio tables. The view alone is worth it!

Jericho Sailing Club, 1300 Discovery Street;
tel: 604-222-1331;
www.thegalley.ca

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Bosmon's Motor Hotel downtown.
If you go around back, there's a bar that sometimes never closes full of students. Apparently smoking friendly too.

The Brickhouse
730 Main St, Vancouver
Lo-Fi place to relax on some couches, shoot pool and drink in a non BS atmosphere. meet girls and actually be able to talk to them without blasting garbage House music. No idea when it closes. Sometimes 5:00am, sometimes 2:00am.

The Templeton Restaurant
Monday night is movie night. See a movie still in theatres and get blasted on $9 pitchers of ale. It's a diner, but all the food is organic and tasty.

Arts backstage lounge (on Granville Island).
Take a $2.50 ferry ride to granville island from beach avenue. check out the best patio in Vancouver. Full of Emily Carr students, and a secret place to watch the fireworks if you don't want to brave the ridiculous crowds of drunk teenagers.

Butchershop on Main St.
All sorts of stuff goes on here like midnight movies, local artists, great people.

Bosman's Motor Hotel: 1060 Howe Street;
www.bosmanshotel.com

The Templeton Restaurant: 1087 Granville St;
www.thetempleton.com

Butchershop: www.butchershop.ca

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For live music, check www.livemusicvancouver.com

The best hostel in the city (during the summer) is the Jericho Beach Hostel. They organize all sorts of bar-crawls, vollyball and the usual BS. Plus it's a giant dorm right on the beach.

However, if you're coming here anywhere outside of summer, stay here www.samesun.com/vancouver_hostel.html or check out the Cambie Hostel/Bar. Both Hostels have good bars with cheap $6-10 pitchers of beer, full of ex-pats, and opportunities to go into the interior/Banff ect. The Cambie is a rowdy dive of a bar, so expect picnic tables, and lot's of beer being tossed everywhere by 19-23yr olds.

There are a few smaller hotels around Robson St. for about $90CAD a night. There's a million luxury hotels such as the Opus Hotel, and Hotel Vancouver (google for info).

For restaurants, you can either score $0.99 sushi on Davie St or check this www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=12744 (Best of Vancouver).

420!
Contrary to popular belief, it's not 100% legal here. However use common sense and you'll be fine. There are a few cafes around town, and an actual store operating called 'Vancouver Connection'. Read this magazine: www.cannabisculture.com/ and ask around the forum.

Get on the skytrain and get off on Broadway St. Make your way down commercial drive towards the water and you'll come across a billion artist-run centres/cafes/bars galore.

If you really want to do something awesome, look for vacation cabins along Shushwap Lake, Christina Lake, or the millions of other cabins. Rent a boat and party till the sun comes up on the beach in Osoyoos or whatever. Not cheap :(

Finally, if you want to check out local punk/metal bands, meet awesome people and drink the cheapest booze on the planet go here www.thecobalt.net

See above for all addresses.

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A bubble tea place. Bubble tea is something you must try if you visit Vancouver: it's a cooling drink that comes in many flavours and can include 'pearls' of goo that are sucked up with a giant straw. They're an acquired taste but worth a try!

On the corner of Fraser and Kingsway in East Vancouver.

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A great sushi restaurant in East Vancouver. If you fancy a night off from fish, the vegetarian box is tasty; otherwise the deluxe yama box is a great selection. Excellent value, unpretentious surroundings and child-friendly.

315 BROADWAY E, VANCOUVER, BC V5T 1W5 Phone: 604-872-0053

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