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Granville Island Market is a must with its live theatre, restaurants and craft shops.
Open 7 days a week from 9am-7pm.
www.granvilleisland.com/en
Food for the soul as well as for the body is available on Granville Island. Artists' and artisans' studios and shops, BC crafts, galleries, professional theatre(s), high quality (musical) buskers, possibly the best art college in the country (along with a gallery), the Fringe Festival, the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival, and lots of family entertainment sponsored by Granville Island Management. It's a good thing that the public market is nearby to provide sustenance and energy for those who want to available to take advantage of some or all that Granville Island offers.
South Main is the part of Main Street that runs south of Broadway. It's the new bohemian district, with quirky boutiques run by young designers, affordable vintage shops crammed with interesting things including one that has only second hand cowboy clothes, and excellent little cafes.
South of Broadway, accessible by any bus that runs along Broadway.
It may be just another shopping centre, but it is the largest in BC and is an ideal place to spend the day if it's cold and wet and you're suffering culture fatigue.
Skytrain to the Metrotown stop
This incredible food market is packed full of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, ice creams, pastas, cakes and much more. You can enjoy a huge variety of cuisine so make sure you arrive with an empty stomach or you'll be missing out. While the guide books tell you to take a bus or ferry, the walk along the waterfront from Science World is a pleasure.
Situated in False Creek, #50 bus
Its a market and entertainment area. You can pick up fresh seafood (including live lobsters and crabs!), look at exhibtions or go for a drink. It also has an organic market with a lot of choice - its an amazing place and good value for money
Accessible by bus, train, car, boat, bicycle or on foot;
www.granvilleisland.com
Its an outdoor gear shop with a conscience, making sure that their impact on the environment is minimal and environmentally friendly.
130 West Broadway;
tel: 604 709 6241;
www.mec.ca/splash.jsp
If you want to see artists and bourgeousie come together in what used to be a down and out area, try Main st/Mt. Pleasant. There's a cluster of hipsters, boutiques, coffee shops and ethnic restaurants that give the atmosphere of the way Vancouver once was: countercultural.
Main St. spans from our 'skid row' area on Hastings up to an Indian district. There's everything in between, including expensive character homes.
Commercial drive is a piece of unique heritage in an area of the world that is dominated by chain stores and coffee shops. The Drive is bucking franchises in favour of amazing shops and stores that are complete one offs.
Start by stocking up with fresh breads, fruits, herbal remedies and more, punctuated by a few coffee breaks along the way in one of many of the NON franchised coffee shops. Then finish your experience in one of the fantastic restaurants (many with outdoor heated patios) dotted along Commercial.
La Grotta del Formaggio is a treasured local purveyor of the best new-world Italian Deli sandwiches and cheeses. If you like kitsch then Urban Empire is the place for you - a shop filled with wonders and surprises. Havana is a great restaurant for good (if not traditional) Cuban food and it has a great photo gallery at the back. Waazubee is also a good rest stop or even better dining experience with a wide range of veggie dishes.
This all comes from a person who doesn't even live in Vancouver. Guess it must be great eh?
Between Broadway and Venables;
www.thedrive.ca
A cheap CD store with a good selection. Vancouver was (is) one of the cheapest places to get (legal) CDs that I've been to and this store is the reason. Virgin had to leave town with its unused tail between its legs because it couldn't compete on price. The already mentioned Zulu records is okay for the locals (best selection and service) but expensive, and how hard is that to find in the UK? Also, try to find the free "HUB Magazine" for local computer stuff which is a deal.
Downtown at 556 Seymour;
www.absound.ca
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.
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.
Get on the little passenger ferry across False Creek to visit Granville Island. Former industrial buidlings have been converted into galleries, shops, craft workshops and restaurants. There is also a fantastic farmer's market and a brewery.
South Shore under Granville Street Bridge, catch the False Creek Ferry or Aquabus;
www.granvilleisland.com
The Drive (Commercial Drive) is a street in Vancouver that boasts a vibrant community. All the stores and restaurants are unique and interesting. A Subway was proposed along the Drive and a committed campaign was raised to prevent it from succeeding.
Many coffee shops along The Drive have slam / beat poetry sessions if you look for them. Also, one place of particular interest is Magpie Magazine Gallery, wherein one can find magazines of all stripes. Feel free to browse forever -- it's easy to get lost in them. Slightly north along the Drive is Britannia Community Center, where there is an ice rink and a swimming pool as well as a large park.
Another place of interest is the Vancouver East Cultural Center where various dance groups and theatrical performances can be seen.
The Drive is uniquely Vancouver and it reflects a slightly anti-corporate sentiment here - as I said before, it belongs to small businesses and restaurants that are not chains. It is ideal to spend an afternoon (sunny, of course) walking along, starting at Broadway and slowly making your way north along the street, stopping for coffee or ice cream or sushi or Thai or...
Enjoy.
Commercial Drive, from Broadway to Venables;
www.thedrive.ca
Magpie Magazine Gallery: 1319 Commercial Drive
Vancouver East Cultural Center: 1895 Venables Street;
www.vecc.bc.ca
While most tourists coming to Vancouver go to Robson Street downtown to find clothing (where stores such as A/X and Banana Republic compete), the as yet unknown area to shop is Main Street, roughly between Broadway (9th) and 45th Street. There, such stores as Dadabase and Twigg and Hottie sell funky artsy clothing. Highly recommended for shoppers who are interested in political statements and offbeat artistic designs on their clothing. Twigg and Hottie, for instance, source all of their clothes locally so all of their clothing is made within Canada, and some of it within BC. Dadabase gets locally made clothing through its in-house Government label.
If travelling to Vancouver, these clothes reflect Vancouver's culture more uniquely than (for example) Holt Renfrew clothing which can be purchased internationally.
Main Street clothing shops are still an untapped vein of creativity.
Dadabase: 183 East Broadway;
www.dadabase.ca
Twigg and Hottie: 3671 Main Street;
www.twiggandhottie.com
The Sylvia was built in 1912, and added to in the 80s. My wife and I prefer the old part just for flavour: the furnishing may be plain and unchanged since the 50s, 60 or 70s, but the beds are good and there is no musty smell or other odes to the past you might prefer not to experience.
In fact, I have not stayed in the new part but would not hesitate - you are there because it is the BEST spot in town.
English Bay and Stanley park are right out the lobby door. When you cross the street you are on the "sea-wall" which encircles Stanley Park. Even better, it is the part that is not a wall but English Bay beach, with a sidewalk. Robson St., for shoppers, is 6 blocks away. Going the opposite direction, a beautiful stroll along the ocean for 10 minutes (20 if you take in the air and view, which you will ) brings you to the water taxi stand, going to Granville Island.
I have stayed there 5 or 6 times since the '80s, and having travelled much of the world, can honestly say it has genuine character, history, an unrivalled location and reasonable prices. The Sylvia is clean, charming, and not "luxuried up" to the detriment of a budget. I would recommend reservations, but I have got lucky on short notice - in August no less. One of my favourite places on earth.
1154 Gilford St;
tel: 604 681 9321;
www.sylviahotel.com
Amazing food hall... choose from healthy salads to fish and chips. Buzzing place. And once you've eaten head for the boutique shops on the island.
Bus, train, car, cycle, walk or take a boat taxi;
www.granvilleisland.com
The website below has info for all sorts of private parties, bars, and subculture events.
There are many horror stories about Main and Hastings but head south on Main, out of Downtown, and it dramatically changes. It's a very busy shopping area and from about 8th onwards there are a number of small bars, coffee shops and eateries that you can relax in. Heading further south (from 18th onwards) there are quaint antique and bric-a-brac shops to browse in. For a great value pizza check out Cipriano's near the self serve car wash (at King Edward), you will be taking a doggy bag home!
Main Street (8th Street and anywhere south)
Stock up on outdoor gear at the cluster of shops selling all the latest stuff, often at a fraction of what you would pay in the UK. MEC is worth checking out but you need to pay a few dollars for life membership. Sells a wide range of equipment and the staff seem to know what they are talking about (mind you, everyone in this city is an outdoors' specialist). You will find a bargain somewhere!
Cambie and Broadway, south of downtown. Head east along Broadway, not the prettiest few blocks but perfectly safe. Limited parking on street but bus or taxi the best bet
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