April 27, 2011 | Field Reports >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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Discover Vancouver, British Columbia with a trip idea designed to help you explore the city's top activities.
Join
Tourism BC Field Reporter Chris Wheeler as he takes a day trip to
Vancouver, checking out the Stanley Park seawall, the downtown shopping
district of Robson Street and historic Gastown, before hopping on the
small ferry to Granville Island and its famous market and shops. Chris
also discovers the city's culture and history at the Museum of
Anthropology and enjoys the cosmopolitan side of Vancouver at its
restaurants and Granville Street clubs and venues.
For more BC Trip Ideas visit
http://www.hellobc.com/tripideas
March 09, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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We had a blast last weekend with a company called BC Powersports. They rented us a couple of ATV's and we took them to Harrison Lake. We had so much fun, and even saw a few eagles. We are going to go again soon, and they offered to take us out this summer to do some wakesurfing. I cannot wait!
March 01, 2010 | Field Reports >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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During the excitement of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics,
Chris Wheeler Tourism British Columbia Field Reporter checks out the
filming of the Stephen Colbert Report before he learns more about Sochi
2014 at the Russian House located in Science World.
February 26, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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“Meet our moose – Saxel,” said one of the jovial ambassadors of Saxony Olympic House in Vancouver (aka the Tudor-style Vancouver Rowing Club). He then had me in stitches with his version of their special Olympia song – a real oompa anthem, normally performed by the band De Erbschleicher in the evenings, along with DJs, big screen coverage of the Games, Saxony beers and (meaty!) cuisine.
I’d decided to make a day of it, and renting a bike at one of the bicycle and skate shops on Denman Street in the West End, I pedaled off into one of the largest urban parks in North America – Stanley Park. Densely populated by giant cedar, hemlock and fir trees, its perimeter seawall offers amazing views of the city and North Shore mountains.
After Saxony House I continued round to the colourful set of totem poles (carved by various First Nations artists), then on to the Nine O’Clock Gun (a cannon that fires nightly) and the little Brockton Point Lighthouse.
Under the Lions Gate Bridge at Prospect Point, were lots of gaps where trees used to be – a grim reminder of the winter storm in 2006. At the café, a cheeky raccoon begged for scraps and I stopped to take photos of the elegant Siwash Rock that juts out of the sea around here.
Next I headed towards English Bay, passing the outdoor swimming pool. This was my cue to turn inland, passing the Lost Lagoon before arriving back at the West End.
One place I’d highly recommend in the Park, is the Vancouver Aquarium – if you have a couple of hours to spare – go and visit the belugas, sea otters and undersea creatures!
February 23, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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On the north banks of False Creek, at the colourful Concorde Place, sits the enormous white, ice-cube-like Maison du Quebec. Of all the cluster of Olympic pavilions in this area, I’ve found this to be the most accessible and have dropped in for beers and poutine without having to line up.
The atmosphere is friendly and buzzing, and by day I’ve caught a few acts on their stage, including Inuit artists Beatrice Deer and Etua Snowball. By night, their modern circus acts are hilarious – involving extras like cheeky nurses!
From Concorde Place, it’s a short walk to Vancouver’s exotic Chinatown, North America’s third largest. Stick to main, Pender and Keefer streets and browse shops selling the works from stinky dried fish and durian fruit to silks and Hello Kitty purses. Steamy-windowed wonton and dim sum restaurants are plentiful – one of my favourites is Hon’s Wun-Tun House on Keefer St. In the summer this area comes alive during weekend night markets.
For an hour or so of utter peace, the Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden is an oasis of calm amid its noisy surroundings. Located at Columbia & Keefer Streets, it’s full of Taoist symbolism, with gnarled pine trees, bamboo, turtles in jade green ponds and Ming Dynasty-style architecture.
February 08, 2010 | Tips from Us >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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Yes, it rains here. Not as much as some people would have you believe (we’re not the number one rainiest city in North America), but enough to formulate a game plan for embracing the elements. Hiding inside when it rains is a waste of a perfectly good day in Vancouver.
First thing, be prepared. The Umbrella Shop will have you literally covered. This local company has been making umbrellas in Vancouver since 1935! I finally shelled out for a decent umbrella here, because they’re well made and there’s an incredible selection of colours and patterns. Forget basic black! (Although they have that, too.)
For your feet, head to Gumdrops, which I’m sure does its best business in puddle season. They have lots of practical yet cute soggy weather footwear.
Once you’re geared up, you can tackle pretty much any activity. But, if you’re unprepared (or just like staying very dry), here are some of my favorite Vancouver specific rainy day activities:
Vancouver Aquarium: Some like the belugas, but I like “sea” creatures – sea otters, sea stars, and especially the room of sea jellies (like my leggy buddy in the photo above).
Museum of Vancouver: Awesome exhibits lately! Bikes, taxidermy, crafts – what’s next?
Yoga: I love being in a cozy studio when it’s raining.
Stanley Park: The canopy of giant trees does a surprisingly good job of keeping the trails dry(ish). There are less people in the forest when it rains; watch for woodpeckers, owls and Douglas squirrels.
Public Market on Granville Island: Mangosteens, espresso, butternut squash ravioli, birch syrup... the list goes on. Yum.
The Umbrella Shop: Granville Island, 526 Pender St, and 1106 W Broadway; Gumdrops: 2029 West 4th Ave
November 03, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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I attended a conference in Victoria and used one of the local floatplane companies (think it was Harbour Air) to get there and back (from Vancouver). On my way back from Victoria I took several pictures as we approached Vancouver. A few of these photos turned out great. Here's one of them. Flying to Victoria and back on a floatplane is a great experience. I'm sure many people are used to it since they go from one city to the other on business constantly. But for me, it was the first time, and I loved it. I also got lucky on the way back sitting in the front next to the pilot who was a very personable guy. If you ever have the chance to fly to and from Victoria on a float plane, do it (and bring your camera).
March 01, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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We just returned from our first trip to Vancouver with our 3 year old son and it was great. Even though there were a couple of rainy days, it didn't spoil a thing. We stayed in a very family friendly hotel 910 Beach. The price was right and the location was awesome. It was so great to take the little water taxi across to Granville Island or take a walk up through downtown to Robson Street and Yaletown. We walked our feet off. Our little boy LOVED the Kids Only Market at Granville Island. There was a great play gym in there which we visited on one of the rainy days. Science World and the Aquarium were also big hits. We actually forgot to bring a stroller (!!!) but were directed to a wonderful rental service Wee Travel Baby Equipment Rentals who were able to get an amazing Bob Revolution stroller (I remember the name because I'm planning to buy one now!!) down to us in less than an hour. I particulalry loved the shops in Yaletown and on west 4th- very funky street with the absolute best coffee I have ever tasted - 49th Parallel. I'd return to Vancouver for the coffee and pastries at that place!!! Food in Vancouver is wonderful. There is a full range of every style culture and budget. If you're dining with a child, a great little spot is the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company. There's a little play area in the back for kids and on certain days the kids can go into the kitchen and make their own pizzas. All their ingredients are organic. We actually went there twice! We didn't make it to Whistler this trip but hope to come back soon. We love Vancouver!!
February 17, 2009 | Field Reports >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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As part of the celebration of the one-year countdown festivities
for Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, I joined
Active Communities Vancouver Step Out Walk that explores the changing
skyline around Southeast False Creek and the Olympic and Paralympic
Village. During the beautiful 3km walk around False Creek, I spoke
with Olympic Silver Medalist Karen Magnussen and Olympian Darcy
Marquardt and Sabrina Kolker! This is a fantastic family walk and you
can feel the Winter Games excitement in the air... so come on out and
step it up!
October 23, 2008 | Field Reports >
Vancouver, Sightseeing Tours
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I went for a walking journey through Downtown Vancouver and then took off on a Seaplane adventure into the Coast Mountain Range! The views were spectacular and we ended up landing on a "secret" alpine lake! Talk about a beautiful slice of BC!