Vancouver City Cool

I recently stayed in the city for 3 nights prior to an Alaskan cruise and always include Vancouver as part of a clients multi centre tour of Canada if they're heading to the west, as its such an easy city to get around, its very walkable, lots of cool neighbourhoods and easy access to water and mountain activities. The downtown area is the perfect place to stay and I enjoyed time at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia which offered gorgeous accommodations and one of the largest suites in a city hotel I’ve stayed in. The hotel provided impeccable and discreet service, a great mix of bars and restaurants and an unbeatable central location and while in the luxury hotel sector it was good value.

One the the can't miss attractions is Stanley Park which consists of 400 hectares of beautiful rainforest and scenic trails. It's Vancouvers largest and first urban park and features the Stanley Park Seawall that is part of the world's longest uninterrupted waterfront pathway at 28km long! There's the chance to view local wildlife, explore beaches, enjoy a picnic, visit the aquarium and First Nation totem poles.

Downtown Vancouver is a great mix of neighbourhoods - from China Town with its plethora and of restaurants and eclectic mix of residents, Gas Town which feels like a mini NYC SoHo with it’s independent shops and bars plus loft living and Canada Place infamous as the cruise ship port. Gastown Steam Clock was built in 1977 but looks Victorian. It weighs two tons and is powered by steam, piping its time every 15 minutes to the sound of the Westminster Quarters. On the turn of each hour it changes tunes to Back Home Again Indiana. It’s said to be only the second steam clock ever constructed and was built as a monument to where the original town of Vancouver grew from plus it was placed over a steam grate to keep the homeless from sleeping there!

Granville Island is right on the waterfront and easily accessible by bus, ferry or car, its the perfect place to wander around, visit the extensive indoor market full of local produce and then grab a craft beer and a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants.

One of the great things about the city is that each area has its own distinct personality. Yaletown in the south west used to be warehouses and railyards and is now like TriBeCa in NYC with its hop restaurants, indie fashion boutiques and fair share of poseurs. From there head north west and hit English Bay Beach the cities most popular spot for chilling after work, playing volleyball or walking the dog, before heading back to Davie Village, Vancouver’s vibrant gay district with bars and clubs galore and the infamous rainbow crosswalks.

Look out for the giant inuksuk at English Bay, these stone landmarks were built in Northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland by the Inuit and other Artic people. They had a number of purposes from marking hunting grounds between tribes to warning of danger through to guiding travellers between locations. Bute Street was one of my favourite walks - this 1.5km route cuts north to south through the city connecting False Creek to Burrard Inlet. It’s part of a city initiative that aims to prioritise walking, cycling and rollerblading while offering places to sit and socialise and host community events.

Street murals and artwork are prevalent all over the city and add some great pops of colour. Olympic Village has a street art tour to visit some of the larger art pieces. If prefer to visit more art in more traditional settings then I can highly recommend the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, Bill was a legendary Haida master artist (1920-1998) and this gem of a gallery celebrates contemporary Indigenous art, plus take an hour or so to wander around the Vancouver Art Gallery, founded in 1931 its one of North America's most innovative visual arts institutions and has regular rotating exhibits.

One top tip is to purchase a DayPass, this allows you unlimited use on all buses, SkyTrains, Seabuses and HandyDART for the full day (ending at 4am) and you can travel through zones - so really handy if like me you were trying to see as much as possible each day.

If you want to escape the city then you can drive or hop on the passenger Seabus over to North Vancouver, the Seabus only takes 12 minutes and travels from Vancouver's Waterfront Station to Lonsdale Quay where you can connect to buses heading to places such as Grouse Mountain with its cable car ride or Capilano Canyon with its high suspension bridge both of which are popular day trips and in winter the buses take you right to the ski resorts. If you want to stay local Lonsdale Quay itself is a newly renovated waterfront district with a mix of shops, bars and restaurants plus an outdoor performance area.

I thought I'd enjoy Vancouver but this city really packs a big punch!