Living in Shanghai, and with family and friends located all around the world, we decided that Vancouver would be a wonderful place to gather to celebrate our wedding.
For guests with free time on their hands, here is a very incomplete list of places we like in Vancouver. For more ideas, try visiting The Georgia Straight, Lonely Planet or Tourism Vancouver.
Granville Island
High on any list of things to do in Vancouver, Granville Island is a former industrial area redeveloped by the federal government in the 1970s. Its main attraction is a large public market, but it is also home to a community centre, art galleries, a marina and a good brewery (and now a distillery).
From the pier at Granville Island, you can rent a small speedboat to explore English Bay and beyond. Licenses are granted on the spot, so you don’t need any previous boating experience.
Arguably home to Vancouver’s largest concentration of hipsters, Commercial Drive is packed with coffee shops (try Continental Coffee), bike shops (try Dream Cycle), restaurants (try Absinthe Bistro) and used record stores (try Audiopile).
Stanley Park is a 1,001-acre public park adjacent to Downtown Vancouver that includes, among other things, a 400-hectare West Coast rainforest, gardens and a public aquarium. It is ringed by a an 8.8-kilometer seawall with lanes for walking, running and cycling.
Deep CoveA 30-minute drive from Downtown Vancouver, Deep Cove is beautiful waterfront community. Wander along the beach, or rent a kayak at the Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak Centre and paddle up Indian Arm.
Deep Cove is also an excellent starting point for hiking trails in Mount Seymour Provincial Park.
For a traditional Vancouver workout slightly closer to Downtown, try the Grouse Grind, a challenging 2.9-kilometre climb up Grouse Mountain. If the weather is good, you’ll be rewarded with fantastic views of the city from the top.
A 2.5-acre traditional Japanese garden on the grounds of UBC. Considered one of the top five Japanese gardens outside of Japan (at least according to its web site), it’s a serene and lovely place in one of the world’s most spectacularly situated campuses.
Restaurants
Some of our favourites in a city that’s rightfully famous for its food:
Absinthe Bistro – As mentioned above, located on Commercial Drive. A small menu done well.
Burgoo – A small chain of restaurants serving a variety of very good stews
Burdock & Co. – Located on Main Street — Hipster Central before Commercial Drive — this is one of Vancouver’s many excellent locavore restaurants, serving local, seasonal ingredients.
Fuji Sushi - Not actually in Vancouver, but in the suburb of Port Moody, we would argue that the quality of the fish at this sushi restaurant makes it worth the 45-minute drive.
The Naam – A Vancouver institution, the place to go for vegetarian comfort food. Open all night. Queues can be long at dinnertime.
Nuba – Very good Lebanese food.
The Oakwood Canadian Bistro – Another excellent locavore restaurant, located across the street from The Naam.
Sophie’s Cosmic Café – Comfort food at an eclectic retro diner.
Note: There is excellent Chinese food in Vancouver — mainly Cantonese, and mainly located in the suburb of Richmond. But since we live in China, we don’t go out of our way for Chinese food in Vancouver and can’t offer any specific recommendations.
Bella Gelateria and Thomas Haas Chocolate
Award-winning gelato and artisan chocolate, respectively.
Named to commemorate the meeting of Spanish explorers Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores with British Captain George Vancouver in 1792, the Spanish Banks are a series of beaches along the shores of English Bay. The western end of the Spanish Banks isn’t ideal for swimming, but is wonderful for a walk at sunset.
Home
Andrew’s family lived in Vancouver from 1984 through 1992, before moving to Tokyo. His parents moved back into their old house after returning from Asia in 2008. Despite spending most of his life outside of Canada, Andrew feels about as close to home in Vancouver as he’s capable of feeling anywhere. After 10 years in China, he has also learned that long-time residents of Vancouver have only the very faintest understanding of how beautiful their city is.
