Sight and getting to know Vancouver
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For the most part,
Vancouver central sits on a
peninsula, which makes it compact and easy to explore on foot, especially since
most streets are laid out on a grid system. To get your bearings, use the
mountains as your "true north" and you can't go too far wrong. All the avenues,
which are numbered, have east and west designations; the higher the number, the
further away from the inlet you are.
Getting Around
As with most cities, a car is a liability: streets are congested and parking is
expensive. Central Vancouver is quite walkable, the transit system—a mix of bus,
ferry, and the Skytrain, a fully automated rail
system—is easy and efficient to use. Just be sure to travel with correct change.
Taxi Services are a relatively inexpensive option, too, if your feet are
tired—though somewhat harder to find in the rain.
Making the Most of Your Time
If you don't have a lot of time in Vancouver, you'll probably still want to
spend at least a half day in Stanley
Park start out early for a Walk,
Biking, or shuttle ride
through the park to see the
Vancouver
Aquarium Marine Science Centre, enjoy the views from Prospect Point, and
stroll along the seawall. If you leave the park at
English Bay, you can have
lunch on Denman or Robson
Street, and meander past the trendy shops between Jervis and Burrard
streets. Alternatively, you can exit the park at Coal Harbour and follow the
Seawall Walk to Canada Place
, stopping for lunch at a seaside restaurant.
A couple hours at the
Granville Island Public Market are also a must—plan to have lunch, and, if
you have time, check out the multitude of crafts stores.
Walking the downtown core is a great way to get to know the city if you don't
have a lot of time; city's easy layout makes strolling a pleasure. Plan a route
that starts at Canada Place and heads east to
Gastown and
Chinatown; that's a good half day.
Then, to complete the day, head north to
Yaletown and travel back via Robson Street, by which time you'll have earned
yourself a glass of British Columbia wine at one of Vancouver's excellent
Restaurants.
If you're traveling with children, you'll also probably want to check out
Science World,
Grouse Mountain, and
the Capilano Suspension
Bridge, or Lynn Canyon.
For museums, adults and older children love the displays of Northwest Coast
First Nations art at the
UBC Museum of
Anthropology.
Rainy Day Activities
While most Vancouverites don't let a little drizzle stop them, heavier rains
might inspire you to seek indoor activities. Obvious options include museums—the
H.R. MacMillan Space
Centre Vancouver is a worthwhile trek, but if you're downtown, the Vancouver
Art Gallery is good for an hour or two as is the Vancouver Aquarium. Less
obvious choices are the Granville Island Market, which is inside—you just have
to get here, then you can spend hours browsing the goods and having lunch—and
the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical
Chinese Garden, which has covered walkways.
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