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VancouverVancouverImage:Vancouver-sea-and-skyscrapers.jpg|thumb|420px|Vancouver sea and sky-scrapers '''Vancouver''' is the largest city in Western Canada. It is the main city within the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is well known for its scenery, nestled as it is between mountains and ocean. It often makes lists of "best cities to live in" and is certainly a beautiful destination to visit. ==Districts== For simplicity the Vancouver area is separated into a number of districts. Most of the attractions associated with Vancouver are in these districts. These don't correspond to the legal divisions of the city, but instead a convenient way of sub-dividing Vancouver for travellers. Image:Vancouver-districts.png|right|234px|Districts in Vancouver *Vancouver/City Center|City Center -- The Downtown peninsula of Vancouver includes the West End, Yaletown, Gastown, Chinatown and Stanley Park. *Vancouver/Kitsilano| Kitsilano Area -- The young urban neighbourhood in Vancouver. *Vancouver/South|Vancouver South -- A mostly residential area of Vancouver includes the neighbourhoods of Kerrisdale, Oakridge and Marpole. *Vancouver/UBC|UBC -- University of British Columbia and the surrounding area. *Vancouver/East Van|East Van -- The more working class area of Vancouver. *Vancouver/North Shore | North Shore -- The area north of the Burrard Inlet includes the municipalities of North Vancouver and West Vancouver. *Vancouver/Burnaby|Burnaby - A separate municipality which is primarly a suburb of Vancouver. Has a number of parks. *Vancouver/Richmond|Richmond ==Understand== In 1986 Vancouver "hosted the world" with the Expo 86 World Fair. Since that date the city has grown tremendously. It is a cosmopolitan city that likes to consider itself ''world class''. There is a population of about 2 million people in Greater Vancouver. It has been awarded the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. It will be the largest city ever to host a winter games. Vancouver is a major sea port on the Pacific Ocean, and a base for many Alaska Cruise Ships in the summer. The best time to visit the city itself is between May and September as winters are reputed to be rainy and grey (though warm by Canadian standards) in Vancouver. ==Get in== ===By plane=== [http://www.yvr.com Vancouver International Airport] (YVR) is located just South of the city. There are frequent flights between here and many major cities in Canada and the USA. There are also frequent direct flights to many cities in Asia and some cities in Europe. A $15 Airport Improvement Fee that, until recently, was payable upon departure is now included in your ticket price, meaning the lines through security are thankfully much shorter. One little quirk about travel out of Canada into the USA is that you will clear customs ''before'' you board the plane, so give yourself some extra time to check-in when you leave Vancouver for U.S. destinations. Note that this also means that duty-free purchases are not available at U.S. bound gate lounges or on the plane since technically you are already in the U.S. This also means that there are direct flights from Vancouver into cities that do not have customs clearance facilities (for example Kona in Hawaii). The cheapest way from the airport to downtown is public bus, $3 one way, exact change only, but this involves a transfer. The bus into downtown tends to be quite crowded and not convenient for carrying your suitcases. More convenient is the [http://www.yvrairporter.com YVR Airporter] (1-800-668-3141) which costs $12 one way or $18 return, and drops off at major hotels downtown. A taxi ride downtown will cost about $25. All taxis that serve the airport are required to accept credit cards. The taxi ride is under half an hour. One word of warning for when you are leaving through the airport. If you are departing from the International Terminal to destinations other than the USA there are painfully few eating places on the other side of security. If you want something more substantial than coffee shops then eat before going through security. Air Canada and United dominate flights in/out of YVR, but check Alaska airlines or WestJet as alternatives. www.farechase.com is a great site for checking them all at once. ===By bus=== Vancouver is well served by bus service. There are a number of different bus lines providing service to various cities near and far. Here are a couple of examples: *[http://greyhound.ca Greyhound] connects Vancouver with many cities, including Seattle, Calgary and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. *[http://www.quickcoach.com Quick Coach] connects Vancouver with SeaTac (Seattle-Tacoma Airport in Washington (State) | Washington). *[http://pacificcoach.com Pacific Coach Lines] Connects Vancouver with Victoria. In the summer it runs hourly. ===By train=== Unlikely to be the cheapest option, but travelling from Edmonton or Jasper by rail makes for a good way to see the Canadian Rockies. [http://www.via.ca VIA rail] has the ''Canadian'' which runs from Toronto to Vancouver with daily departures. [http://www.amtrak.com Amtrak] runs a service between Seattle and Vancouver. There are trains daily, leaving Seattle at 07:45 arrives into Vancouver at 11:40. The return trip leaves Vancouver at 18:00. ===By boat=== Ferries connect the Vancouver area with Nanaimo and Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria on Vancouver Island and with the Sunshine Coast. ==Get around== By North American standards, Vancouver has quite a decent public transit system. It is run by a regional transportation authority called [http://www.translink.bc.ca TransLink] and connects the various municipalities in the greater Vancouver area. Transportation is provided by bus, train (called the "skytrain", because it runs on elevated rails) and even by boats (called "seabus", for obvious reasons). Tickets cost anywhere from $2.25 to $4.50, depending on the time of day and number of transit zones you cross. Buses only accept exact change, but at skytrain stations, tickets are sold at vending machines that give change. As of late the machines now accept debit cards. Books of 10 prepaid tickets are available at a discount from many convenience stores. The Vancouver area has a number of munipalities or neighbourhoods that use the "North" and "West as part of their names. The following is a summary: * The west side of Vancouver is the portion of Municipality of Vancouver west of 1 block west of Main Street. Generally not including the Downtown Core. This includes the areas we are calling Vancouver/Kitsilano| Kitsilano area and Vancouver/South|Vancouver South, * the Vancouver/City Center| West End, the western portion of the downtown peninsula, * Vancouver/North Shore |West Vancouver, the western half of the North Shore * Vancouver/North Shore|North Vancouver, the eastern half of the North Shore (which is split into the City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver.) Yes, even locals who have lived here for many years find the distinctions confusing. To make it even worse many of these areas use the same numbered streets/avenues: * In the City of Vancouver the East-West streets are numbered Avenues. They always use East or West to designate whether it is on the East side or the West side (with Ontario Street as the dividing line). Some of the major streets use names rather than numbers (Broadway would be 9th Avenue, King Edward Avenue would be 25th Avenue). * In West Vancouver some of the North-South streets are numbered Streets. * In North Vancouver some of the East-West streets are numbered streets. ===Parking=== Parking in the city of Vancouver is best avoided by utilizing the public transit system. If you really must park in the downtown core, your best option is to find a parkade. To discourage on-street parking, city parking meter rates are intentionally set at a higher cost than rates in parking lots. "Easy Park" lots rank as the most affordable, but generally the cost of parking will not vary greatly between parkades within a certain area. Be '''very careful''' parking overnight, as vehicle break-ins are common. Many parkades do not have video cameras or any security after midnight. Cars with U.S. license plates seem to be a special target. Parking meters are in effect 7 days a week from 9:00am-8:00pm, but since many streets become no stopping zones between 3:00pm-6:00pm, be sure to read all signs and instructions on meters. The morning rush hour stopping restrictions may also apply on certain streets between 7:00am-9:30am. Since you should expect city meter rates to be more expensive than lots, the following rate menu may provide as useful. Most meters are restricted to a 2hr maximum stay. Meters accept Canadian & American change only, in the $0.10, $0.25, $1.00 and $2.00 coinage. American coins are accepted at par value. Since these are the maximum amounts you should expect to pay, you may find cheaper parking on side streets and lots. * '''Robson Street & Periphery, Yaletown''' $1=20minutes or 1hr=$3 * '''Lower Robson Steet, Denman, Davie''' $1=40minutes or 1hr=$1.50 * '''Hornby, Howe (around Provincial Courts), Canada Place, Georgia Street, West Hastings''' $1=15min or 1hr=$4.00 * '''Gastown & Periphery, N Cambie, W Pender, Homer, VCC, Queen E''' $1=30min or 1hr=$2.00 * '''East Hastings & Periphery, Chinatown, N Main Street''' $1=60min or 1hr=$1.00 * '''Lower Granville, W Broadway around Granville St, Fir, Hemlock up to Oak''' $1=30min or 1hr=$2.00 * '''W Broadway around Cambie, Heather, VGH''' $1=24min or 1hr=$2.50 * '''W Broaday around Macdonald, Stephens''' $1=60min or 1hr=$1.00 * '''E Broadway, lower Main, Ontario, Yukon, Quebec Sts.''' $1=60min or 1hr=$1.00 * '''4th Avenue''' $1=60min or 1hr=$1.00 Overall, most uptown meters are around $1/hr and can go up to $2.50/hr around 500-800 blocks of W. Broadway around VGH. The downtown meters are the most expensive along Hornby and Howe Streets from Georgia north to the water, mid-upper range around Robson & adjacent streets like Alberni, mid-lower range in the Westend and the least expensive on the Downtown east side. City meters and parking regulations are enforced regularly and violations are considered municipal offenses prosecuted in the provincial courts under the Offense Act. Violations in private lots are generally unenforceable, but you should be careful since you may get your car towed if you fail to make payment. If your vehicle is towed on a city street, you can recover it at the city impound lot at 1410 Granville Street (under the Granville St. bridge). ==See== ''Most Vancouver attractions are listed in separate sections of this site since they are geographically located in Vancouver/City Center |City Center or the Vancouver/North Shore | North Shore regions. Make sure you read those District Articles for more information.'' Some of the highlights include: * '''Stanley Park''' in Vancouver/City Center| City Center is one of the big draws in Vancouver includes the '''Vancouver Aquarium'''. The Vancouver aquarium is famous for its Beluga whales. Image:Beluga_whale_Vancouver.JPG|thumb|Watch out for the Splash Zone at the Vancouver Aquarium * '''The Capilano Suspension Bridge''' and '''Grouse Mountain''' are on the Vancouver/North Shore | North Shore. * '''Vancouver/UBC| University of British Columbia''' This Campus has streets lined with trees and stretching over an area encompassing a small city, the UBC campus offers much to see and much to do. You can attend free lectures, visit the Museum of Anthropology, relax at Wreck Beach, or see a show at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts. The UBC Libraries form the second largest library collection in all of Canada (second only to University of Toronto). A must for cash-strapped visitors: UBC often hosts free events, such as seminars, theatrical performances or student concerts. ===2010 Olympics=== Vancouver will host the wikipedia:2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Winter Olympics. The events will be held in various locations throughout the region and in Whistler. ==Do== * '''Seawall'''. Whether you like to ride a bicycle, rollerblade or just walk there are miles and miles of seawall. Starting with Canada Place downtown, to Stanley Park, around Stanley Park, along False Creek, to Science World, then to Granville Island, Vanier Park and Kits Beach in Kitsilano. * '''Beaches'''. Much of the coastline here is rocky; the beaches do not rank amongst the most spectacular in the world. The most famous beach is the clothing optional '''Wreck Beach''' in the Vancouver/UBC | UBC Area and Kits Beach in Vancouver/Kitsilano | Kitsilano. There are also beaches on the Vancouver/North Shore | North Shore. * '''Skiing''' the Vancouver area is world-famous for its ski hills, and Whistler Mountain is ranked amongst best ski resorts in the world. There are also a few local ski hills on the Vancouver/North Shore |North Shore. *'''Vancouver Art Gallery''' in the Vancouver/City Center|City Center. *'''Vancouver Trolley Company''' is a nice way to explore Vancouver. As any Vancouverite will tell you, parking in Vancouver can be a nightmare, so exploring the city on a narrated tour bus ride is a worthy alternative. This is a "hop-on, hop-off" type of tour with stops in numerous places around town and the drivers narrate the history and peculiarities of the city along the way. You are limited to one time around the loop. The City attraction tour is $28 for adults, $14 for children. *'''Vancouver Talks Audio Tour''' is a neat way to hear about the city while seeing it. The audio tour covers four downtown neighbourhoods and incorporates documentary interviews and historical quotations. It can be rented from Tourism Vancouver (200 Burrard) or bought (CD/map format) from most local book retailers. It costs about $15 to rent or buy the product and can keep you busy for a few hours or a few days depending on how much of the city you want to cover. To hear audio clips go to: *http://www.citytalks.ca ===Festivals=== *'''Festival of Lights'''. Fireworks festival consists of a fireworks competition that includes 4 nights of fireworks in late July, early August. Hundreds of thousands of people attend this event every year. Warning: you should commute to this event on public transportation. This is best viewed from either English Bay or the Kits Beach area in Vancouver/Kitsilano | Kitsilano. *'''Jazz Festival''' *'''Dragon Boat Festival''' *'''Vancouver Film Festival''' happens every year in late September and early October. Good selection of films, but often hard to get tickets and don't expect any of the big celebrities to make a showing. ==Learn== There are two large publicly funded universities in Vancouver's metropolitan area, called the Lower Mainland: The [http://www.ubc.ca University of British Columbia] and [http://www.sfu.ca Simon Fraser University] (in Burnaby). There are also a number of colleges and university colleges in Vancouver or within reasonable commuting distance. [http://www.pas.bc.ca/about_pse/map2.htm PASBC maintains a list] of all the major public post-secondary institutions in the province. Many young visitors come to Vancouver to improve their English. The Vancouver public library maintains a list of [http://www.vpl.ca/branches/LibrarySquare/lit/ESLschools.html ESL schools] in Vancouver. ==Buy== ''This is only a sample of things you can look for in Vancouver. Visit the separate district pages for other info.'' Robson Street in the Vancouver/City Centre | City Centre is home to many high-end shops. The city centre features Gastown, where late 1800s buildings feature tourist shops and art galleries. There are some unique shopping areas in Vancouver/Kitsilano | Kitsilano and Vancouver/East Van | East Van. Gore-tex<sup>©</sup> jackets are ubiquitous in Vancouver and the best place to buy them is at Mountain Equipment Co-op or one of the other outdoorsy stores clustered together on the east-west main drag called Broadway (equivalent to 9th Avenue, running between 8th and 10th) between Cambie St. and Main St., in the Vancouver/Kitsilano | Kitsilano area. Shopping is an adventure on the stretch of Commercial Drive, especially between 3rd Avenue and Venables St. in Vancouver/East Van | East Van. It's great for people-watching, produce (Santa Barbara Market), magazines (Magpie, http://www.thedrive.net/magpie/), cheese (La Grotta del Formaggio), sausage (JN&Z Deli), etc. ==Eat== Where to begin? There is something for everyone in this cosmopolitan city. In particular, you will find many different kinds of Asian food available. If you fancy Sushi (or have not tried it yet) many places offer "all you can eat" lunches for $9.99. In general, you are likely to dine better and for cheaper than most other places in North America. If you can do without alcohol, you can usually have a pretty reasonable meal for under $10.00, and at the most expensive restaurants in the city, $70.00 will get you a 4 course feast with exquisite service. The highest density of restaurants is in Vancouver/Kitsilano | Kitsilano or the West End. The Vancouver/City Center | City Center has many of the high end restaurants either along Robson Street or associated with the many hotels in the downtown area. Vancouver/East Van| East Van tends to have many authentic ethnic restaurants. ==Drink== Most of the night clubs are located in the Vancouver/City Center | City Center, especially along Granville Street, south of Robson, downtown. '''Local Info''' The best rundown on local info is available through the freely available widely distributed weekly, the [http://www.georgiastraight.com Georgia Straight]. The Vancouver Courier, Westender, Terminal City and Xtra West (gay orientated) are other free weeklies. ==Sleep== In general, accommodations in Vancouver are on the expensive side. This is true even for the locals, many of whom spend an important portion of their income on rent. Vancouver has the most expensive real estate in Canada. Most hotel rooms begin at $250-300/night, and most motel rooms cost somewhere between $90-150/night. If you are lucky to find hostel accommodation, the cheapest of these will cost around $20/night, more reasonably between $35-50. Most of the high end hotels and backpackers hostels are in the Vancouver/City Center|City Center. There are a number of budget hotels/motels along Kingsway in the Vancouver/East Van|East Van, and Vancouver/Burnaby|Burnaby. Vancouver/Richmond|Richmond has a number of 'airport' hotels. If you really want to stay at a camp ground there is RV parks on the Vancouver/North Shore|North Shore and in Coquitlam. The closest Provincial Parks with campgrounds are near Chilliwack and Squamish. ===Budget=== There are 'hostelling international' youth hostels in three different locations Vancouver: * '''HI-Vancouver Central''', 1025 Granville St., (604) 685-5335, [http://www.hihostels.ca/hostels/BC/BCRegion/VancouverCentral/Hostels/index.html]. Hostel. * '''HI-Vancouver Downtown''', 1114 Burnaby St., (604) 684-4565, [http://www.hihostels.ca/hostels/BC/BCRegion/VancouverDowntown/Hostels/index.html]. Hostel. * '''HI-Vancouver Jericho Beach''', 1515 Discovery St., (604) 224-3208, [http://www.hihostels.ca/hostels/BC/BCRegion/VancouverJerichoBeach/Hostels/index.html]. Open May 1st to September 30th. Hostel. Jericho Beach is the location of the view photographed above. ===Moderate=== ===Luxury=== *'''Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel''', 300-999 Canada Place, (604) 662-8111, [http://vancouver.panpacific.com]. Harbor front location, great service and friendly Canadian hospitality. AAA/CAA Five Diamond Hotel with 504 luxury rooms. ==Contact== If you need information during your stay, contact Tourism Vancouver. In case of an '''Emergency, dial 9-1-1''' from any public phone for free. The area code for phone calls in Vancouver and the surrounding area (known locally as the '''Lower Mainland''') is 604 or 778. Vancouver has ten digit calling -- when making a local call, include the area code. Internet cafes are widely available and generally quite reasonably priced ($2-3/hour). There is an extensive listing of cafes with free wireless internet access (if you have a wifi-enabled laptop) at http://vancouver.wifimug.org/ ==Get out== A good spot to move on to from Vancouver is British Columbia's capital Victoria (British Columbia)|Victoria, on Vancouver Island. Vancouver is also quite close to Seattle and a bit further off are the excellent destinations of Jasper and Banff in the famed Jasper National Park and Banff National Park on the BC-Alberta border. For those who enjoy outdoor activities, a visit to Whistler (2 hours drive from Vancouver) is mandatory. In the winter, enjoy some of the best Skiing in North America, and in the summer try some authentic mountain biking. ==Stay safe== Homelessness is a real problem in Vancouver, and panhandling is common thoughout downtown. Although Vancouver is a very safe city (recently ranked by Mercer Int. as the 3rd best place to live in the world), most tourists are led, due to contracts tour companies have with local merchants, to the Gastown area of the city. This part of town is bordered by Canada's poorest neighbourhood, the so called "Downtown Eastside." Vancouver has much to offer in terms of sheer natural beauty, activities and world-class entertainment. Yet because of these agreements between tour companies and merchants, almost all tourists end up wandering the streets of the downtown Eastside asking for directions out of there due to the sheer depressed state of the area and the number of solicitations they receive for money. If you must go to Gastown, do not drive and park your vehicle in this part of town. Incidents of violent crime are rare; most people in this area are not violent but have problems with drug addiction. As such, incidents of property crime, such as vehicle break-ins, are high. Aggressive panhandling and abusive solicitations are illegal; report such incidents to police. Gastown clubs are also known for violence. Last year, two separate shooting incidents, one in front of Loft Six night club and one by the Purple Onion night club claimed the lives of five people, several of whom were visitors caught in crossfire. Several seniors were targetted in this area also who were assaulted and then robbed. It is therefore recommended you stay on Water St. in Gastown and not wonder around in the vicinity. It is also recommended you not visit this area at night. The Granville Mall area is also extremely popular with clubbers and night partiers, and the sheer volume of people combined with alcohol consumption make Friday & Saturday nights on this strip a bonanza for trouble-makers. Fighting is frequent and disorderly behaviour is common. Unless this appeals to you, this may also be an area to steer clear from. Most violent crime in Vancouver is related to the drug trade and gang activity and the city is overall ranked in the top 10 safest cities in the whole world. As such, visitors should not feel limited in any way to explore the city; you should however, exercise caution in the above-mentioned areas. ==External links== *http://www.tourismvancouver.com - The official website of Tourism Vancouver. *http://city.vancouver.bc.ca - The official website of the City of Vancouver. fr:Vancouver WikiPedia:Vancouver First page | Prev | Next | Last page |
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