While in Vancouver : Downtown

The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead. 

After a summer in the mountains I arrived in Vancouver for the ‘winter’ season. Six months I made one of ‘the most liveable cities on earth’ my home. The most liveable city if you keep in mind that it is also one of the most expensive cities on earth.

Nevertheless, Vancouver is and stays a great place to explore.

If you visit Downtown Vancouver then you should start your morning stroll along Kitsilano Beach Park. After the morning walk make a stop at Granville Island for lunch or coffee. If you want to be a true tourist you can take the aqua bus across to continue your walk through Sunset Beach Park. Here you’ll pass the giant Inukshuk and the famous English Bay before you enter Stanley Park.

You can walk all around the park if you have a lot of time and love the walking, it takes you about 2 to 3 hours to complete the whole Seawall around Stanley Park. Make the ‘detour’ to go up to the Lions Gate Bridge and Prospect Point for some cool views.

Want to keep going ? Sure, you unstoppable wanderer !

Keep going until you hit Coal Harbour and Canada Place for some nice snaps. If you keep going east from Canada Place you’ll end up in Gastown, a touristy and funky neighbourhood to wander through. Lots of restaurants (The Flying Pig, Steamworks,…) and bars (The Lamplighter,…) to go to.

Make sure you go check out Chinatown and its wonderful Dr Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden.

My walking tour stops here. Don’t go too far east or you’ll end up in the poorest and not so safe neighbourhood of Vancouver (stay west of Columbia street).

Just turn around and head to the Waterfront Station and take that sea bus to North Vancouver.

More about that in my next post.