Vancouver

Introduction

Vancouver

© All Rights Reserved Degolasse

Canada's west coast gem is a glimmering city of shiny skyscrapers with amazing backdrops of the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Ocean. A laid back, liberal lifestyle mixed with an outdoorsy attitude makes this a favourite for skiers, boarders, kayakers and mountain bikers. In February 2010, Vancouver was the host city of the Winter Olympic Games.

Neighbourhoods

• North Vancouver
• West Vancouver
• Coquitlam
• Surrey
• Vancouver
• Maple Ridge
• Richmond
• Burnaby
• New Westminster
• Langley
• Port Moody

Sights and Activities

• Museum of Vancouver - Address: 1100 Chestnut St
• Vancouver Maritime Museum - Address: 1905 Ogden Ave
• BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum - Address: 777 Pacific Blv South
• Asian Centre - Address: 1871 West Mall, University of British Columbia
• Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
• The Gastown Steam Clock
• Lions Gate Bridge National Historic Site
• Hastings Mill Store - Address: 1575 Alma St. One of a few buildings left before the fire of 1886
• Granville Island
• Commercial Drive
• Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
• VanDusen Botanical Garden
• The New Amsterdam Cafe - http://newamsterdamcafe.com/

Events and Festivals

March:

• During March, Vancouver celebrates Celtic Fest and St. Patrick's Day. A St. Patrick's Parade runs every year starting at Davie and Granville and follows Granville to Dunsmuir.

March/April:

• Cherry Blossom Festival - Runs from end of March to end of April showcasing 36,000 ornamental cherry trees.

May:

• BMO Vancouver International Marathon - with participants from over 38 countries! Held at the Concord Pacific Place; the BMO Vancouver Marathon is one of Canada's largest marathons and has an extensive history since its inaugural year in 1972.

July/August:

• HSBC Celebration of Light Festival - With great weather, great music, and great fireworks, this is Vancouver's largest festival. Held in English Bay, this international fireworks display attracts literally millions of onlookers annually.

Note this festival has had trouble with sponsorship the past couple of years, but has remained open every year and a staple of Vancouver's summer!

• Pride Festival Vancouver: A celebration of Vancouver's diverse Gay, Lesbian and Transgender community.

Weather

Sunset in Vancouver

© All Rights Reserved shinenyc

Average maximum temperatures by month are:

• January 5 °C
• February 7 °C
• March 10 °C
• April 14 °C
• May 18 °C
• June 21 °C
• July 23 °C
• August 23 °C
• September 18 °C
• October 14 °C
• November 9 °C
• December 5 °C

Nights average between 0 °C in January and 12 °C in July and August. Records are -17 °C in winter and 33 °C in summer.

Good to visit year round, Vancouver is never too cold, but can be quite rainy, with an average annual rainfall of 1117.2 mm. The most rain falls in winter - November through March. This is still an excellent time of year to visit, though, with Vancouver providing close by skiing opportunities and being the gateway to Rocky Mountain skiing, for example in Whistler, where parts of the Winter Olympics 2010 were held.

Getting There

By Plane

Vancouver International Airport (international airport code: YVR) is in Richmond, British Columbia, approximately 15 kilometres from downtown Vancouver. The airport has service from a number of international airlines, and an extensive network of flights to Asia and the Pacific.

Vancouver International Airport has three terminals:

• The domestic terminal for flights within Canada
• The international terminal for incoming international flights,
• The south terminal is located in a remote part of the airport, serving regional airlines which fly mostly within British Columbia.

The international and domestic terminals are connected by a walkway, taking about 10 minutes to transfer between the two.

The airport has stunning architecture and the extensive collections of North West Coast Native art (the largest collection in the world. A colour palate of blues and greens to reflect the colours of the land, sea and sky, with vast expanses of glass to let in large amounts of natural light. The airport is ranked highly among international airports, placing 6th overall in the world in international passenger satisfaction.^[1]

To/from the airport

• Bus service to Vancouver, Richmond and beyond originate at the Airport Station Bus Terminal, located near the Delta Hotel. Airport Station and the airport are connected by Bus Route #424, which picks up and drops off passengers at the ground level of the domestic terminal. The 98 B Line and Route #496 connect to downtown Vancouver. Fares vary depending on the destination and time of day. When boarding the bus cash fares must be paid in exact change. A change machine is available in the domestic terminal located near the exit doors closest to the transit area. Bus tickets may also be purchased at the 7-eleven convenience store and the Pharmasave pharmacy, both located in the domestic terminal. Bus service frequency and times vary depending on time of day, day of the week or season.
• Newly completed is the Rapid Transit Line (operated by Translink) that connects downtown Vancouver with Richmond and the airport. Completed on August 17, 2009, the new transit line has been a great addition to the city. The rapid service has now created connections from downtown to the airport in a mere 26 minutes and the fare is just Cdn$5.00 for peak periods (running from 4:50am to 6:30pm on weekdays) and during off peak hours (weekdays after 6:30pm and all day weekends) it's even less: Cdn$2.50. The new rapid transit line has added 16 stations and 19 kilometres to the Skytrain network. The new skytrain line runs through the main part of downtown and all downtown hotels are accessible generally by a short walk.
• Other possibilities to get to/from the airport include taxis or renting a car.

By Train

Domestic
The Canadian operates by ViaRail travels between Vancouver and Toronto.

International
The Amtrak Cascades travels between Vancouver and Seattle, Portland and Eugene in the United States.

By Car

Vancouver has a pre-existing road structure that is fairly easy to follow and local maps are usually up-to-date. Keep in mind during peak hours (7:00am-9:30am & 4:00pm-6:00pm), roads can be quite congested. Your best bet is local transit (including skytrain), or taking advantage of the many bike routes.

Cars can be rented from any local rental agency, such as AVIS, Budget, National, or many others. All rental places require a credit card deposit and will not take cash.

An alternative to rental car agencies is a local company called "Zipcar", in which members pay a monthly fee and can take short trips around the city from pickup and drop off points that are located in every major neighbourhood.

Taxis are also available but you will have to look for them at designated stops. If you cannot find the designated stops in your neighbourhood, you can easily call a local taxi company and then will pick you up at your door. Keep in mind you will have to speak fairly good English to order your taxi. There is no additional charge for the taxi to pick you up at your door, but you must call the taxi company that corresponds to your local area. (i.e. if you are leaving from Burnaby, you must choose a taxi company from Burnaby. If you are leaving from North Vancouver, you must call a North Vancouver company).

By Bus

Greyhound and Pacific Coach Canada both offer bus connections within Canada or the regional area of British Columbia. Greyhound offers daily or better service to almost all local communities throughout British Columbia, but you will not require Greyhound, unless you go further than Langley, British Columbia.
All cities within the "GVRD" or Greater Vancouver Regional District, which includes Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Langley, Delta, Richmond, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge can all easily be accessed by local transit.

By Boat

Check Ferries British Columbia for routes, schedules and prices.
They offer daily scheduled routes to Vancouver Island (Victoria, Naniamo), the Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast and as far north as Prince Rupert. Keep in mind it is cheaper to board as a passenger than a vehicle if you intend to travel alone, as the cost per vehicle on the ferry can be quite expensive. Alternatively local transit can be used to get to and from the ferry terminals when leaving from Vancouver to go to Victoria or Nanaimo.

Getting Around

By Car

Some of the options to rent a car include the following companies:

• Avis
• Budget
• Discount
• Hertz
• National
• Enterprise
• Thrifty

By Public Transport

Local transit is commonly used, and much cheaper than by car. Local maps and timetables can be found inside stations, on buses, and in local libraries (your best best for time tables is the libraries).
Online information can be found at the Translink website.

By Foot

Vancouver is a beautiful city to see by foot, with sidewalks and walking trails established all over the city including the famous "Seawall" which runs from Point Grey (near UBC) all the way to Canada Place. It offers a scenic view of the city along the sea that runs through many of Vancouver's most desirable neighbourhoods.

By Bike

In recent years, Vancouver has begun to upgrade its' existing network of bike accessible roads. Although it is legal to bike on all local streets (minus the major highways that require a minimum of 60km/hr), it isn't always recommended to go biking without a local bike map (Cycling Routes) as some roads can leave little to no room to bike. The good news is that there are many local roads that have bike trails or are dedicated bike routes that offer a scenic way to experience Vancouver.

Bikes can be rented from local shops (mostly found in the bike store districts of Denman/Stanley Park, North Vancouver, Broadway/Vancouver) and generally offer rentals from 2 hours to multiple days. The same stores also rent rollerblades but be warned, they are not to be tried without some sort of skating experience!

Eat

The best part of Vancouver is the multicultural atomosphere. Anything and everything you could ever think of is available to you. Anything from Sushi (which Vancouver happens to be famous for), to Korean, Brazillian Steak Houses, Gelato, Malaysian, Greek, Italian, Mongolian, Chinese, Persian, Indian, etc. can be found in Vancouver if you know where to look. Downtown and the local neighbourhood hubs offers your best chance to experience as many flavors as possible within a very short distance of each other. Coffee is also a big part of the Vancouver lifestyle, with a coffee shop within every block or less.

Drink

Vancouver is all about choices! Although Vancouver is home to some great local breweries, it is known more for the choices. Home to many Tapas Bars, Martini Bars, local pubs and restuarants, you can generally find any type of beer, cocktail or martini you could think of. Outside of restaurants, you can only find alcohol in Beer & Wine stores, or Liquor stores. Supermarkets under law, are not allowed to sell alcoholic beverages, but they can however sell 'non-beer' or non-alcoholic beer. Prices vary considerably, but a "Signature Liquor store" or a government owned liquor store will generally get you the best bang for your buck, then the local liquor stores (depending on the location), and then the Beer & Wine stores.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of British Columbia
• Simon Fraser University

Keep Connected

Internet

Almost all local coffee shops offer WI-FI service. Most offer this service free of charge (with your order of course), but some do charge a small fee by credit card that you will only notice once you have sat down and tried to log onto the internet with your computer (this is usually Starbucks).

Hotels, hostels, and even budget motels for the most part offer WI-FI or internet free of charge. If you do not carry a computer with you, there are also local internet cafes that offer internet on their computers for a fee of usually $1.50+ per hour.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

There are no local rental services of mobile phones and pay phones can be hard to find. Local calls on pay phones cost $0.25, and if you are looking for calling cards, you can easily find them at the local 7-11, Shoppers Drug Mart or London Drugs.

Post

Mail can be sent from any local post office (called Canada Post), along with most 7-11's, and local gift/card stores. Postal service is provided by Canada Post, a crown corporation owned by the government but run as an independent business. The lettermail service allows the mailing of a letter. The basic rate is currently set at $0.52 for one standard letter (30 grams or less). The rates for lettermail are based or weight and size and determine whether the article falls into the aforementioned standard format, or in the oversize one. The rate is the same for a postcard. Mail sent internationally is known as letterpost. It can only contain paper documents. The rate for a standard letter is of $0.93 if sent to the United States, and $1.55 if sent to any other destination. Oversize or overweight letters may be charged a higher fee ^[2]. Larger parcels can be shipped via Canada post both domestically and internationally, the rate is dependent on the weight and destination. ^[3]. Federal Express or DHL also provide interntional shipping from Canada.