Visiting Vancouver

[ck26]

Don't see any threads with "visit" in the title, so mod please merge this if I missed it / sticky this if it's the start of a useful discussion.

I'm making the Coyotes road trip next month (Tue @ EDM, Wed @ CAL, Fri @ VAN and Sat Giants @ Royals in Victoria) ... game tickets and transit are done, I wanted some opinions before I book beds.

Will Translink and Skytrain get me anywhere I want to go in Vancouver?

Random Canadians at Coyotes games have told me the West End neighborhood in Vancouver and Government Street in Victoria is the place to be ... yes / no / any recommendations for pre-game food and post-game drink? The cheaper / the greasier the better ... don't want anything high-end.

Is there a local food (maybe like poutine is in Quebec?) that you associate with the city, with BC or as typical hockey gameday food? Where do I need to eat near the Rogers Arena? Wikitravel says to avoid East Vancouver ... agree? Or not that bad?

I'll have Thurs afternoon-Sat morning in Vancouver and Sat afternoon in Victoria ... any recommendations on sights to see? Anything related to First Nations, hockey history or the Klondike Gold Rush would be awesome.

Thanks in advance ...

Click to read more...

 

[ProstheticConscience]

There are frequent threads made by people visiting the city like yourself; for some unknown reason there isn't a stickied thread on Vancouver tourism like there really should be.

*cough* Mods? *cough*

Skytrain will get you anywhere you want to go...provided that "anywhere" is located on one of the three skytrain lines. Bus networks crisscross the city; here's a link to the website. If you're staying downtown, you probably won't be skytraining around much. Buses will be the way to go. http://www.translink.ca/

Gold rush stuff...up north. Out of town. Closest I can really think of would be the Britannia Beach Mining Museum. Not sure how you'd get there without a car; not sure why you'd go there anyway. Britannia Beach is a strong competitor for most boring place on the planet.

First Nations stuff is a lot easier to get to; I would recommend the Anthropology Museum at UBC. Very popular tourist destination. That requires leaving downtown and heading west down Broadway on the 99 B-Line bus. You'll recognize it easily enough; it's the really long bus with the bendy bit in the middle and packed to Korean subway levels of occupancy during the day.

There's really no Provincial dish like poutine in Quebec; sushi might come closest. Burgers, pub grub and beer are your standard pregame fare like pretty much anywhere else. Granville street is the entertainment district; bring your vomit-proof pants and your English to Drunken Idiot phrasebook. A million little pizza slice joints, and probably at least ten people trying to sell you joints outside. Roxy Burger's one of my go-to places for munchies, and it's conveniently right near The Roxy, legendary meat market and hangout for NHL players after the game. If you're lucky, you might get to hear a plastered Jeremy Roenick singing "Funky Cold Medina" with the house band. It's happened there before. The Shark Club, and the Kingston taphouse are a couple of the premier sports bars, here's a quick list of downtown's watering holes. http://www.vanpubs.com/ PM Wetcoaster for more info on restaurants if he hasn't noticed this thread by the time I hit reply; he's basically a one-man tourism board.

The "East Side" the tourism books are warning you away from would be the Downtown Eastside. Main and Hastings is the epicentre of the poorest postal code area in the country. It's vastly safer than a ghetto or slum in most American cities mainly due to the lack of guns everywhere, but honestly I'd recommend you avoid it. There's a million fun things to do that don't involve walking through the ******* of the city. Should you find yourself down there, it's pretty unlikely you'd be in much physical danger but it's just not pleasant to be around if you don't like walking over used needles. Should you disregard my advice and go there anyway; you'll need to smell like a local to blend in properly. Mix equal parts goat urine, hydroponic marijuana and the cheapest rum you can find, then roll around in it for a few minutes before heading down there.

Vancouver's very safe in terms of violent crime especially compared to US cities its size, but it's a hotspot for property crime. Any valuables left in your car if it's parked downtown are left at your own risk. It sucks, but there it is.

Also, our brain-dead mayor and his equally moronic minions at city hall are engaged in a no-holds-barred war against the automobile, and they're currently trying to see how many arterial roads they can block off at once without facing an armed insurrection. Downtown is a maze of one way streets, lanes that abruptly become turning lanes, left-turn restrictions, parking restrictions, construction zones, bus/carpool only lanes, and every single way in and out of downtown has some form of lane closure on it right now. The Egyptians built the pyramids faster than the clowns at city engineering can lay a mile of pipe.

West End's not bad for accommodations but a quick FYI for you: Davie St is the heart of the gay district, in case you notice the guys in nightclubs there being overly friendly.

Hope you enjoy your stay.

 

[Love]

any recommendations for pre-game food and post-game drink? The cheaper / the greasier the better ... don't want anything high-end.

Is there a local food (maybe like poutine is in Quebec?) that you associate with the city, with BC or as typical hockey gameday food? Where do I need to eat near the Rogers Arena? Wikitravel says to avoid East Vancouver ... agree? Or not that bad?

There isnt really anything like poutine/Quebec in Vancouver (at least not that I can think of) but if I were you I would considerin hitting up Tap & Barrel for your pre-game meal. Great burgers, good beer selection and an amazing location.

http://www.tapandbarrel.com/

 

[xtr3m]

http://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/wiki/visiting

 

[VanCanucks53]

Don't see any threads with "visit" in the title, so mod please merge this if I missed it / sticky this if it's the start of a useful discussion.

I'm making the Coyotes road trip next month (Tue @ EDM, Wed @ CAL, Fri @ VAN and Sat Giants @ Royals in Victoria) ... game tickets and transit are done, I wanted some opinions before I book beds.

Will Translink and Skytrain get me anywhere I want to go in Vancouver?

Random Canadians at Coyotes games have told me the West End neighborhood in Vancouver and Government Street in Victoria is the place to be ... yes / no / any recommendations for pre-game food and post-game drink? The cheaper / the greasier the better ... don't want anything high-end.

Is there a local food (maybe like poutine is in Quebec?) that you associate with the city, with BC or as typical hockey gameday food? Where do I need to eat near the Rogers Arena? Wikitravel says to avoid East Vancouver ... agree? Or not that bad?

I'll have Thurs afternoon-Sat morning in Vancouver and Sat afternoon in Victoria ... any recommendations on sights to see? Anything related to First Nations, hockey history or the Klondike Gold Rush would be awesome.

Thanks in advance ...

Japadogs

 

[VanTampaFan]

PHAT Sports Bar in Yaletown has really good Montreal smoked meat sandwhiches and is a decent place to Pregame.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Oh yeah, here's a quick guide of local Vancouver bus/transit etiquette for your edification:

1) THE place to stand on buses is right in front of the doors. Even if the bus is nearly empty, walk in and dump everything you own on the ledge beside the front door, and block the aisle to guard it. Especially if it's rush hour and your cargo of precious, precious aluminium cans is exposed. Glare at anyone who comes too close.

2) In the likely event this space is occupied, the next best place is in front of the back door or better yet block both the back door and the two paltry steps to the rear seats. Those people in the seats back there aren't human; they're scary scary monsters who will eat anyone who dares encroach upon their sacred territory. You'll be doing your fellow bus riders a favour blocking their unwitting way into carnage; ignore their frowns.

3) If you're an Asian woman under 5'5" and/or over 50 years old, you have the civic right to go moshing onto any transit vehicle like you're on the floor at a Ministry concert. It's in the bylaws somewhere.

4) Whatever you do, under no circumstances consult the trip planning website before you leave the hotel room or display any familiarity with the name or pronunciation of your stop. Observe the transit maps at skytrain stations, but don't touch them.

5) At skytrain stations during the day, you'll notice people handing you copies of newsy leaflet thingies called Metro and 24. It's the official freel Vancouver toilet paper. Enjoy.

6) Backpacks! Big ones! Small ones! Overstuffed ones full of all kinds of aromatic goodness! We love those! Never put them on the floor. Wear them proudly, and swing around awkwardly to knock several people over under the pretense of moving for one person. Don't put them on the ground like a normal person; we HATE normal people here.

7) We're big music lovers though, and music never sounds better than when it's blasting at you from someone else's iPod headphones. You know, those white ones with zero sound isolation? Bring it on! Especially Maroon 5 or that new Arcade Fire song that sounds like an ABBA cover. More!

8) That open seat right in front of you? You're not good enough to sit there, and neither is anyone else who isn't either missing limbs or in labour. Block it until you see someone who meets this criteria.

9) We like people, and we want to know everything about you. Tell someone on your cellphone so we can hear. Bonus points for discussing Aunt Lily's hysterectomy or why your sister should TOTALLY dump her boyfriend.

I'm sure there's more, but you'll soon get the hang of it.

*edit* Oh yeah. not even going to joke about this one. Take a damn shower or bath sometimes. Please. Public transit is bad enough without cuddling up to someone reeking of busted ass chunks.

 

[Free Edler]

I find tourists are usually very good on Lower Mainland transit. It's the locals who are a-holes.

Dunn's makes a pretty good Montreal smoked meat sandwich. Apart from that, I don't have a lot of recommendations, other than avoid the bridge-and-tunnel locations. They're not worth the effort.

 

[Win One Before I Die]

Sorry the city you want is Toronto, you can smoke crack with Rob Ford in Toronto, not Vancouver.

 

[Master Radishes]

Regarding Victoria, residents love to claim that it has the second most restaurants per capita of any city in North America. That's an urban myth, and no one has really done any sort of study to determine which cities do have the most, but Victoria surely ranks highly on any such list anyway. Places to eat are liberally scattered around downtown.

Now, I'm no foodie like many proclaim to be, so I hesitate to give a list of options for you. But I'll try, and other Victorians are free to overrule me. If you're looking for cheap and greasy...big on fish and chips? Red Fish Blue Fish is awesome. Mexican food? Cafe Mexico. Italian? Pagliacci's. Pubs? So many. Swans, Bard and Banker, Irish Times, Spinnakers...all standard pubs with good food and drink. Burgers? Well, they were all the rage not too long ago, so there's a number of gourmet burger joints. Bin 4 and Pink Bicycle are two of the more popular ones; I liked the former, didn't think the latter was particularly great, but others seem to love it. I'll also plug Chef's Quest, a little hole in the wall burger place - a friend of mine and his wife run it, and I honestly do find it excellent. They do "fairy tale" themed burgers and have some cool decor (swords, etc.)

Whatever you do, make sure to try the local beer: Phillips, Lighthouse, Driftwood, etc. I personally recommend the Phillips' Analogue 78. But I've never had a Phillips I didn't enjoy.


As for stuff to do: if you're interested in First Nations history and culture, check out the First Peoples' Gallery exhibit at the Royal BC Museum. There's also a whole bunch of totem poles outside the museum to wander through. (Thunderbird Park, 'tis called. Not much of a park, though.) The other museum exhibits are fantastic too, so check them out while you're there. Sounds like you won't be in town for too long, so other than that I'd just recommend enjoying the inner harbour if it's a nice day, or take a walk up Government St., maybe check out the Empress, or get down to Dallas Rd and take a walk along the water.


Sigh...I had to move away a couple months ago. I miss it. Beautiful city.

 

[Rotting Corpse*]

I'm glad I walk to work.

 

[Rotting Corpse*]

The "East Side" the tourism books are warning you away from would be the Downtown Eastside. Main and Hastings is the epicentre of the poorest postal code area in the country. It's vastly safer than a ghetto or slum in most American cities mainly due to the lack of guns everywhere, but honestly I'd recommend you avoid it.

The only thing is that it is next door to gastown, which is an awesome area for tourists to check out, and has a dozen places you could eat at before the game. Just ... yeah, don't walk too far.

 

[Rotting Corpse*]

PHAT Sports Bar in Yaletown has really good Montreal smoked meat sandwhiches and is a decent place to Pregame.

And they give you popcorn during the game...haha. Or at least they did when I went there last year.

 

[Boom Boom Bear]

Actually, don't listen to people who tell you to stay away from the Downtown Eastside, because you may end up missing out on some of the best cheap food you'll ever eat in your life: Chinatown is part of the Downtown Eastside, & it's only a couple of blocks from GM Place. Walk east along Pender from the Skytrain station, & within minutes you'll be in the midst of the bustle. If you like authentic Chinese food, there are dozens of restaurants within a few block radius, & I've eaten at dozens of them over the past 25 years, & I can't say I've ever had a bad meal. My favorite spot is Hon's. Hon's also has a location on Robson Street in the West End, so if you're in that area I highly recommend it. If you walk along Pender away from Chinatown, you'll soon run into a few cheap little mama y papa Mexican spots that are also pretty awesome. In general, Vancouver has excellent food, a staggering variety of choices, you can't go wrong eating anywhere EXCEPT Granville Street [avoid eating on Granville at all costs, seriously], it's all just fast food crap catering to late night drunks & clubbers.

Downtown Victoria is really small, so you can pretty much walk it all. As mentioned above, there's been an explosion in yupscale burger joints in Victoria, which are actually not bad, because they use organic beef & game such as bison. It's a good town for seafood, & Azuma Sushi is the best place in town for sashimi. I'll second the nods above for Swans & Cafe Mexico, but I'll say avoid Pagliacci's because there is *always* a lineup, you'll have to wait at least a half hour to be seated. Not worth it if you're just in for the day when there are so many other options available. If you want soup & a sandwich Wildfire Bakery is about a block from the arena & they are pretty much the best little cafe/bakery in town for that kind of thing.

As for taking in First Nations history, you can't beat the Museum Of Anthropology at UBC. You can take an express bus to get there. Plan to spend at least two hours there.

 

[Bure All Day]

I'm glad I walk to work.

This has to be the most random comment I've ever read

 

[whuttheeperson]

This has to be the most random comment I've ever read

I think he said it after that guy's diatribe towards bus etiquette.

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

There's a great little hamburger joint on Granville... forget the name, but they're featuring the McRib sandwich for a limited time.

 

[g35]

If you're flying into Vancouver International Airport, find the Pharmasave inside the airport and buy a pack of 10 1-zone translink tickets which are worth it if you take 6 one-way transit trips and more convenient than change. East Vancouver is not dangerous, it's the Downtown eastside that is (The area northeast of Rogers Arena). Translink covers bus and skytrain and yes they will easily get you everywhere you need to go.

 

[Love]

Japadogs

Japadogs are a must.

 

[nutbar]

The Ivanhoe is a must.

 

[D0ctorCool]

Food.

• White Spot Burger
• Japadog
• Sushi
• Fritz European Fry House (poutine)

Post game drink?

The Cambie.

 

[Finkle is Einhorn]

If you're flying into Vancouver International Airport, find the Pharmasave inside the airport and buy a pack of 10 1-zone translink tickets which are worth it if you take 6 one-way transit trips and more convenient than change. East Vancouver is not dangerous, it's the Downtown eastside that is (The area northeast of Rogers Arena). Translink covers bus and skytrain and yes they will easily get you everywhere you need to go.

DTES isn't dangerous. It can be intimidating and uncomfortable at times, but it isn't dangerous.

 

[Bubbles]

There's so many great sushi restaurants that you can't go wrong. I also suggest the many growing ramen places as well.

Five Guys also opened near Granville and Robson, so you can try that.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Actually, don't listen to people who tell you to stay away from the Downtown Eastside, because you may end up missing out on some of the best cheap food you'll ever eat in your life: Chinatown is part of the Downtown Eastside, & it's only a couple of blocks from GM Place. Walk east along Pender from the Skytrain station, & within minutes you'll be in the midst of the bustle. If you like authentic Chinese food, there are dozens of restaurants within a few block radius, & I've eaten at dozens of them over the past 25 years, & I can't say I've ever had a bad meal. My favorite spot is Hon's. Hon's also has a location on Robson Street in the West End, so if you're in that area I highly recommend it. If you walk along Pender away from Chinatown, you'll soon run into a few cheap little mama y papa Mexican spots that are also pretty awesome. In general, Vancouver has excellent food, a staggering variety of choices, you can't go wrong eating anywhere EXCEPT Granville Street [avoid eating on Granville at all costs, seriously], it's all just fast food crap catering to late night drunks & clubbers.

I didn't mention Chinatown; maybe it's just me but I don't like to lump it in with the surrounding areas. I just warn tourists away from the DTES on general principle. They're not from here, don't know the area, might get lost and the alleys down there aren't the best place to be. You just never know, better safe than sorry, etc etc etc.

And Hon's isn't a patch on the old Hon's before whoever ran it sold it. I used to be addicted to the Hon's in New West, but it's just not the same anymore. It's still good, but it's not what it was. Before it was the best, cheapest Chinese in the city, bar none. $20 would get you enough food to feed a household for a couple of days and the food was fantastic. None of that MSG head rush you get so many other places.

Roxy Burger is awesome. So there.

 

[Taelin]

Actually, don't listen to people who tell you to stay away from the Downtown Eastside, because you may end up missing out on some of the best cheap food you'll ever eat in your life: Chinatown is part of the Downtown Eastside, & it's only a couple of blocks from GM Place. Walk east along Pender from the Skytrain station, & within minutes you'll be in the midst of the bustle. If you like authentic Chinese food, there are dozens of restaurants within a few block radius, & I've eaten at dozens of them over the past 25 years, & I can't say I've ever had a bad meal. My favorite spot is Hon's. Hon's also has a location on Robson Street in the West End, so if you're in that area I highly recommend it. If you walk along Pender away from Chinatown, you'll soon run into a few cheap little mama y papa Mexican spots that are also pretty awesome. In general, Vancouver has excellent food, a staggering variety of choices, you can't go wrong eating anywhere EXCEPT Granville Street [avoid eating on Granville at all costs, seriously], it's all just fast food crap catering to late night drunks & clubbers.

Downtown Victoria is really small, so you can pretty much walk it all. As mentioned above, there's been an explosion in yupscale burger joints in Victoria, which are actually not bad, because they use organic beef & game such as bison. It's a good town for seafood, & Azuma Sushi is the best place in town for sashimi. I'll second the nods above for Swans & Cafe Mexico, but I'll say avoid Pagliacci's because there is *always* a lineup, you'll have to wait at least a half hour to be seated. Not worth it if you're just in for the day when there are so many other options available. If you want soup & a sandwich Wildfire Bakery is about a block from the arena & they are pretty much the best little cafe/bakery in town for that kind of thing.

As for taking in First Nations history, you can't beat the Museum Of Anthropology at UBC. You can take an express bus to get there. Plan to spend at least two hours there.

Richmond is the place to go for Chinese food; most of the stuff in Chinatown isn't good anymore. Richmond is actually where the airport is; just hop on the Canada Line towards Brighouse. Beware of bad drivers that might hit you though.

There's so many great sushi restaurants that you can't go wrong. I also suggest the many growing ramen places as well.

Five Guys also opened near Granville and Robson, so you can try that.

Kintaro is the best place to have authentic Japanese ramen. Trust me, I've had ramen in Tokyo and it's pretty similar. It's on the corner of Robson and Deman.