Here's the deal. I live in Vancouver, I know the city pretty well and I like discovering new places to visit and things to do, but I'm looking for suggestions to show a friend of mine while she's here.
My adorable gal from New Jersey is visiting me from November 6th to 13th (flying into Seattle; I will be picking her up and bringing her across the border). I live in Marpole, around Oak and 70th. I won't have a car during the majority of the week, but transit/taxiing will suit us just fine. As a result we'll be largely relegated to Vancouver proper + downtown, and maybe Richmond and the North Shore.
PA has helped me out before, so I was hoping that any of you Vancouverites, or anyone who has been to Vancouver as a tourist, could come up with recommendations. This is her first time in Vancouver, not to mention Canada, so we'll be going to the obvious destinations: the aquarium, Stanley Park, Granville Island, Grouse Mountain (dependent on what's open), exploring Downtown, Lonsdale Quay, etc. Those are broad, generic activities but I'm also looking out for more specific suggestions. If you guys have a favourite restaurant, coffee shop, club or bar, I'd love to hear it. Anything you feel is essential for a first time visit to Vancouver.
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I liked the Black Frog in Gastown. If you like finer mixed drinks or cocktails, Pourhouse (also in Gastown) is great, probably the best in Vancouver.
Foundation Lounge is fun, provided you don't mind hipsters. Get their nachos and their sangria pitchers.
Our Town Cafe on the corner of Kingsway and Broadway is good.
Bon's off Broadway (Nanaimo is the cross-street) is good, just to marvel at their $2.99 breakfast.
Midnight shows at the Rio Theatre just off of Commercial are fun. They are showing two of the worst movies of all time: "The Room," and "Howard the Duck." Go heckle the screen with the rest of the audience.
http://riotheatre.ca/events/
http://thetempleton.blogspot.com/
also the Capilano suspension bridge is fun too.
Another great place in gastown is Guilt & Company; Which only serves beer and small amounts of food (cheeses, chips, etc) but has neat live music (They throw together random artists from their roster and they just jam on stage) and they offer board games to play while you drink. Jenga while drinking is great.
Richmonds got great sushi at Charcoal, which is on number 3 road, at westminster highway. A lot of neat types of sushi (Try the Lotus roll)
The Biltmore Cabaret on Kingsway has a thing every Saturday where they bring in live bands, who will usually play from 8 to 11, and then the house DJs take over and it turns into a dance party until closing. Cover is usually around $10, and the bar is cheap. I also find the crowd is a lot more agreeable than the types I usually encounter at the Granville clubs.
Official Science World website
By the way, you live like, 1 or 2 blocks away from me. Marpole 4 lyfe!
Also planning to check out Guilt & Company (did I mention I have a soft spot for Gastown?) and The Templeton. And of course the Biltmore is an institution.
@Corvus: She desperately wants to go to a Canucks game with me but alas, they are on a road trip the entire time she is here! They're actually playing Detroit on the 6th but her flight is getting in late so we won't be in Vancouver till around midnight. Might try a Giants game though.
@Dangerbird: Science World is a must see and I can't believe I didn't think of that before. I went to Body Worlds when it was here in 2006 so I know it's pretty cool. Great idea though. And I just moved into the apartment last month. Small world!
Thanks for all the suggestions, going to keep all of those in mind (I had a running list of pubs that I've never gotten a chance to visit and now it's just grown a bit larger). If anyone else wants to suggest anything that would be welcomed.
One last question: anyone know what exactly is open on Grouse around then? I know the mountain pretty well but I've never gone up there at that time of the year, and the website seems to imply November is a "transition" month between all the summer and winter activities...I'd love to take her skating but I don't know if it'll be cold enough yet (though I seem to recall once hearing that the rink at the top of grouse is artificially cooled, but again, that may be hearsay).
Also, the Robson Square ice rink would probably be open by then.
and that's another thing that I overlooked. That's a wonderful idea.
- Memphis Blues on Granville and Broadway. Authentic BBQ fare! Cheap and cheerful, not too costly. They do an Elvis Platter which 4 people struggle to finish! Man, I love that place so much I'd almost swim the atlantic and run across Canada to get back there!
- Gotham steakhouse is of course a little expensive $50 for a steak but it's really good.
- If you manage to hit some nice weather, then walking along the boardwalk at Steveston village, and having coffee and muffins is a nice way to waste an afternoon. There's also some great fish and chips places along the front there (Pachos, and Dave's Fish n Chips)