A smug city on a cool coast

Things to do in Vancouver

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Vancouver is one of those lucky cities that seem to have everything: a beautiful situation, great tourist attractions, vibrant food and night life, world-class cultural institutions and plenty of opportunities to just wander about and take it all in. Even the climate is pretty good by Canadian standards. For those who only have a few days, choices will have to be made – but some places are a must-see for every visitor. Downtown Vancouver is a busy, bustling confident place full of modern architecture, good shopping, art galleries and creatively designed and used urban spaces. Next to the downtown centre, Vancouver's Chinatown is one of the biggest in North America and if you h...Read More

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Right to be smug: Vancouver impressions

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Vancouver is, just as the tourist blurb and word of mouth alike claim, a city blessed with a breathtakingly beautiful location between the mountains and the ocean, mild weather (though they complain about six months of rain) and wealthy, educated, multicultural population.Driving into the city (we skipped the train, which I still regret a bit, and got a rideshare from a good humoured and intelligent maths' post-grad) I have an intense feeling that, for the first time since we left Toronto almost a month ago, we are entering a civilised area - civilised meaning developed, densely populated and with enough cultural variety and resilience to support a degree of sophistication that is not matc...Read More

Vancouver is, just as the tourist blurb and word of mouth alike claim, a city blessed with a breathtakingly beautiful location between the mountains and the ocean, mild weather (though they complain about six months of rain) and wealthy, educated, multicultural population.

Driving into the city (we skipped the train, which I still regret a bit, and got a rideshare from a good humoured and intelligent maths' post-grad) I have an intense feeling that, for the first time since we left Toronto almost a month ago, we are entering a civilised area - civilised meaning developed, densely populated and with enough cultural variety and resilience to support a degree of sophistication that is not matched anywhere across Canada until you reach the eastern seaboard cities (and specifically and possibly only, Toronto and Montreal).

The city feels comfortable and content, even more than content. Smug is would not be a far off description here in fact. It's not a very overt smugness, but detectable in the general attitude, in the expressions, in the accent even.

But they have a reason for that: Vancouver is a pleasant city indeed, with an impressive but not too overwhelming downtown core (which reminds me of Montreal), wonderful location and some fantastic features that any city would be proud of, from the landscape around it to the cafe culture, great universities and cultural institutions, and Stanley Park in the middle of it all. Altogether, a place where anybody who would consider living in a big city would probably be fairly happy to live in.

Inhabitans of Vancouver never tire of telling you that it's one of the few cities in the world where you can ski in the morning and sail on the ocean in the afternoon (or the other way round), and this dynamic, typical for British Columbia as a whole, is concentrated in Vancouver's position.

It's a new place and it feels new in more ways than one: there is a cool urban edge to at least parts of the city, although large parts of the inevitable sprawl are as staidly suburban as anywhere.

The buzz of Vancouver is partially due to the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural character of the city, with a large proportion of population having South-East Asian background, but with many other European, African and Asian influences producing a vibrant, open, but also pretty chilled out mix.

All in all, I enjoyed our time in Vancouver very much and it's not surprising the city is so popular among visitors to Canada. Vancouver is not all that's to urban Canada, as some tend to think, especially those who never went east, but it's a unique place of its own, and eminently worth at least a few days (and you might want to stay for life). Read Less

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Lookout!

Attraction | "Simply great views"

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Vancouver Lookout is a viewpoint over the downtown city of Vancouver and Vancouver Port, located at the top of the Harbour Centre, otherwise unremarkable office block in central Vancouver. The circular lookout (as well as the unrelated Top of Vancouver restaurant) sit in a strange flying-saucer type edifice added to the top of a normal, square block. It looks quite unassuming from outside, and the 130m elevation sounds distinctly unimpressive in comparison to many other towers and lookouts in major cities, but the views are excellent and the whole lookout proves that you don't necessarily need to get very high to enjoy interesting vistas.In fact, in a way the views from lower lookouts (li...Read More

Vancouver Lookout is a viewpoint over the downtown city of Vancouver and Vancouver Port, located at the top of the Harbour Centre, otherwise unremarkable office block in central Vancouver. The circular lookout (as well as the unrelated Top of Vancouver restaurant) sit in a strange flying-saucer type edifice added to the top of a normal, square block. It looks quite unassuming from outside, and the 130m elevation sounds distinctly unimpressive in comparison to many other towers and lookouts in major cities, but the views are excellent and the whole lookout proves that you don't necessarily need to get very high to enjoy interesting vistas.

In fact, in a way the views from lower lookouts (like the Vancouver one) are often better, as long as one is high enough to be actually above the city, because more detail of what's on the ground can be distinguished.

And thus, as a building to admire and a work of architectural art, Vancouver Lookout is indeed nothing special to behold, but as an actual viewpoint it's really pretty good.

A lot of it is t do with Vancouver's beautiful location, as the inlets around it and the bustle of activity in the port are clearly visible from the viewing deck. The situation of the tower is pretty good both for Vancouver's natural beauties (you can see very well towards the mountains in the west beyond the main inlet, and one of the best views takes in the iconic sail-like roofs of Canada Place pier) and for city's interesting buildings, clearly visible from above, and well described in the interpretative panels around the viewing deck.

There is no glass floor or any other such gimmicks, but the windows extend out at an angle, so you can look almost straight down as well as down-and-forward. It's not vertigo inducing, but it makes for a very good view.

The staff members were helpful and friendly, always ready with information, although they didn't say that you can visit the restaurant for drinks only and still take in the views without paying for the Lookout ticket – but then they wouldn't advertise the competition.

The entrance costs 15 CAD per adult at the time of writing in 2010, children aged 6 to 12 pay 7 CAD and under five year olds are free. There is also a great value family pass that cost 37 CAD (which means one child gets in free) or even just 30 CAD if purchased before 10am.

The ticket is valid all day, so the best way to utilise it is to go to the Harbour Place first thing when you start your day of sightseeing, and then come back at dusk or after dark for big city lights view. The Lookout is open till 9pm in the winter and till 10.30pm in the summer.

Vancouver Lookout is not particularly high nor particularly thrilling, but it offers stupendous views of what is one of the most beautifully situated cities in the world and is very much worth visiting. Early bird family pass provides better value tickets for those with school-aged children. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 16, 2025

Lookout!
555 West Hastings St
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 4N4
+1 604 689 0421

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Museum of Anthropology at UBC

Attraction | "Cultural crossroads"

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Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia displays a rich collection of artefacts and artworks of Canadian indigenous inhabitants (particularly the First Nations of the Pacific North West) as well as major ethnographical collections from other world cultures. Museum of Anthropology is a major visitors' attraction in Vancouver as well as an important research and teaching institution, being a part of UBC and in fact located on the campus. The MOA's building is a purpose-built, strikingly modern construction designed by Arthur Erickson inspired by post and beam architecture of the Pacific West Coast (although built mostly of concrete). There is quite a bi...Read More

Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia displays a rich collection of artefacts and artworks of Canadian indigenous inhabitants (particularly the First Nations of the Pacific North West) as well as major ethnographical collections from other world cultures.

Museum of Anthropology is a major visitors' attraction in Vancouver as well as an important research and teaching institution, being a part of UBC and in fact located on the campus.

The MOA's building is a purpose-built, strikingly modern construction designed by Arthur Erickson inspired by post and beam architecture of the Pacific West Coast (although built mostly of concrete). There is quite a bit of woodland nearby and around the MOA, and recently a reflecting pool has been added in front of the building. .

The highlight of the collections, and the natural focus of the most visitors' interest are the examples of native art from the British Columbia's coastal nations. The Great Hall has numerous examples of totem poles from Haida and other coastal nations, and there are also many works by Musqueam artists.

Outside, there is an area modelling a Haida village, with several buildings (houses, mostly) and totem poles that look wonderful against the backdrop of the mountains and the sea.

Of all the First Nation art objects in the Museum, the best known is The Raven and the First Men by Bill Reid, a cedar-wood sculpture depicting a creation myth from the Haida folklore. This iconic sculpture is surrounded by lesser works by Bill Reid, and just outside the gallery in which it's displayed, there is Nicholas Galanin's Raven and the First Immigrant – a purposefully crude reflection, and juxtaposition carved by a non-Native sub-contractor, looking in from outside at the technical perfection epitomised by the classic Bill Reid's work. This is a powerful commentary on the canons and conservatism of "folk art" and an important voice in the discourse of authenticity and the essence of art and artistry, craft and craftsmanship, and the tension between the two.

It's in such exhibits, as well as some excellent temporary shows that MOA shows its own intellectual class and ambition to be more than an ethnographic collection of objects defined as pure, original and traditional and to recognise the fluid borders between 'mainstream' art, folk or 'traditional' crafts and utilitarian/commercial design.

But there is also a lot of exploration of cultural and social history with which the art (especially art produced by the indigenous creators, whether it is pure and traditional and technically perfect or not) is inevitably entangled. The history of the potlatch (which was banned until the 1950s) is a telling way in which a politics of colonialism influence and often hinge on cultural imperialism. The colonists not only take the land and its resources, but also have to establish their moral if not legal right to do so by assert their cultural superiority and the (moral) inferiority of the art and customs of the subjugated nations: they used to call it the White Man's Burden.

In addition to the First Nations' collections, MOA also has a huge Asian collection, with valuable textiles, sculpture and many other artefacts shown in the numerous display cases in the central section of the Museum.

There is also an outstanding ceramics gallery, as well as masses of objects from other cultures from the Pacific to African.

Much more than just an ethnography collection, Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia stands at the crossroads of mainstream and folklore, art and craft, history and sociology to be a true forum for the exploration of the human cultures and it's a must-see destination for any visitor to Vancouver even remotely interested in those subjects. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 16, 2025

Museum of Anthropology at UBC
6393 North West Marine Drive
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2
(604) 822-5087

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Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre

Attraction | "And thanks for all the fish"

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Vancouver Aquarium is rightly considered to be the west-coast city's prime tourist attraction. Situated in the splendid Stanley Park, with a fountain adorned with a beautiful bronze by the most celebrated Native Canadian artist Bill Reid, a visit to the aquarium impresses from the very beginning.Inside there are several areas devoted to various ecosystems, both inside and outside. The native displays include Pacific Canada (one vast tank with fish and other creatures from the Straits of Georgia), Arctic Canada (live and non-live displays including belugas), The Wild Coast (outdoors area that includes dolphins, sea otters, porpoise, seals and similar), Treasures of the BC Coast (indoor disp...Read More

Vancouver Aquarium is rightly considered to be the west-coast city's prime tourist attraction. Situated in the splendid Stanley Park, with a fountain adorned with a beautiful bronze by the most celebrated Native Canadian artist Bill Reid, a visit to the aquarium impresses from the very beginning.

Inside there are several areas devoted to various ecosystems, both inside and outside. The native displays include Pacific Canada (one vast tank with fish and other creatures from the Straits of Georgia), Arctic Canada (live and non-live displays including belugas), The Wild Coast (outdoors area that includes dolphins, sea otters, porpoise, seals and similar), Treasures of the BC Coast (indoor displays with octopus, rockfish, starfish and more). The non-native displays are divided into Tropic Zone and Amazon Rainforest, with Frogs Forever. There is also what's called Canaccord Exploration Gallery.

The aquarium is housed in a purpose built facility and is considered to be one of the best in North America (does it mean in the world?), with what seems to be a very good balance achieved between education and entertainment, conservation and research and commercial/fund-raising activities.

The highlights will vary depending on visitors' interests, but undoubtedly will include some of the marine mammals living in the Vancouver Aquarium. There are several shows and talks every day, of which the dolphin show brings in true crowds with a lively display of Pacific dolphins' acrobatics. Sea otters are also fascinating, and the talk about them is very informative and brings together not only information about those graceful animals but also ecology in general, and the interdependence of various species in one ecosystems.

The stars of Vancouver Aquarium are, undoubtedly, beluga whales, which can be observed outside (from above the surface) and inside (under water). There are also talks and shows, but even just watching those magnificent creatures swim and play can take hours! Your reviewer was particularly entranced for having seen them in the wild previously and feeling that the encounter in the Aquarium made them both more and less real. One starts to wonder whether animals like that – no dumb fish, but clearly intelligent, most likely sentient beings at least to some degree - shouldn't really be in the wild, swimming up St Lawrence in search of krill rather than bouncing off the walls of a tank hardly bigger than three beluga body lengths? This is a difficult question in general, as most (if not all) animals live much longer in zoos than in the wild. Freedom is a human concept and we shouldn't anthropomorphise animals. Vancouver belugas seemed content enough (and they breed happily too) so perhaps their lot is not a bad one after all. And yet, one wonders.

Aside from the mammals, Vancouver Aquarium's tropical and Amazon tanks have pretty impressive collections, including reef sharks and a green sea turtle. Canaccord Exploration Gallery has some very informative stations and tanks including utterly mesmerising jellyfish.

There are catering concessions in a few locations in the Aquarium (the typical overpriced fare of such places) and a decent gift shop.

Entry to this marine wonderland doesn't come cheap. Adult tickets cost 21 CAD at the time of writing (2010), children over 3 years old pay 13 CAD and concessions 16 CAD. However, the quality of what's on offer means that it's almost certainly worth it, especially if you like marine mammals. In fact, the beluga themselves are probably worth it! Annual membership offers a good value (assuming you come at least three times), and for a family it's even better deal at 138 CAD. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 16, 2025

Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre
845 Avison Way
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 3X8
(604) 659-3474

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Gojo Cafe

Restaurant | "Amazing African flavours"

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Five minutes walk from our Vancouver hosts' house, and ten minutes from Commercial/Broadway intersection and Skytrain stop is Gojo cafe. We saw it on the way to the train several times, always closed at the time, and became intrigued by the fact that it was an Ethiopian place – and as we never had Ethiopian food before, we were rather curious about it. Coming home late one night we saw it open, not too busy but not completely empty either, and decided to walk in. The place is friendly, comfortable, cosy even (but without any of the twee implications of the concept of cosiness), with a lovely ochre-red-and-yellow décor and a very authentic feel to it (although I can't judge the...Read More

Five minutes walk from our Vancouver hosts' house, and ten minutes from Commercial/Broadway intersection and Skytrain stop is Gojo cafe. We saw it on the way to the train several times, always closed at the time, and became intrigued by the fact that it was an Ethiopian place – and as we never had Ethiopian food before, we were rather curious about it.

Coming home late one night we saw it open, not too busy but not completely empty either, and decided to walk in.

The place is friendly, comfortable, cosy even (but without any of the twee implications of the concept of cosiness), with a lovely ochre-red-and-yellow décor and a very authentic feel to it (although I can't judge the authenticity that well as I have never been to an Ethiopian eatery before).

Our waitress was also, I believe, the proprietor and the chef, and she was beautiful, friendly, helpful and understanding of our needs (including the fact that our weary four year old actually fell asleep in his chair half way through the meal, and pretty much half way through a mouthful).

The food was a revelation: it was the first time that I discovered a genuinely new set of flavours since I first had tried sushi (i.e. in about fifteen years) . I expected something half way between Indian and Middle Eastern/North African cookery, but it wasn't – it had elements of both, but also something very much of its own and very much delicious, with lentils, lamb, beans, chicken and vegetables making up the dishes, and the seasoning combining herbs and spices (maybe that was the secret, both exotic spices and more mundane herbs?) to create flavours that are warm, lively and interesting without being either overbearingly hot, sweet or pungent.

The food is eaten with your hands, or rather with the help of Injerra – Ethiopian flatbread that comes with everything. Now, that looked like a very thin crumpet rolled out to a large plate size, and on its own tasted strange and sour. With the food, it worked very well and we enjoyed feeding each other choice morsels.

For around 15 CAD per head (at the time of writing in 2010 less than 10 GBP) it was a great meal, fantastic value and a lovely experience.

The do "coffee ceremony" which I was rather curious about as my favourite coffee by far has always been Ethiopian (and as coffee comes from Ethiopia, I suspect it's actually the bes there is) but we didn't have time or energy for that.

Highly, highly recommended.

Open 11am till 10pm, daily. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 17, 2025

Gojo Cafe
2838 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, British Columbia
604-708-5394

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Granville Island

Attraction | "Shoppers' paradise, non-shoppers' hell"

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Granville Island is an area in Vancouver, opposite the downtown on the southern side of the False Creek, known for its shops, market, marina and other, mostly leisure-oriented businesses. Granville Island is a peninsula actually, and it's located pretty much under the southern end of the Granville Street Bridge. Granville Island divides people and provokes extreme opinions. Many tourists flick to it en masse, enticed by its listing as one of the Vancouver's major visitors' attractions and the promise of interesting shopping and good food. To be fair, it's not just a tourist area, and many locals like Granville Island too. It has several cultural institutions, including Emily Carr Universit...Read More

Granville Island is an area in Vancouver, opposite the downtown on the southern side of the False Creek, known for its shops, market, marina and other, mostly leisure-oriented businesses. Granville Island is a peninsula actually, and it's located pretty much under the southern end of the Granville Street Bridge.

Granville Island divides people and provokes extreme opinions. Many tourists flick to it en masse, enticed by its listing as one of the Vancouver's major visitors' attractions and the promise of interesting shopping and good food. To be fair, it's not just a tourist area, and many locals like Granville Island too. It has several cultural institutions, including Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Arts Umbrella, Arts Club Theatre Company and Carousel Theatre, as well as numerous artists' studios and commercial art galleries.

To others, especially the day-visitors who won't be able to take advantage of the cultural institutions but who are the natural fodder for all the retail outlets, its relentlessly commercial, if not entirely franchise-chain character is a real anathema.

I have to come clean here and say that personally I didn't like Granville Island, but then I don't like shopping. It wasn't as mercenary and terrible as I expected, but overall its was just simply very boring. We spent a best part of a day there, with my Significant Other looking at a countless examples of prints and carvings in many galleries and the children and myself getting very bored while we waited for him – this probably coloured my impression, but what I am trying to say is that unless you actually treat shopping as leisure activity rather than a chore it's probably not a place for you. There are several cafes, restaurants and the like, all seem very expensive (though some are rather nice) as well as a market, offering more "cute artisan products" than real day-to-day food – although there was some fruit and vegetables that were reasonably priced. The deli stuff looked all right, and the ice cream was quite good (unusual thing for Canada), and I think it would be possible to get a picnic lunch from here and eat it on the waterfront looking at the view (which is probably the best thing about Granville Island).

You can get to the Island via the regular SeaBus service from downtown Vancouver, there are also False Creek Ferries (cute but expensive) and also via normal bus to Granville Street and then walking.

If you like shopping or even just browsing you will like Granville Island with its selection of individual shops, commercial galleries and the Public Market. If you don't like shopping, by all means come and have a look but don't plan on spending too much time here as it's a bit of a commercial trap. Read Less

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on November 17, 2025

Granville Island
1661 Durnaleau St.
Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 3S3
(604) 666-6655

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YWCA Hotel Vancouver

Hotel | "Good position, good beds, but greedy and institutional"

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YWCA Vancouver is far from old-fashioned imagery of YWCA/YMCA hostels for penniless youth and homeless. It is, in fact, modern budget hotel suitable for all types of money-conscious travellers and often used by organised tours (which might be an inducement or a put-off depending on what you feel about being surrounded by a bus-load of elderly Americans). And of course you don't have to be Christian, female or young to stay here.Tours or not, YWCA's block rises over 10 storeys on the edge of Vancouver's bustling downtown and thus the YWCA has a prime location, great for walking the city and near public transport (5 minutes walk from Chinatown/Stadium Skytrain station). They off...Read More

YWCA Vancouver is far from old-fashioned imagery of YWCA/YMCA hostels for penniless youth and homeless. It is, in fact, modern budget hotel suitable for all types of money-conscious travellers and often used by organised tours (which might be an inducement or a put-off depending on what you feel about being surrounded by a bus-load of elderly Americans). And of course you don't have to be Christian, female or young to stay here.

Tours or not, YWCA's block rises over 10 storeys on the edge of Vancouver's bustling downtown and thus the YWCA has a prime location, great for walking the city and near public transport (5 minutes walk from Chinatown/Stadium Skytrain station).

They offer a number of room options, from five-person rooms to singles, either en-suite or with a shared bathroom. The hostel roots and budget character of this facility mean that there are residents' lounges, communal kitchens and laundry, as well as access to a nearby gym.

We stayed at the Vancouver YWCA for one night on a Saturday in May 2010 before leaving for Vancouver Island. The reception staff were efficient but neither particularly friendly not understanding of our needs or making effort to help us find the best solution to our needs. We decided on a triple room with a shared bathroom. The room was adequate, with comfortable beds and enough bedding, and some desk space available too. However, the beds had metal frames to enable moving of them, and those frames had sharp, protruding edges. I not only walked into one and bruised my calf, but also ripped my jeans. When I mentioned it at the reception on leaving there was hardly a sorry, never mind an offer of at least a partial discount on the price or some other gesture that would sweeten my loss of leg-wear.

The room we got was a bathroom-less one, but I was astonished to find out that it wasn't actually REALLY a bathroom-less room, it was a room with a locked bathroom! In other words, Vancouver YWCA purposefully makes existing bathrooms unavailable to customers to turn en-suite rooms to non-en-suite ones. I understand that this has something to do with labour costs involved in cleaning a bathroom in addition to the room, but I have never encountered anything like that before and frankly it seemed pretty mean.

The shared bathroom was located on the other side of the central lift block in our corridor, and it was clean, simple and usable: a fraction nicer than HI hostel bathrooms I encountered, but significantly below the standards of my local gym.

The communal kitchen on our floor was very institutional in feel, but reasonably well equipped. There was, however, no cups or plates – you had to borrow them from the reception!

For all that we paid around 105 CAD (plus 10% tax) which was reasonable for the centre of Vancouver but not particularly great for Canadian big cities (we paid around the same amount for an en-suite room in a three-star hotel in Toronto, and 125 CAD for a three-bed en-suite room with breakfast in Montreal) and about a twice as much as a four-bed room (with shared showers and a shared kitchen, but bunks rather than proper beds) in a HI hostel in Victoria. The wifi access was charged extra, which was also greedy (HI hostels and most hotels provide free wifi access).

All in all, YWCA was OK – just, although a better staff attitude and less institutional greediness would make it a much better place. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on November 16, 2025

YWCA Hotel Vancouver
733 Beatty Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 2M4
(604) 895-5830

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Inlet's End

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Port Moody qualifies as "inland BC" only just – in fact it lies at the end of the Burrard Inlet which is one of the main inlets on which Vancouver spreads out. Technically a part of metro Vancouver area, Port Moody is a municipality of its own and feels miles away from the cosmopolitan beat of Vancouver's centre. Port Moody is typical suburbia, a middle class sprawl whose only saving grace is the Rocky Point Park. The park is adjacent to the inlet and covers 8 acres – but due to being narrow and extended along the shore, feels bigger – including a great playground, a spray park (in the summer – it was closed in May when we visited) a boat launch and a pier. Beyond the mostly open, grassy a...Read More

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IgoUgo

Vancouver Journals

A smug city on a cool coast

Things to do in Vancouver

Right to be smug: Vancouver impressions

Lookout!

Museum of Anthropology at UBC

Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre

Gojo Cafe

Granville Island

YWCA Hotel Vancouver

Inlet's End

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