How should we spend our last 2 days here?
August 13, 2006 8:39 PM Subscribe
Help us plan the rest of our vacation!
We are 2 college students from Seattle currently on vacation in Vancouver, BC. We've been following this thread pretty closely for trip ideas, but we're sort of stumped for what to do tomorrow and Tuesday (train leaves at about 6pm on Tuesday, so we have almost 2 more days here). Emphasis on the cheap, of course.
So far we've: walked around Robson street and the shopping district, gone to the aquarium, visited Granville Island and brought a picnic over to Stanley Park. We're staying at the Pender Lodge in Chinatown, and we've done quite a bit of walking around that area (we went to the Sun Yat-Sen park and the night market, too).
We definitely want to walk over the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge, and we still have to visit La Casa Gelato and Joe's in the Victoria Drive area. But that's maybe a day, at best. What are the cheapest must-see's that we haven't yet gone to?
So far we've: walked around Robson street and the shopping district, gone to the aquarium, visited Granville Island and brought a picnic over to Stanley Park. We're staying at the Pender Lodge in Chinatown, and we've done quite a bit of walking around that area (we went to the Sun Yat-Sen park and the night market, too).
We definitely want to walk over the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge, and we still have to visit La Casa Gelato and Joe's in the Victoria Drive area. But that's maybe a day, at best. What are the cheapest must-see's that we haven't yet gone to?
Go to the beach. They're all pretty good. If you go to Wreck Beach please get naked and avoid staring.
If you have the money, I recommend renting bikes. Try the Seaside bike route.
If you're on Commercial Drive (where Joe's is), you have several choices for cheap substantial food:
- Belgian Fries, Commercial @ E 3rd Ave, yummy poutine
- Fratelli Bakery, Commercial @ E 2nd, yummy fresh baked treats and pastries
- Italian deli next door to the Fratelli, fantastic and reasonably cheap deli sandwiches
If you are feeling masochistic, you can do the Grouse Grind. It's only $5 to take the gondola down from the top of the mountain. They do have beer up top.
posted by crazycanuck at 9:15 PM on August 13, 2006
If you have the money, I recommend renting bikes. Try the Seaside bike route.
If you're on Commercial Drive (where Joe's is), you have several choices for cheap substantial food:
- Belgian Fries, Commercial @ E 3rd Ave, yummy poutine
- Fratelli Bakery, Commercial @ E 2nd, yummy fresh baked treats and pastries
- Italian deli next door to the Fratelli, fantastic and reasonably cheap deli sandwiches
If you are feeling masochistic, you can do the Grouse Grind. It's only $5 to take the gondola down from the top of the mountain. They do have beer up top.
posted by crazycanuck at 9:15 PM on August 13, 2006
Second the Museum of Anthropology.
SFU campus is like a dystopic version of the future-that-never-was (achitecturally).
Second the Seabus ride - it's a touristy photo-op; for 2.25 (or is it 2.50 now?) both ways (plus your previous/next bus trip).
Jericho/Spanish Banks; it *just might be* warm enough to go skinny dipping at night.
Agree with the seawall, but unless you've roller-bladed before, rent bicycles.
I grew up on the North Shore - if you're hitting up suspension bridge (heh, the Lynn Canyon one is free; the Capilano one is pay =) might as well check out Rice Lake, the guides there (there should be guides) - I used to remember that they tended to be generally helpful. There's also the UBC demonstration forest but that's kinda lame. The rope-courses actually on the UBC campus/endowment lands is more interesting.
Not cheap, but... if you're into Shakespear or plays at all, Bard on the Beach" is neat.
Also, the Commercial Drive area (which used to be Vancouver's 'Little Italy' is now a pretty common neighbourhood for the Uni students. Interesting intersection of the homeless/student/young-professional and head shops & great 'foreign' food on the cheap.
If you're on a budget but have 'budget' for extremely good Japanese food, Vancouver isn't worst place to attempt to have the experience. There may be better places, but a call ahead the day before to Tojo's asking for a reservation for an Omakase dinner is pretty consistantly good...
posted by porpoise at 9:32 PM on August 13, 2006
SFU campus is like a dystopic version of the future-that-never-was (achitecturally).
Second the Seabus ride - it's a touristy photo-op; for 2.25 (or is it 2.50 now?) both ways (plus your previous/next bus trip).
Jericho/Spanish Banks; it *just might be* warm enough to go skinny dipping at night.
Agree with the seawall, but unless you've roller-bladed before, rent bicycles.
I grew up on the North Shore - if you're hitting up suspension bridge (heh, the Lynn Canyon one is free; the Capilano one is pay =) might as well check out Rice Lake, the guides there (there should be guides) - I used to remember that they tended to be generally helpful. There's also the UBC demonstration forest but that's kinda lame. The rope-courses actually on the UBC campus/endowment lands is more interesting.
Not cheap, but... if you're into Shakespear or plays at all, Bard on the Beach" is neat.
Also, the Commercial Drive area (which used to be Vancouver's 'Little Italy' is now a pretty common neighbourhood for the Uni students. Interesting intersection of the homeless/student/young-professional and head shops & great 'foreign' food on the cheap.
If you're on a budget but have 'budget' for extremely good Japanese food, Vancouver isn't worst place to attempt to have the experience. There may be better places, but a call ahead the day before to Tojo's asking for a reservation for an Omakase dinner is pretty consistantly good...
posted by porpoise at 9:32 PM on August 13, 2006
You could go to the Little India area at Main and 49th (good for cheap indian food and the bestest freshest tropical fruit stores.)
posted by mediaddict at 10:12 PM on August 13, 2006
posted by mediaddict at 10:12 PM on August 13, 2006
If you can't afford Tojo's and want to go all out with the Japanese food I recommend lunch at Shabusen (locations on Burrard downtown, and on Granville @ 14th). It's ~$12 and you get all you can eat sushi AND korean bbq. Yum.
posted by sanitycheck at 11:33 PM on August 13, 2006
posted by sanitycheck at 11:33 PM on August 13, 2006
I will third, fourth and fifth the biking around the seawall. It's a decent 40-minute trip (or a leisurely hour or more if you don't tear it up like I wish I could) and of all my memories of Vancouver, that ride is easily the fondest. If you start along the northern shore by Denman and Georgia, the route will spit you out at the foot of the beaches at English Bay, where you can grab a bite to eat and relax for a bit. Or you can keep going past English Bay and bike around False Creek as well; the Seawall route passes through Granville Island and can take you all the way through Kitsilano/Jericho to UBC.
If you're a sci-fi fan, you might get a small kick out of going to SFU Burnaby; it's where most of the Caprica City scenes from Battlestar Galactica are filmed. But otherwise it's kind of like a reinforced bunker on top of a mountain.
posted by chrominance at 8:40 AM on August 14, 2006
If you're a sci-fi fan, you might get a small kick out of going to SFU Burnaby; it's where most of the Caprica City scenes from Battlestar Galactica are filmed. But otherwise it's kind of like a reinforced bunker on top of a mountain.
posted by chrominance at 8:40 AM on August 14, 2006
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SFU campus in Burnaby (architecture is cool)
Take the Skytrain both ways to the end of the line in Surrey
Take the Seabus to Lonsdale Quay in North Van and have lunch at the market.
Take an Aquabus around False Creek.
Kits Beach / Jericho / Spanish Banks
Rent rollerblades or a bike and do the seawall.
And you mean Commercial Drive.
posted by acoutu at 9:08 PM on August 13, 2006