Category: Vancouver

BC Ferries is a crown corporation that is charge of running the ferry system in British Columbia. Many British Columbians are not sure why. In the same way Torontonians complain about the 401, BC residents love to complain about the ferries. This may be because of continuous fare increases and schedule reductions. For example, a car and drive pays $67 one-way from Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay and in 2008 it was $56. (Source www.bcferries.com/travel_planning/fares/archive.html) Despite the cost, any of these ferry rides is a beautiful scenic trip. Most visitors to BC are likely to use either Tsawwassen or Horseshoe Bay, […]

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In Vancouver’s West End one of the beach concession stands is considered to have the best burger in town because burgers are grilled fresh to order with all the trimmings, reasonably priced (at least compared to neighbourhood restaurants). Only available in summer, but it’s hard to beat sitting on the sand with a log at your back and good company, enjoying your burgers as the sun sinks towards the horizon, watching the passing sailboats and paddleboarders and various bits of family life unfolding on this relatively quiet neighbourhood beach.

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This North Vancouver tourist attraction is well advertised, but is deserved. Capilano Suspension bridge also provides an excellent, comprehensive and well-presented explanatory material about temperate rain forest ecology — as well as a spectacular suspension bridge above the Capilano River, a canopy walk taking you high up onto the trunks of large ancient trees, and a vertigo-inducing cliffside walk on suspended glass walkways. Great for introducing out of town guests to the forest. Plus a single admission can be upgraded to a year long membership for no additional charge. For more information www.capbridge.com

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About a 40-minute drive from downtown Vancouver is this lovely park on a small island in the Fraser Delta — good place to view boat traffic on the Fraser River. Metro Vancouver Parks have carried the torch for local nature programs for families for some years; Deas Island has a heritage farmhouse on site with a large bat colony in the attic, and during the summer park naturalists host lectures and guided walks on bats which culminate in watching the colony fly out of the house eaves en mass to hunt insects at dusk. The park is also the site […]

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A local educator has this to say about Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. “I love it because it overlooks the fabulous garden in the park, city and the mountains – even on a foggy day – and the deck is heated and covered so any time of year is great. Sadly, there aren’t many ways to save money there, but you can save $3.00 on Valet Parking if you go for lunch instead of dinner!” For more info consult Queen Elizabeth Park

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When you have children, the challenge is to find places to eat that are boring enough for young palates. We were rendezvous-ing in Vancouver’s West End with relatives from Victoria. Questions to friends found that the options were limited in the Davie and Bute area that fit our kid friendly requirements. (Denny’s at Thurlow and Davie was a possibility but, gosh, it’s Denny’s.) There are a fair few ethnic (for lack of a better word) places around that corner but a fancy sauce would not work for the kids. As I was parking, I saw Hamburger Mary’s Diner at Bute […]

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It’s tricky to explain the allure of the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) in Vancouver. This Fair, which is the west coast version of the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) in Toronto, has that expected mish-mash of food, special exhibit buildings and the midway, which is called PlayLand. Perhaps the mish-mash itself is the allure. The deterrent and tarnish on the allure is the wallet busting pricing. E.g. a 591 mL bottle of Dasani water is shown everywhere (in perky lettering) as $3.50. My family and friends chose the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend to attend. Hot sunny day. Pure glorious […]

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You can’t really use the words ambience and décor at Sophie’s Cosmic Café. The challenge is that it’s more a diner than a restaurant. There are the round twirly stools in front of the milkshake machine giving a soda fountain feel. They is outside seating and the rest are booths and tables. The interior does not have a corner where kitschy memorabilia does not bump into what might be considered art. The signed Warhol print on the east wall somehow goes well with the aging Kermit the Frog doll hanging from a tin child’s ride ’em airplane. If you are […]

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Kitsilano Beach Park (AKA Kits Beach) is a spectacular place to spend a day when visiting Vancouver. It’s particularly amazing when you land on a sunny warm summer day. My favourite reasons to hang out there are: The Scenery While sitting on Kits Beach and looking west you can, on a clear day, see the mountain ranges of Vancouver Island. In August the sunset sets right where the North Shore mountains touches the water and is breathtaking. It’s no wonder they built the restaurant above the concession stand so as to get a better view. If you head north along […]

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The Elbow Room Cafe is a Vancouver landmark that I’ve wanted to go to but never found the time to be on Davie Street at breakfast or lunch time. The restaurant follows the diner format and style with all-day breakfast and quite the array of sandwiches and burgers. The shtick for the place is mild abuse toward patrons. The first two rules are if you want more coffee or water, go get it yourself. Which is kind of innovative in a way — how many times have you wanted the server to come with more coffee and you could never […]

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