I was in Vancouver late last week through the weekend for 6 days/5 nights. I hadn’t been there since March 2001 and had been wanting to return for a visit for quite some time. Fortunately now that I’m living on the West Coast it’s a relatively easy/quick flight up the coast. I had a fantastic time with sunshine on all but one day and very pleasant temps. I can understand why it’s frequently listed among the most liveable cities in the World (assuming you can afford to live there). It felt comfortable from a pedestrian perspective with an easy grid to traverse, bike lanes were plentiful and heavily used, and SkyTrain was very frequent and a more pleasant passenger experience than any rapid transit in the areas I’ve lived. Anyway, I averaged nearly 15 miles per day on foot and here is what I saw along the way.
1. This is actually Mt. Rainier, as seen from my flight from SFO to YVR.
2. Great view during my descent into YVR.
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6. Nice views from my hotel room of the West End, North Shore Mountains, and Burrard Inlet.
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21. False Creek opening up into English Bay in the distance
22. Sunset Beach
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25. English Bay Beach
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32. Must have poutine while in Canada!
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36. Vancouver Harbour
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39. 2010 Olympic Cauldron
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41. The view of The Butterfly under construction from my hotel room.
42. I visited quite a few cafes/coffee roasters in the area and Revolver Coffee was definitely my favorite!
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46. BC Place and Rogers Arena (the last time I was in Vancouver I was attending the 2001 World Figure Skating Championships at what was then GM Place rather than Rogers Arena)
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51. Into the former Olympic Athletes Village, now a nice residential area.
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53. Walking along the south shore of False Creek towards Granville Island
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62. Granville Island
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68. Kitsilano
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70. Kitsilano Beach
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75. Arbutus Greenway
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77. Broadway Corridor (where a subway line is currently under construction)
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80. Cambie Street
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86. Relaxing and enjoying the view with a glass of wine on my hotel balcony.
87. Now out to the gayborhood, Davie Street Village
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89. On my way for coffee Friday morning, this was the one day that was cloudy with a few showers.
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94. Nemesis Coffee – the coffee was fine but the warm ham & cheese croissant was outstanding.
95. Waterfront station on the right
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98. Off to New Westminster to do a little exploring.
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103. Downtown New Westminster
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107. Now back to downtown Vancouver.
108. And heading into the Coal Harbor area.
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114. Into the West End
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120. Robson Street scenes near dusk.
121. I woke up to this beautiful view from my hotel room Saturday morning.
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123. After stopping again at Revolver for some coffee, I headed to Waterfront station to catch the SeaBus up to North Vancouver. It runs every 15 minutes making it super convenient for travel across Vancouver Harbour.
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126. Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver. A really nice waterfront area!
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129. And there’s a market here too.
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144. Now west to West Vancouver via the R2 rapid bus.
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155. Walking across the Lions Gate Bridge back to Vancouver
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163. Prospect Point Lookout on the north end of Stanley Park
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167. Heading down to the Seawall
168. Walking along the Stanley Park Seawall back to English Bay Beach & the West End.
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171. Third Beach
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174. Arriving at English Bay Beach
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176. Heading through the West End up into Davie Street Village
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179. Pretty sunset from my hotel.
180. Walking through downtown towards Chinatown for some coffee.
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186. I was pleased with my cappuccino from Propaganda Coffee.
187. Now off to Mount Pleasant
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190. The residential areas of Mount Pleasant are indeed very pleasant!
191. Cambie Street Village near Vancouver City Hall
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193. I love art deco architecture so Vancouver City Hall is a definite winner in my book!
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195. Taking the Canada Line south from City Hall to King Edwards.
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200. This looks like quite the rezone!
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Massive change coming to the Oakridge-41st Avenue Canada Line station area. So many cranes and this doesn’t capture all of them!
202. Now off to Kerrisdale via the R4 rapid bus.
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205. Back on the R4 rapid bus to continue to UBC.
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207. It was a warm day so I headed down the steep cliffs to Wreck Beach adjacent to UBC, which happens to be Vancouver’s clothing-optional beach. It was very busy that afternoon due to the weather and there was lots of nudity, so I only managed a few photos to avoid creeping people out, ha!
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210. After a long sweaty climb back up the steep stairs to UBC, at least there was this nice garden to enjoy the view overlooking the water!
211. Catching the 99 B-Line express bus down Broadway and a transfer at City Hall to the Canada Line to head back downtown (eventually the SkyTrain is planned run under Broadway all the way here to UBC).
212. There was a large protest against the Iranian authorities over the recent death of the woman arrested by authorities there over her hijab.
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214. Last morning waking up to this view from my hotel bad.
215. I hopped on a bus and headed east down Hastings to the Strathcona area to check out Prototype Coffee. It was pretty good and a hip cool interior design.
216. Being so close to the not great area near Hastings on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Strathcona neighbourhood as I walked back towards downtown, but it was very nice! Just had to remain south of Hastings to avoid the blight.
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218. Into the Gastown area
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222. One last visit to Revolver Coffee
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232. Back into downtown on my way to Stanley Park.
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244. Heading into Stanley Park
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246. Such a beautiful rose & flower garden!
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254. Back to the Stanley Park Seawall, this time on the harbour side of the park.
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265. Into the West End.
266. And back on Robson Street.
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277. Robson Square
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282. North Plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery
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284. Elsewhere downtown.
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290. Yaletown
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296. One more glimpse of The Butterfly condo tower under construction.
297. Relaxing along False Creek before heading to the Yaletown Canada Line station to head to the airport.
298. Yaletown-Roundhouse Canada Line station
299. And heading back home to the SF Bay Area.
I really had a fantastic time in Vancouver and look forward to future visits. Hope you enjoyed the photos!