Hey guys, once again, I'm coming up to Vancouver for an afternoon/evening next week. Last time we were in town, we visited the Granville Island Brewery, which was tons of fun! This time, we want to try another decent brewery or pub. Where would you recommend? I heard there are some decent options in Yaletown or Gastown. Can you guys throw out some names?

Also, while we're on the topic of visiting Vancouver, I'd just like to fill you guys in on what we did last time. We went to Granville Island Market, then went to Gastown for dinner. We didn't do as much as I wanted, but at least that leaves some options for this upcoming time. What are some good options for a 19 year old, his girlfriend, and other college friends for an afternoon/evening in the city? I was thinking maybe heading to Stanley Park, but beyond that, I don't know. Preferably something cheap/free.

Thanks my jolly Canuck friends! :banana::cheers:

Hey guys, once again, I'm coming up to Vancouver for an afternoon/evening next week. Last time we were in town, we visited the Granville Island Brewery, which was tons of fun! This time, we want to try another decent brewery or pub. Where would you recommend? I heard there are some decent options in Yaletown or Gastown. Can you guys throw out some names?
Yaletown - Yaletown Brewery
Gastown - Steamworks

Also, while we're on the topic of visiting Vancouver, I'd just like to fill you guys in on what we did last time. We went to Granville Island Market, then went to Gastown for dinner. We didn't do as much as I wanted, but at least that leaves some options for this upcoming time. What are some good options for a 19 year old, his girlfriend, and other college friends for an afternoon/evening in the city? I was thinking maybe heading to Stanley Park, but beyond that, I don't know. Preferably something cheap/free.
Ride the Seabus
Ride the Skytrain
Browse (if too cheap to shop) around Robson St.

Grouse Mountain is a highlight attraction, but it's not cheap/free.

Well, a fun time can always be had at the Cambie (if that's still around). meet up with all the young international travellers staying at various hostels. always a fun time.

Thanks guys!

Where are Yaletown Brewery, Steamworks, and Cambie?

Ride the Seabus
Ride the Skytrain
uhhh....don't spend your time riding public transportation!

the cambie is a good idea, never been to steamworks but it's like a block from there so that;s a good possibility. the amsterdam cafe is also literally a block from the cambie if you're into that ;)

if you're into the nature thing maybe the capilano suspension bridge. and you should definitely take a drive through stanley park. if it's nice check out the beaches, english bay and take a stroll on the sea wall.

for shopping hit up robson street and granville street.

if it's nice you should have a drink at malone's on cornwall and chill out by kits beach, then drive into downtown over the burrard bridge (awesome view) and along pacific (more awesome view) to stanley park/english bay.

hope the weather is good for you!

Well if I remember correctly, you weren't really up for the grungier side of things here. While the Cambia is on the eastern end of Gastown and barely ventures over into unseedy territory, people have so much fun there. Also in the grungy side of gastown is the Blarney Stone. Just fun times by all. Both of there are in Gastown.

There's a place close to Main and 16th that you should try. I'll post the name up here when I remember.

uhhh....don't spend your time riding public transportation!

He wanted something that was next to free. Even then, in Vancouver, public transportation is open to doubt.

Can you guys tell me what is so special about both Yaletown and Gastown? Are they near each other?

@canucker16: What streets/intersection are Steamworks and Cambie at? Also Yaletown Brewery? Also, is the Capilano Suspension Bridge north of town? I can access beaches/English Bay at Stanley Park? Sorry for so many questions.

@nova9: You remember correctly. Thanks for all the tips.

He wanted something that was next to free. Even then, in Vancouver, public transportation is open to doubt.

Is the ride on the Seabus a good time?

Can you guys tell me what is so special about both Yaletown and Gastown? Are they near each other?
Yaletown's the hip, chic and trendy highrise condo district adjacent to False Creek.

Gastown's the historical district on the northern waterfront.

Is the ride on the Seabus a good time?
Scenic ride on the water, giving you a great views of both Downtown's skyline and the North Shore and its mountains.

Thanks! O, and last time I was in Vancouver, it was a Friday afternoon/evening. By 5 PM, it seemed like most of the downtown shops were closed. Is this how it always is? What day of the week/time of day is best to experience the downtown shopping?

I'm praying for clear weather, as last time it was rainy and I couldn't see the mountains very well.

An afterthought: Now I realize where Steamworks Brewery is! I actually took a picture of it the last time I was there!

the cambie is a great place to go for some cheap eats and a few drinks. but thats me and its my scene... its more of a place for skaters and construction workers than hipster trendbaggs.

you could check out the views from either QE park or Burnaby Mountain or even upper lonsdale in north van. what do you and your freinds do in your free time? any hobbies? i could reccomend some good places if i knew what you were down with.

well, shops shouldn't be close earlier than 6. Thursday nights used to be the open til 9 along with friday and saturdays. you of course need to check our Holt Renfew on Granville St. The store is fantastically chic and pricey, haha. They're open til 7pm on Saturday.

unless you came to the city to ride the bus, don't waste your time riding public transportation.

capilano suspension bridge and the trail is in north vancouver, which depending on what day and what time of day could be a bitch getting over to the north shore. would have to be not during rush hour because it's a 3 lane bridge to services thousands of people.

english bay is easy access as is stanley park and the sea wall and the beaches.

the cambie is at cordova and cambie and steamworks is on cordova as well.

google maps them.

i would say yaletown is a miss?? don't spend much time down there. thought it was just overpriced housing and expensive restaurants in back alleys...

unless you came to the city to ride the bus, don't waste your time riding public transportation.


you seem very adamant about this point... i wonder why? this is the second time youve said this. let him make his own decisions, everybody's different.

im a big fan of transit, when i go to other cities its always something i do. i cant wait to try out the new seattle system.

and theres great views from the seabus and the skytrain that are not really accesible from anywhere else.


capilano suspension bridge and the trail is in north vancouver, which depending on what day and what time of day could be a bitch getting over to the north shore. would have to be not during rush hour because it's a 3 lane bridge to services thousands of people.



luckilly we have the seabus so nobody actually HAS to drive on that. except you cause public transit is a waste of time, you must obviously prefer a traffic jam on georgia street.

Another great area you can check out is English Bay in the West End near Stanley Park. It's the main beach on the Downtown peninsula(at Denman and Davie Streets). There's heaps restaurants, pubs/bars, cafes within the vicinity.

-Soho English pub(upstairs on Denman Street near the beach with a large patio). Smoking on the patio.
-Checkers Bar(half a block up on Davie near the beach - cheap pints). Small smoking patio.
-Balthazar(more upmarket bar - 1 block up Davie). No smoking.
-Bayside Lounge(nice view of beach but a small lounge style bar - right above the Starbucks on the corner). No smoking.

You could also take a walk on the beach or venture a short distance into Stanley Park for a walkabout.

Website with info and maps of English Bay -
http://englishbay.com/maps

http://i27.tinypic.com/16k6clj.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/2rdi7n9.jpg

@ worldwide: Well, my friends and I love sports (Carolina basketball especially!), but I doubt we'd be able to anything sportastic in Vancouver, unless we went to a Canucks game, but I'm a Hurricanes fan. I looked at Lynn Canyon - we'll probably do that since it's free. I know my gf will want to browse the shops. We like to drink and have a good time, so the pubs will definitely be at the top of the list. I was looking at some pics from the Cambie and I think we'd fit it just fine, but we aren't really into skating that much. I like a wide range of music, from hip-hop to country, and from alternative to indie to techno/dance.

@nova9: We'll check that out. At what intersection is it located?

@canucker16: So you suggest Gastown over Yaletown if you had to choose?

@Overground: Thanks! Those are very helpful. Do you know how the restaurants in Stanley Park are? (such as Teahouse, Prospect Pt. Cafe, and Fish House)

Am I correct in assuming Stanley Park is free?

@ worldwide: Well, my friends and I love sports (Carolina basketball especially!), but I doubt we'd be able to anything sportastic in Vancouver, unless we went to a Canucks game, but I'm a Hurricanes fan. I looked at Lynn Canyon - we'll probably do that since it's free. I know my gf will want to browse the shops. We like to drink and have a good time, so the pubs will definitely be at the top of the list. I was looking at some pics from the Cambie and I think we'd fit it just fine, but we aren't really into skating that much. I like a wide range of music, from hip-hop to country, and from alternative to indie to techno/dance.


you dont have to be into skating to go to the cambie, its just more of a skater bar than a gangster G blingin bar... its the kind of place you go if you dont want to spend $10 on a drink

lynn canyon is great and its pretty accesible as long as your gf doesnt wear stilletto heels (inside joke) you can get there on transit... another option if you dont want to go off the beaten path as much is the seymour demonstration forest which has a wide paved bike path running about 10km north towards a big lake/resevoir. both are accesible by transit

Well, I'm definitely more of a skater dude than a gangsta G kind of guy. And no, my gf isn't the type to wear stillettos, so we don't have to worry about problems there. :)

Do I take the Seabus to Lynn Canyon or what? Is Seymour closer to DT than Lynn?

Thanks again man.

@ worldwide: Well, my friends and I love sports (Carolina basketball especially!), but I doubt we'd be able to anything sportastic in Vancouver, unless we went to a Canucks game, but I'm a Hurricanes fan.

Were you a Canes fan before they won the Cup?

Holt Renfrew is at Granville and Dunsmuir, you can also get access through Pacific Centre Mall. It's my favourite place to go when I have that RARE urge to just spend.

www.holtrenfrew.com

I'd also hit up Livestock in Gastown for shoes (though the teen set has taken over as the dominant clientele.. :( ...)

Were you a Canes fan before they won the Cup?

Not really, actually I technically wasn't a real fan until 2 weeks ago when I went to my first game, and I fell in LOVE!! We lost to Boston, but we came back from 2-0 with less than a minute left to send the game into OT and then shootout. It was awesome even though we lost.

I would have probably been a Canes fan since the beginning if they had located to Charlotte instead of Raleigh. Raleigh is about 3 hours away from Charlotte. There isn't that much support for the Canes in Charlotte b/c people never see them play. We have the NBA and NFL instead.

But yes, now I am a fan! :cheers:

O, and I looked at Holt Renfrew - way too expensive for me lol.

If you only have an afternoon and evening, then taking a seabus to North Vancouver then a bus all the way out to Lynn Canyon may be too time consuming - but it's a smaller -FREE - version of the Capilano Suspension Bridge and there are trails around there. Sunset is at about 5:30-6:00 pm - make sure to get there in daylight! Check the frequency of the bus - it could be sparse.

http://www.lynncanyonparkguide.bc.ca/
http://www.lynncanyonparkguide.bc.ca/aboutPark.html#GettingHere

The seabus ride is cool - but there's not much else to do on the other side - just a smallish public market (Lonsdale Quay), some stores in the area and the adjacent bus loop.
But on the downtown Vancouver side of the harbour, Gastown and Steamworks are right next to the seabus terminal, so you could do the Lynn Canyon - Gastown combo without tracking too far about downtown.
There are a bunch of nightclubs in Gastown - but I think there have been more shootings there than on Granville St - the main nightclub area (but lots of fights on Granville).
On a Thursday and Friday, stores should close at 9:00 pm (i.e. in Pacific Centre, the main mall). Mon-Wed & Sat & Sun - they probably close at 6:00 pm. Robson St. stores would probably close later. There's a Winners (TJMaxx's Cdn version) @ Granville & Robson (3rd floor) if you want relatively cheap clothes - check out the excavation for the Canada Line station next to it.
Yaletown stores would close early and it's mostly high end restaurants now. Interetsing to walk through though.

in response to post #20

theyre actually very close by. you would take the same bus to get there... the upper lynn valley i think its called. busses are timed to the seabus so travel time shouldnt be more than 35 minutes or so from downtown.

lynn canyon is much more scenic if you do go. the gorge is very cool as well as the areas further down the trail.

@Overground: Thanks! Those are very helpful. Do you know how the restaurants in Stanley Park are? (such as Teahouse, Prospect Pt. Cafe, and Fish House)

Am I correct in assuming Stanley Park is free?

Stanley Park is free(Aquarium has a fee). If you're renting a car then you could head to Prospect Point or the Teahouse. Unfortunately the Vancouver Trolley bus charges a tour fee to go around the park but in the summer there is a free shuttle. Prospect Point would be really cool to go to and average in price for food and drink - http://www.prospectpoint.ca/. The Teahouse and Fish House are pricey.

Thanks guys.

A question: Is the seawall beside Stanley Park or what?

Yup - all the way around it (Stanley Park is a penninsula) - about a 10km loop.

Thanks!

Just wanted to let you all know my visit was great! We went to Bambo, which is diagonally across the street from the Cambie Hostel (my gf was kinda sketched out by Cambie). There, I had the best caffe mocha I've ever had, and the food was delicious too! From there we went to Lynn Canyon, and then Stanley Park. We didn't really get to do any shopping, but that will leave stuff for next time!

For dinner, we ate a Steamworks Brewing Co., which was a ton of fun. It was lively, the beer was great, and the food wasn't too shabby either (although I probably won't get the fish and chips next time).

Thanks for all the great advice, and I'll post up some pics in the future.