Vancouver - Vacation Planning

Vancouver is a large, cosmopolitan city located just 24 miles north of the U.S. border in Canada’s westernmost province, British Columbia. A picturesque city, Vancouver sits on a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides with a coastal mountain range overlooking it in the distance. It’s a diverse and vibrant city, a virtual melting pot of East meets West; its deep Canadian heritage is interspersed with Asian and European influences. The cultural kaleidoscope, so many cities within a city, is perhaps what makes Vancouver so interesting. I’ve come to know Vancouver well, the city serving as a gateway to nearby Whistler, one of my favorite ski resorts.

On my most recent visit, I stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront hotel, which made for a great home base. It’s located across from Burrard Inlet, Vancouver’s main port, and the cruise terminal. Also across the street is the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, which will serve as broadcast central for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, when Vancouver and nearby Whistler host the games, an IMAX theater and a boardwalk with historic plaques and markers along the way, making for a nice walking tour highlighting Vancouver’s historical sites.

Culinary Delights and Shopping

For an easy way to hit several city highlights in one day, my family hops on a Big Bus sightseeing tour that weaves through the city’s key districts, allowing us to hop on and off at intervals.

Our first unloading is Granville Island, a culinary treasure trove in Vancouver. The island, once a center of shipbuilding, was transformed in the ‘70s into a mecca of butchers, bakers and fishmongers, the public market being the epicenter. Here, locals and visitors come to buy fish, kelp and rainbow seaweed combed from local waters, wines from inland Okanagan Valley, gourmet preserves, and exotic mushrooms foraged from British Columbia forests. The “mushroom man,” as I like to call vendor Louis Lesosaoi, says that each Vancouver ethnic group gravitates toward certain mushrooms: the Germans toward porcini, French toward morel, Japanese like pine mushrooms and Russians marinate lactarius deliciosus.

 

• The Granville Island Public Market, a foodie’s delight, is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

heydrienne

Granville’s is a colorful market for sure and a must on a visit to Vancouver. For a unique culinary outing, sign up for a “market experience” guided by a top chef with hints on ingredients, what to do with them, and a goody bag filled with recipes and tips. Visit www.edible-britishcolumbia.com.

After my kids put up with my culinary wanderings, we wander over to Granville Island’s Kids Market (toys, not food) and its big Adventure Zone indoor playground. There’s also a model train museum around the corner with the world’s largest public display of model and toy trains.

Next stop, Robson Street, where some of the city’s most fashionable shops are located, though with the Canadian dollar now about on par with the U.S. dollar, the buys are not like a few years ago. But, if you happen to be visiting around the Christmas holidays, keep in mind that Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, is like the day following Thanksgiving in the United States where virtually every store has a grand sale. Robson Street also features more than 50 restaurants ranging from noodle houses to the ultra-chic.

Vancouver Eats

Like the city itself, Vancouver’s cuisine is diverse, renowned for Pacific Northwest seafood cuisine, French-inspired new-Canadian dishes and some of the best sushi outside Japan. In fact, the sushi master at Tojo’s, located at 1133 W. Broadway, is credited by some as having invented the California Roll. But to experience the melting pot that is Vancouver, I also recommend a visit to the hip Chambar Belgian Restaurant at 562 Beatty St. serving paper-thin ostrich carpaccio drizzled in truffle oil and more Belgian brews that I can count. Raincity Grill at 1193 Denman St. is a good choice for authentic British Columbia food and wine. It’s a pretty, candlelit bistro overlooking a bay that features almost entirely seasonal, local products.