From downtown, bus 17 for Oak Street stops at West 37th Avenue at the garden entrance.
MAP 6: 5251 Oak St., 604/257-8335, www.vandusengarden.org; 9am-8:30pm daily June-Aug., 10am-6pm daily Sept., 10am-5pm daily Oct. and Mar., 10am-4pm daily Nov. and Feb., 10am-3pm daily Dec.-Jan., 9am-7pm daily Apr., 9am-8pm daily May; adults $12, seniors and ages 13-18 $9, ages 3-12 $6 (discounted admission Oct.-Mar.)
Queen Elizabeth Park
At Queen Elizabeth Park, at the highest point in Vancouver, you can explore several gardens, have a picnic on its manicured grounds, or take photos of the city skyline and mountains.
In a geodesic dome near the center of the park, the Bloedel Conservatory (604/873-7000, www.vancouver.ca; 9am-8pm Mon.-Fri., 10am-8pm Sat.-Sun. May-early Sept., 10am-5pm daily early Sept.-Apr., adults $7, seniors and students $5, ages 3-12 $4) houses three different ecosystems, including a tropical rainforest, subtropical rainforest, and desert environment, with native plants and more than 200 free-flying birds. It’s a warm destination for a cold or rainy day. Also in the park are tennis courts, a pitch-and-putt golf course, and a lawn bowling field.
Bloedel Conservatory, Queen Elizabeth Park
To get to the park by public transit, take the Canada Line to King Edward station. Then either transfer to bus 15 southbound on Cambie Street to West 33rd Avenue, or walk south on Cambie Street to the park entrance. Follow the trails through the trees or walk along the park road to reach the conservatory; it’s a short but uphill climb.
MAP 6: 4600 Cambie St., www.vancouver.ca; dawn-dusk daily
Commercial Drive Map 7
S Parallel 49 Brewing Company
The tasting room at Parallel 49 Brewing Company, one of the more established East Side breweries, is a beer tasting hall, a small-plates restaurant, and a spirited neighborhood gathering place. Three of the brewery’s founders grew up nearby in East Van. These days, the company is known for their Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale, the Tricycle Grapefruit Radler (blended from lager and red grapefruit juice), and a changing array of seasonal brews. Stop in for a tasting flight to see what’s on tap.
MAP 7: 1950 Triumph St., 604/558-2739, http://parallel49brewing.com; 11am-11pm daily
Callister Brewing
Billing themselves as “Canada’s first collaborative brewery,” Callister Brewing not only sells and serves their own beer in their East Side tasting room, but every year they also team up with three additional brewers who use the facilities in Callister’s red stucco brewery to make their own beers. Along with Callister’s own Resolution Dark Saison, Old Robyn English Strong, and 1 Hop Mind Pale Ale, you can sample these partners’ creations in the tasting room. Four-ounce samplers start at $2 each. The tasting room is teeny, with a long communal table and a few stools at the counter, so you’re likely to strike up a conversation with fellow beer aficionados.
MAP 7: 1338 Franklin St., 604/569-2739, www.callisterbrewing.com; 2pm-9pm Mon.-Thurs., 2pm-10pm Fri., 1pm-10pm Sat., 1pm-9pm Sun.
Doan’s Craft Brewing Company
Family-run Doan’s Craft Brewing Company operates a tiny café-style tasting room and compact brewery in a converted East Side house, where local artist Ola Volo decorated one wall with an intricate black-and-white mural; her work appears on Doan’s labels, too. Try their Rye India Pale Ale or the German-style Kolsch. The 5.5-ounce samplers are $2. Because the petite space measures just 450 square feet (42 square meters), sitting and sipping at the communal table here feels like you’re relaxing in a friend’s living room.
MAP 7: 1830 Powell St., 604/559-0415, http://doanscraftbrewing.com; 2pm-9pm Mon.-Thurs., 2pm-11pm Fri., noon-11pm Sat., noon-9pm Sun.
Powell Street Craft Brewery
A husband and wife team manages Powell Street Craft Brewery in a small East Side warehouse on busy Powell Street. Old Jalopy Pale Ale and Ode to Citra (also a pale ale) are two of their well-regarded brews. Try a glass or a flight in their tasting room, where you can perch at a blond-wood bar-height table and look through the window into the brewery. Glasses start at $1.75 for a five-ounce sampler; a flight of four is $6.10.
TOP EXPERIENCE
CRAFT BREWERIES
Vancouver’s first microbreweries launched back in the 1980s, but more recent changes in B.C.’s provincial liquor laws paved the way for a craft brewery boom that has been growing exponentially since 2010.
Two East Side neighborhoods have become the center of Vancouver’s craft brewery scene. The city’s eastern districts are locally known as “East Van,” but the increasing number of microbreweries in this area has earned it the nickname “Yeast Van.”
One center of local craft beer production is in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, around Main Street between 2nd and 8th Avenues, a short walk from the Olympic Village. Several breweries with tasting rooms are within walking distance of each other, and there’s a congregation of art galleries in the area, too.
the tasting room at Callister Brewing
Even more craft breweries have set up shop farther east, between Hastings and Powell Streets, east of Clark Drive. This partly industrial, partly residential neighborhood isn’t the most picturesque, but with lots of excellent beer to sample, it’s perfect for a brewery crawl. Most brewery tasting rooms here open around midday or early afternoon and remain open into the evening.
Many of Vancouver’s craft breweries are too small for formal tours. However, some do offer regularly scheduled tours, and at others, staff will be happy to show you around if you call ahead.
If you want to learn more about the brewing process and the local beer industry, another option is to take a tour with Vancouver Brewery Tours (604/318-2280, http://vancouverbrewerytours.com; $70-90). Each of their three-hour excursions visits three different breweries. Their website details the tour schedule and which breweries each tour visits on which day.
The drinking age in British Columbia is 19, and you may be asked to show identification to verify your age. Cheers!
S Granville Island Brewing (click here)
S Parallel 49 Brewing Company (click here)
S Callister Brewing (click here)
S Doan’s Craft Brewing Company (click here)
S Powell Street Craft Brewery (click here)
S 33 Acres Brewing (click here)
S Brassneck Brewery (click here)
MAP 7: 1357 Powell St., 604/558-2537, www.powellbeer.com; 2pm-8pm Mon., 2pm-9pm Tues.-Thurs., noon-10pm Fri.-Sat., noon-8pm Sun.
S Odd Society Spirits
Standing out amid the East Side beer makers, Odd Society Spirits is a small batch distillery housed in a former motorcycle garage, where they make their signature East Van Vodka, along with gin and a “moonshine” whiskey. Tasting flights (three samples for $7) and mixed drinks are available in their front room, an old-time cocktail lounge with marble-top tables and a long bar. In the lounge, floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the distilling room in back, which you can visit if you drop in on weekend afternoons for a free distillery tour. On these informal visits, you’ll learn about the distilling process and how they use their two 92-gallon (350-liter) German-made copper-pot stills and their 15-foot (4.5-meter) “vodka column,” which removes impurities from the vodka.
MAP 7: 1725 Powell St., 604/559-6745, www.oddsocietyspirits.com; 1pm-10pm Thurs., 1pm-11pm Fri.-Sat., 1pm-6pm Sun.; tours 4pm Sat.-Sun.
Monument for East Vancouver
This illuminated cross with the words “EAST VAN” nested inside isn’t a religious symbol. Rather, it’s a public art piece, Monument for East Vancouver, created by Vancouver-born artist Ken Lum.
Lum has written that the inspiration for the 57-foot (17-meter) sculpture, which lights up after dark, came from a graffiti symbol that circulated throughout the city’s East Side as early as the 1940s. Its origin is unknown, although Lum notes that it may derive from the large Catholic community that lived in the area at that time, when many Italian, Greek, and Eastern European immigrants settled in East Van.
East Vancouver was once considered
the poorer cousin to the city’s well-to-do West Side neighborhoods. As real estate prices have escalated across the region, however, East Van has lost some of its working-class image, but Lum’s artwork has become a symbol of local pride for many East Siders. Look for images of this “monument” on T-shirts around town.
MAP 7: Intersection of Clark Dr. and E. 6th Ave.
Richmond Map 8
S Richmond Night Market
From spring through fall, Richmond’s two weekend night markets are packed with visitors enjoying the Asian food stalls, quirky shopping opportunities, and general carnival atmosphere. Visiting these outdoor Richmond events is like traveling to a night market or festival in Asia, but without the jet lag.
Richmond Night Market
Don’t have dinner before you go, since there’s plenty to sample: grilled kebabs, squid on a stick, bubble waffles, handmade tofu pudding, and many other Asian-style snacks; most dishes cost $5 or less. Vendors also sell inexpensive cell phone cases, socks, electronic gadgets, and more.
The largest night market in North America, drawing thousands of visitors every weekend, the Richmond Night Market has nearly 300 vendors, including row upon row of snack sellers offering up all manner of Asian savories and sweets. During the evening, the aisles between the outdoor booths, set up in a vast parking lot, get increasingly jammed with hungry patrons looking for their next bite; most dishes are small and easy to share. The market has some tables and benches, but many visitors eat on the go, as they wend through the market aisles or try to find an uncrowded corner to stand.
Lines at the entrance gate can be lengthy. If you’re visiting with a group, or if you plan to visit more than once, purchase a $20 pass that includes seven admissions. You can use them all at once or at any time during the season. Passholders enter through a separate gate that bypasses the main queue.
The Richmond Night Market is the easiest of the two Vancouver-area night markets to reach by public transit. Take the Canada Line from downtown to Bridgeport Station. From there, it’s a 15-minute walk to the market. Just follow the crowds.
MAP 8: 8351 River Rd., 604/244-8448, www.richmondnightmarket.com; 7pm-midnight Fri.-Sat., 7pm-11pm Sun. mid-May-mid-Oct.; adults $3.75, seniors and kids under 10 free
International Summer Night Market
Richmond’s second night market, the International Summer Night Market, has a similar lively mix of food stalls and other vendors. With about 60 outdoor booths, both food vendors and other retailers, it’s smaller than the always-packed Richmond Night Market, which can make it a little less overwhelming and more family-friendly. The market also hosts a nightly light show.
Take the Canada Line from downtown to Bridgeport Station, where you can catch a free shuttle to the market, which is located in a parking lot behind the Home Depot.
MAP 8: 12631 Vulcan Way, 604/278-8000, www.summernightmarket.com; 7pm-midnight Fri.-Sun. May-mid-Sept.
Golden Village and Aberdeen Centre
The Richmond branch of the Canada Line follows No. 3 Road through the district known as the Golden Village, the region’s new Chinatown. You’ll know you’ve arrived when the Chinese-language signs outnumber those in English, and Asian restaurants, markets, and shops line the strip malls and surrounding streets.
A good place to start exploring is Aberdeen Centre, a glitzy Hong Kong-style shopping mall, with shops selling tea, electronics, clothing, Asian-language books, and more. Hunt for all kinds of quirky (but useful) housewares and gadgets at Daiso (604/295-6601, www.daisocanada.com; 9:30am-9pm daily), the local branch of a Japanese discount chain; at the Richmond location, most products cost just $2. On the mall’s third floor, stop for excellent Cantonese, Sichuanese, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Korean fare in the busy food court.
Aberdeen Centre has several good sit-down restaurants, too, including Fisherman’s Terrace Seafood Restaurant (604/303-9739; dim sum 10am-3pm daily, dinner 5:30pm-10pm daily; dim sum $4-15, mains $15-35) for dim sum, Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle (604/295-9357, www.chefhungnoodle.com; 11am-9pm Sun.-Thurs., 11am-9:30pm Fri.-Sat.; $8-13) for Taiwanese noodle soup, and Guu Richmond (604/295-6612, www.guu-izakaya.com; 11:30am-4pm and 5pm-9pm Mon.-Thurs., 11:30am-4pm and 5pm-8pm Fri.-Sat.; $5-13), a branch of Vancouver’s popular Japanese izakaya minichain.
Aberdeen Centre is one block from the Canada Line’s Aberdeen Station, at the corner of Cambie Road and Hazelbridge Way.
MAP 8: Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, 604/270-1234, www.aberdeencentre.com; 11am-7pm Sun.-Wed., 11am-9pm Thurs.-Sat.
INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST TEMPLE
To explore another aspect of Richmond’s Asian culture, detour to the International Buddhist Temple (9160 Steveston Hwy., 604/274-2822, www.buddhisttemple.ca; 9:30am-5:30pm daily; free), one of the largest Chinese Buddhist temples in North America.
Richmond’s International Buddhist Temple
A serene traditional Chinese garden with two fountains acts as the gateway to the temple complex. As you enter the main courtyard, on your right is the Seven Buddha Hall, where the gold Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva stands, with its thousand arms and thousand eyes.
Continue through the courtyard and up the stairs to the gold-roofed Main Gracious Hall, constructed in 1983, where a massive gold Buddha dominates, flanked by several towering statues. Behind the main temple, the Thousand Buddha Hall is filled with miniatures of the deity. On the lower level, the vegetarian restaurant, Zen Kitchen, serves lunch between 11:30am and 3pm.
At the back of the complex, the Meditation Hall, another gold-roofed structure, is used primarily for meditation classes and lectures. The temple offers weekly two-hour classes on Buddhism and meditation in English at 9am on Saturday that are open to visitors.
To reach the temple by public transit from downtown Vancouver, take the Canada Line to Bridgeport Station, then transfer to bus 403, Three Road. After the bus turns east onto Steveston Highway, get off at Mortfield Gate, in front of the temple complex. If you’re making other stops in Richmond’s Golden Village en route to or from the temple, you can board bus 403 along No. 3 Road outside the Aberdeen, Lansdowne, or Richmond-Brighouse stations.
Richmond Olympic Experience
Want to swish down an Olympic bobsled track, pilot a race car, or test your mettle on a ski jump? At the Richmond Olympic Experience, aka “The ROX,” an interactive Olympic sports museum, you can try out simulators of several Olympic and Paralympic events. Among the activities, which are best suited for older kids and adults, there are games to test your reaction time and see how high you can jump; you can also pretend to be a sports broadcaster reporting on the Olympic Games. For Olympic trivia buffs, the multimedia exhibits have thousands of facts about the Games through the decades. Actual Olympic medals and torches are on display, too.
Slide down a virtual Olympic bobsled track at the Richmond Olympic Experience.
The ROX is located inside the Richmond Olympic Oval, a sports facility that was a venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Most exhibits are on the third floor. On the main level, you can watch an eight-minute film about pursuing Olympic dreams. Stop on the second floor to see another small exhibition space that includes Athlete, a fascinating photograph by Howard Schatz that portrays the “ideal” male and female body types for a wide variety of sports: a jockey next to a sumo wrestler next to a football player, a boxer next to a gymnast next to a shot-putter, and many more.
To reach The ROX by public transit from Vancouver, take the Canada Line (Richmond branch) to Richmond-Brighouse Station. Change to bus C94, which stops directly in front of the Richmond Olympic Oval. The C94 currently runs only every 35 minutes and there’s no service on Sunday, so check the schedule online (www.translink.ca) before you set out.
You can also walk along a riverfront path to The ROX from the Canada Line’s Aberdeen Station. After exiting the station, walk one block west on Cambie Road to River Road. Turn left (south) onto the path that hugs the Fraser River. From here, it’s 1.25 miles (two kilometers) to the Olympic Ex
perience.
MAP 8: 6111 River Rd., Richmond, 778/296-1400, http://therox.ca; 10am-5pm Tues.-Sun.; adults $17, seniors and ages 13-18 $13, ages 6-12 $11
The North Shore Map 9
TOP EXPERIENCE
S Grouse Mountain
Open for wildlife adventures, walks in the woods, and many other activities from spring through fall, and for skiing and snowboarding in winter, Grouse Mountain lets you experience the mountains less than 40 minutes from downtown. On a clear day in any season, you can look out over the peaks and across the Burrard Inlet to the city skyline.
Grouse Mountain views
Take the Skyride (8:45am-10pm Mon.-Fri, 8:15am-10pm Sat.-Sun.), North America’s largest tram system, to the Peak Chalet, where you can watch a film about the region’s wildlife at the Theatre in the Sky or take in the corny but entertaining 45-minute Lumberjack Show (noon, 2:30pm, and 4:30pm daily late May-mid-Oct.), complete with log rolling, tree climbing, and ax throwing. The Birds in Motion demonstration (1:30pm, 3:30pm, and 5:30pm daily late May-late Sept.) shows off the skills of eagles, falcons, and other birds of prey, while at the Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife you can learn more about bears, wolves, owls, and other creatures.
Several self-guided walking trails through the evergreen forests start near the Peak Chalet, or you can take a 45-minute guided eco-walk (late May-Sept.) that departs several times a day to learn more about local geology, animals, and plants.
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