by Carla Waldemar Vancouver is the upstart of Canada—just a kid as cities go. Incorporated in 1886, it’s young in years as well as spirit. It’s a colorful collage of cultures where folks love to live and let live, and live well. It thumbs its nose at staid traditions, doesn’t do things "just because." Well, maybe just because: If the sun breaks through the rain clouds that keep its forests buffed and polished, locals scurry to the nearest exit of their office towers. Blooming on the southwestern coastline of Canada in British Columbia, Vancouver is greener and balmier by far than the rest of that northern nation, drawing stiff upper-lippers from the east to what they’ve christened Lotus Land. And it welcomes Asians, who soon feel so at home they’ve dubbed the place Hongcouver. Tourists such as I call it San Francisco of the North—lured equally by the city’s sublime setting nestled on the waterfront against a lush backdrop of tree spires and mountaintops, and maybe the flat-out best dining in the country (with no small assistance from prime local vineyards).
For outdoors enthusiasts, Vancouver is an easy sell. The tourist board invites visitors to laze on the beaches, hit a birdie on the golf course, and slalom down the ski slopes—all in a single day. Add to that the largest urban park in Canada within jogging distance of its cleanly architected urban core. Stanley Park, carpeted in pines, is a peninsula 5 miles in circumference, peopled at all hours of the day by dog walkers, runners, skaters, and bikers who give a familiar nod to its majestic cache of tribal totem poles. The park is home to the city’s famed Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Center, complete with whale pool. The park also boasts: a salmon demonstration stream; the Fish House, an esteemed restaurant; the Nine O’Clock cannon—still fired, though few turn to check their timepieces for accuracy these days; and, leading to West Vancouver and an even larger rainforest honeycombed with hiking paths, the Lion’s Gate Bridge. The circular route around the park connects with the city’s signature 35-mile seawall, linking one beach after another. It’s the city’s front porch, where neighbors (or, as spelled here, neighbours) wave and gossip, collect pebbles on the waterfront, or scan the Sunday paper.
The second-largest Chinatown in North America, Vancouver’s Chinatown is viewed by "those who know" as the most true to the homeland of any outside Asia. Here, warrens of tiny shops are crammed with colorful goods to serve the needs of locals, rather than pandering to tourist kitsch, and that’s what makes its cafes a doubly delicious adventure, too. They’re as thick along Pender Street as sesame seeds on a dim sum pastry. And just as tasty. Dine in Floata, a 1,000-seater bursting with extended family clans, or at Rick’s, which seats maybe 30 diners, all chattering in Cantonese. For the lone visitor like me, ordering is made easy: Just point to what catches your fancy as the sizzling stir-fries are rushed from the kitchen to the counter. And with rice, two entrees, and tea for $4.50, you can’t go wrong.
In Chinatown, take a moment, too, to ogle the world’s narrowest office building (and get someone to tell you of the racy politics behind it), or relax in the peaceful Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, built in the fashion of China’s Ming Dynasty gardens. Gastown: a moviemaker's dream setting The captivating Gastown neighborhood boasts an enclave of vintage Victorian brick that today houses shopping ops for Canadian-themed souvenirs ranging from moose, Mounty, and maple items to classy knitwear, plus outstanding Native American art for serious collectors.
Just beyond Chinatown to the south is an ever-growing crop of high-rises in Yaletown, a newly gentrified neighborhood carved from former warehouses and once-grimy plants that’s well-worth exploring. The high-design, people-friendly apartment towers—a model of urban planning many a city might emulate—are each unlike the next, separated by green pocket parks and filled with streetfront shops that fuel a vibrant scene. In their midst rises the town’s public library, looking for all the world like the Roman Coliseum, and an original railway roundhouse, now a community center with a train museum, where the first Canadian Pacific car to cross from east to west holds top honors. The reborn warehouses at their side now host bookstores, cutting-edge home and fashion boutiques, and day spas. Their loading docks now sport open-air tables of high-fashion bistros and coffeehouses of all flavors. Coffee? That’s what Vancouver does best. I think there’s one coffeehouse per capita in this laid-back but caffeinated city, each hemmed with outdoor tables filled at all hours of the day. Does no one go to work here? "Want it Canadian or European?" the barista inquired about my cappuccino. Blinking my ignorance, I threw myself on her mercy. "The foam: dry or wet?" (Answer: Wet—lots of it—is Canadian.) City neighborhoods deliver galleries, coffee culture Vancouver’s West End, right off Stanley Island, is known as the monied territory where both the young and empty-nesters hang their hats. Trace a street down to the seawall and catch one of the miniature commuter ferries that ply the harbor for a self-styled skyline tour or simply to reach Granville Island, a destination farmers market to end all markets, as well as a multitude of artisans’ shops, a small theater, and a sprawling waterside deck where it seems all Vancouver is sunning on a Saturday morning.
A sweet alternative to Robson’s many Starbucks is the slightly edgy, faintly shabby, funkier enclave along Commercial Drive, once called Little Italy and still the scene of old-world coffee service: a tazzo on a tray with proper glass of water and a saucer of sugar cubes, worthy of Venice—at least, the Venezia jubilantly pictured on the murals of its cafe walls. Comb the street for alternative clothing, forward footwear, and cheap, tasty eats with global panache. From its height, it sports a great view of the city, hemmed by its harbor and hills. "How has Vancouver changed?" I asked Manfred, a German-born guide extraordinaire who arrived here 30 years ago. "It’s more cosmopolitan," he likes to think. "And even more laid-back." That’s it: He’s managed to sum up this special city’s essential charm. Worldly, but oh-so-easygoing. San Francisco of the North without the price tag. Hongcouver minus teeming crowds. That leaves Lotus Land as the most fitting epithet. I’ll stick with that. —Food and travel writer Carla Waldemar insists that you haven't experienced Vancouver until you've sampled the regional artisanal chesses at the Grandville Market on Saturday morning.
Currency. At press time, the exchange rate is $1 U.S. to $1.32 Canadian. Summer weather. The average temperature from June through September is 65-70 F; the thermometer dips into the 50s at night. Shopping. In this city smartly designed for multi-usage, shops line the streets nearly everywhere, anchoring apartment and office towers. Robson is the primary artery for the Guesses and Gaps of life, while Granville Island lures those in search of unique boutiques. Commercial Drive is home to forward funk, and Yaletown well-serves its young professional and empty-nesters filling new nests and closets. Dining. For regional Pacific Northwest fare, try Raincity Grill overlooking English Bay. Bin 941 is a tiny, lively Northwest tapas wine bar. Bamboo Leaf, a stylish bistro on happening Denman Street, where just about every ethnicity is represented, won first prize as "best new bistro" for its tasty Malaysian fare. C Restaurant is the place for seafood, lodged on False Creeks shores. Romantic Le Gavroche brings tears to the eyes of Francophiles, while West, scaled down from its aristocratic days as Ouest, is innovative Vancouver at its bistro-best. Coffee. Caffé Artigiano on Pender Street combines the best people-watching and latte-sipping in town. Senses, a block away on Georgia Street, claims the best pastry chef to complement its cuppa. Touring. Hop a tourist trolley, where the two-hour tour makes 23 stops (on-off privileges good for all day) or try the 25-minute harbor tour by working ferry. Harbour Cruises has a 75-minute tour. Web sites. www.tourismvancouver.com; www.vancouver-bc.com
|
|
Or pick up a go-carton at T&T, the bright, stylish Asian supermarket on Keefer and Abbott streets. Here, you can mix and match your order of sushi, steamed buns, and spare ribs or simply wander the aisles admiring an ocean’s worth of live seafood, a hundred competing brands of soy sauce, or duck tongues packaged by the dozen.
The landmark steam clock of 1875 anchoring Water Street toots every 15 minutes and lets forth a huge cloud of steam at the top of the hour-a photography buff’s must. And a moviemaker’s instant setting. Vancouver’s film-shooting by now is ho-hum to the locals, who perform as extras by the dozen. Look for me in a crowd scene of Are We There Yet?
Now make your way back along Robson Street, Vancouver’s mainstream shopping artery for the Gap-clad crowd. It straight-arrows past the Vancouver Art Gallery, a grand, old federal court building housing anything but grand, old art. Think cutting-edge Canadian talent instead. If you’re foot-weary in this walker’s paradise, simply grab a seat on the tourist trolley, with all-day hop-on, hop-off privileges at all of these attractions, and more.
