Vancouver: Been There, Done That - Page 2

peanut gallery · #21 Posted **Nov 19, 2008, 11:55 PM**

Pure awesomeness. I like the walking tour style.

Urban Zombie · #22 Posted **Nov 20, 2008, 5:06 AM**

Been there, done that...sure. But we's still needs our fixes, we does! Nice job.

entheosfog · #23 Posted **Nov 21, 2008, 2:46 AM**

Hey thanks for the comments, guys. Glad to deliver the walking-tour goods.

hossboss85 · #24 Posted **Nov 21, 2008, 5:06 AM**

Great thread, Entheosfog! Can't wait to drive up from Portland next month--I can't believe it's taken me this long since moving to the Pacific Northwest.

By the way, what would be a good neighborhood to stay in for a bunch of mid-twenties-ish people? Not clubs and bars, but maybe some nice places to people watch, walk around, have a pint... What part of the city is Chinatown in? ...besides the *whole* city (I think I saw Chinese writing on that election sign!).

crazyjoeda · #25 Posted **Nov 21, 2008, 5:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hossboss85

Great thread, Entheosfog! Can't wait to drive up from Portland next month--I can't believe it's taken me this long since moving to the Pacific Northwest.

By the way, what would be a good neighborhood to stay in for a bunch of mid-twenties-ish people? Not clubs and bars, but maybe some nice places to people watch, walk around, have a pint... What part of the city is Chinatown in? ...besides the *whole* city (I think I saw Chinese writing on that election sign!).

Yaletown has a lot of nice bars and restaurants it is a nice place to people watch, but it can be an expensive place. Gastown is really nice too, it has the cities oldest buildings and also some good restaurants and bars. The downside to Gastown is that it is quite touristy and it borders of Vancouver's worst neighborhood the Downtown Eastside, so I would recommend not staying to close to there. Vancouver's Chinatown is North Americas largest after San Francisco, it is located north of Gastown (you can get there on Skytrain), and is very cool. When exploring Chinatown and Gastown you will likely pass through the downtown eastside, but don't worry its not a dangerous area just be aware of your valuables and maybe don't park your car there; in fact I would suggest exploring all of downtown on foot because you will see more of the city that way and most sights are quite close together.

raggedy13 · #26 Posted **Nov 21, 2008, 8:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyjoeda

Vancouver's Chinatown is North Americas largest after San Francisco, it is located north of Gastown (you can get there on Skytrain), and is very cool.

I'd say north of Gastown is the waterfront. Chinatown is south/southeast of Gastown.

Robert Pence · #27 Posted **Nov 21, 2008, 2:58 PM**

Gorgeous shots! What an amazing city!

agrant · #28 Posted **Nov 22, 2008, 2:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hossboss85

Great thread, Entheosfog! Can't wait to drive up from Portland next month--I can't believe it's taken me this long since moving to the Pacific Northwest.

By the way, what would be a good neighborhood to stay in for a bunch of mid-twenties-ish people? Not clubs and bars, but maybe some nice places to people watch, walk around, have a pint... What part of the city is Chinatown in? ...besides the *whole* city (I think I saw Chinese writing on that election sign!).

Kitsilano is a youngish area outside of downtown, which you might want to consider. It's a little bit more mellow than downtown, some nice restaurants, both on 4th Ave and Broadway. Maybe try 4th Ave between Burrard Street and Vine. Kits beach is a 10 minute walk away, which in my opinion is one of the top people watching places, in the summer at least. At Kits beach is a place called The Watermark, which I've only been to once. You can walk alongside the beach and get great views of the city - it's especially nice when the sun sets...

mSeattle · #29 Posted **Nov 22, 2008, 5:19 PM**

Great tour. Vanc. gets a bad rap about the sea-foam color windows but I like them. They're nicer than gray windows especially during the cloudy months.

I like the densely built suburbs too.

hossboss85 · #30 Posted **Nov 22, 2008, 6:18 PM**

Thanks to those who replied about the places-to-stay-for-an-out-of-towner, but sorry for hijacking your thread! Back to talking about Entheosfog's great photos!

I'll browse the regional forums for more Vancouver info. Thanks again.

ShadowMaster · #31 Posted **Nov 22, 2008, 8:40 PM**

Fantastic thread! I'm loving VanC.

entheosfog · #32 Posted **Nov 23, 2008, 7:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mSeattle

Great tour. Vanc. gets a bad rap about the sea-foam color windows but I like them. They're nicer than gray windows especially during the cloudy months.

I like the densely built suburbs too.

Yeah Van has got a lot of flack for that but they are impressive as a whole. Whenever I drive out of towners around they're mesmerized by the amount of glass (like I was when I first came here, too). And at night is impressive, too.
I never tire taking pics of anything in Van, it seems!

harls · #33 Posted **Nov 23, 2008, 10:31 PM**

Excellent photos, enos... I love that town!

Robynobotica · #34 Posted **Nov 24, 2008, 12:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hossboss85

Great thread, Entheosfog! Can't wait to drive up from Portland next month--I can't believe it's taken me this long since moving to the Pacific Northwest.

By the way, what would be a good neighborhood to stay in for a bunch of mid-twenties-ish people? Not clubs and bars, but maybe some nice places to people watch, walk around, have a pint... What part of the city is Chinatown in? ...besides the *whole* city (I think I saw Chinese writing on that election sign!).

Are you planning to stay in a hotel? Most hotels tend to be located downtown either in the (boring) business district or along the more vibrant Robson Street around the West End. Chinatown's interesting to visit, but it's not really somewhere you'd want to stay - it's dead after 5pm.

My recommendation is to stay somewhere in the West End, Yaletown or on Robson Street as they're the most interesting and vibrant and you can walk to pretty much anywhere. As a mid-20-ish person myself, Commercial Drive, Mount Pleasant, and Kitsilano are sort of famous trendy hang-out neighbourhoods for folks our age... but they all lack accommodation in the form of hotels. Commercial Drive is a short skytrain ride east of downtown, Mount Pleasant is a short bus ride away and Kitsilano is just south of the West End across the other side of the Burrard Street bridge at the south end of English Bay.

Have fun!

p.s. The heart of Vancouver's historic Chinatown is located along Pender Street east of Abbott Street ... it's basically east of the downtown core. You can do a Google search for Vancouver Chinatown and you should find Chinatown's official website. The site will show you a map of its suggested boundary... basically Pender Street, Keefer Street, Union Street, and Georgia Street immediately east and west of Main Street. Hastings Street, though one block north of Chinatown, is the dramatic boundary between Chinatown and the infamous Downtown Eastside.