"kinda far" - that's two blocks from city limits, with only a city bus to take you anywhere. If you're staying out of downtown make it near a skytrain station. But stay downtown if you can. The only area to avoid is the three or four blocks of Hastings on either side of Main Street, though the Patricia Hotel is fine. Even two or three blocks beyond this are some great hotels, like this place: http://www.victorianhotel.ca/hotel_main.html
― everything, Sunday, 1 May 2011 23:15 (thirteen years ago) link
downtown hotels seem really expensive - we ended up making a reservation at the empire landmark hotel, which seems decent but still expensive.
― just1n3, Sunday, 1 May 2011 23:39 (thirteen years ago) link
I've stayed by the airport before. Nice hotels at a much better price. Only 15 mins to downtown.
― brotherlovesdub, Sunday, 1 May 2011 23:48 (thirteen years ago) link
If I was staying here I'd stay at the Cambie Hotel - the cleanest, funnest, most reputable of the backpacker/hostel type places. It's about $25 a night per person and is downtown in Gastown.
― everything, Monday, 2 May 2011 00:54 (thirteen years ago) link
It looks like I'll be in Vancouv for a few days in July and the ONLY two things I know about it are brotherlovesdub says it's very, very beautiful and it has very big Chinatown. Just1n3 (after you go) and co. plz give me some good tips too!
― jj n° fad (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, 2 May 2011 17:22 (thirteen years ago) link
Stanley Park in Vancouver is amazing.
― your generation appalls me (Dr Morbius), Monday, 2 May 2011 17:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Stanley Park is amazing but my favorite place is on the beach in W.Van looking at the skyline, Stanley Park and the mountains with feet in the sand. Go to Flickr and search Jericho Beach Vancouver. http://www.flickr.com/photos/13881108@N00/226162318/
There's a pic of the hostel there too. I'd stay at the Cambie if I were in my 20s and wanted to get drunk and party all night.
― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 2 May 2011 18:16 (thirteen years ago) link
Unfortunately not "all night" - the bar at the Cambie, which is probably the only old-skool Vancouver beer parlour left more or less intact, closes pretty early. I've heard that hostel on Jericho Beach is great, though it's away from the downtown action, if that's what you want.
Here's the local listings rag. It's fairly comprehensive but if you are looking for the freshest local band scene, it's not covered here.
― everything, Tuesday, 3 May 2011 20:10 (thirteen years ago) link
where is the shitty part of vancouver we should avoid staying in?
surrey?
downtown eastside is... there are going to be junkies around and shit but it's a neighborhood that's 1) fucking beautiful and lively and a great place to spend an afternoon exploring, 2) quickly being gentrified. i don't know if people should really avoid staying there. even if you don't end up staying there, go soak up the destroyed splendor of postwar prewar canada vibe and eat some fucking meatloaf at acme cafe or go to the ovaltine (or prime time chicken and chinese food). and hey if you want to smoke some base, we got that too. one of my favorite places to stroll is down from main and broadway (kafka's for coffee), walking down main, check out pulp fiction, down main and thru chinatown to hastings, then either way down hastings (you like lebanese food? this will take you by two nuba 1 and nuba 2) or maybe cordova-- a walk down cordova from gastown is pretty cool, if you like heavy prewar architecture and massive industrial and commercial sites and mountains and pudgy hookers. it's a beautiful city and the downtown eastside is the most beautiful part of it, i think.
― dylannn, Tuesday, 3 May 2011 20:54 (thirteen years ago) link
mcleod's books in vancouver:
http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9s6i8gECI1qzptlvo1_500.jpg
i don't know if i mentioned cafe medina before, i suggest it for breakfast:
http://www.medinacafe.com/
― omar little, Tuesday, 3 May 2011 22:01 (thirteen years ago) link
ha, that place looks like serendipity books in berkeley
― just1n3, Tuesday, 3 May 2011 23:55 (thirteen years ago) link
okay so bc there seem to be so much hate for klamath falls, we cancelled our rez there and are going to ashland as our first stop instead.
anyone been there? things to do? we're staying about 25mins out of ashland at the green springs inn.
― just1n3, Tuesday, 17 May 2011 14:59 (twelve years ago) link
if you want a nice, classy, unusual dining experience i recommend new sammy's cowboy bistro. iirc the story with this place is owned a couple who used to work at chez panisse decided to go off the grid and eventually ended up here...the husband is a wine guru and keeps the wine list reasonably priced and he definitely knows his shit. kinda pricey but worth it imo.
the black sheep is a cool british pub in downtown.
there are some good bookstores and lots of nice little places to stop in at. we didn't get a chance to eat @ a lot of spots there but apparently the restaurants in town are mostly really good! there's shakespeare shit everywhere, obv.
― omar little, Tuesday, 17 May 2011 16:17 (twelve years ago) link
thanks, omar! i was hoping to summon you to the thread, since you recc'd ashland, but i thought you might be busy having a baby?!? baby is due this month, right?
― just1n3, Tuesday, 17 May 2011 16:22 (twelve years ago) link
About Sammy's, fyi, it is prix fixe with two menu options available per course, iirc. You might also want to call for reservations since the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is in full swing. I understand they are open for lunch.
Second Omar's rec on the Black Sheep. That is a cool pub.
Other than that, just kick it on Main street. It's a pretty easygoing little town.
― righteousmaelstrom, Tuesday, 17 May 2011 17:09 (twelve years ago) link
baby is due in 1 week~ : O
also, there's a cool co-op which may not be of much use to you, since you're on vacation, but if you need anything it's great. there's a somewhat overpriced but really well-curated record/cd shop a few blocks off the main drag which is pretty awesome.
― omar little, Tuesday, 17 May 2011 22:18 (twelve years ago) link
ashland is surrounded by farm country and the land around there looks like ireland or "the shire" (same thing i guess.)
― omar little, Tuesday, 17 May 2011 22:20 (twelve years ago) link
!!! so exciting omar.
i went to ashland once, it was very nice, i mainly remember good bookshops and soup and shakespeare mentions.
― estela, Tuesday, 17 May 2011 22:24 (twelve years ago) link
ashland ain't too bad, from what i've heard. I have to drive down to klamath falls tomorrow and do not return until Friday night
― Crazed Mister Handy (kingfish), Wednesday, 18 May 2011 03:11 (twelve years ago) link
thread hijack. going to be in vancouver, then seattle, then back to vancouver surrounds in mid-to-late july for few weeks. where to eat, what to see, tips for places/areas to stay in van?
what's good basically
― cozen, Sunday, 5 June 2016 21:14 (seven years ago) link
not caliburger vancouver that's for sure
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 17:31 (seven years ago) link
to be seen? - http://hondacelebrationoflight.com/to be avoided? - http://www.seafair.com/p/about/seafairweekend
― normcore strengthening exercises (benbbag), Thursday, 9 June 2016 11:09 (seven years ago) link
YMMV but I like staying close to Stanley Park. There are several places nearby with "suites" in the name that might be good.
― normcore strengthening exercises (benbbag), Thursday, 9 June 2016 11:11 (seven years ago) link
icefield highway worth road tripping?
― cozen, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 19:46 (seven years ago) link
celebration of light is nice
i would go on the last day
but prepare to put up with a sea of people all over the streets and sidewalks
also do you mean icefields parkway in alberta?
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:26 (seven years ago) link
Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, the Rockies in general are all amazingly beautiful and great according to my Albertan wife.
― The Nickelbackean Ethics (jim in glasgow), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:27 (seven years ago) link
ive actually done this road trip and have hiked/trekked the (canadian) rockies
i want to say you shld rly do this on a separate trip
but if youre rly keen on going prepare 15hrs to get from van to banff
this is with a 1-2hr break; main one being halfway at kamloops and one or two small breaks before and after
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:30 (seven years ago) link
we have tues-sun for kamloops, jasper, banff, revelstoke, back to van
― cozen, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:41 (seven years ago) link
stay somewhere centralish in Vancouver. Downtown is blah though. As is the West End - although it has beaches and Stanley Park. The Downtown Eastside/Gastown has a lot of stuff - ie restos, coffee shops, bars - and is also "Canada's poorest postcode" (that appellation may be wrong but people say it), but I don't necess recommend staying there - it is really safe and i have no probs being around there in the evening but like if youre on vacation you maybe don't want to see someone shooting up in their jugular or doing the funky chicken meth dance when you look out the window of your accommodations in the morning.
the transit system is p good, though skytrain lines only cover small amount of the city, and uses a card system a la Oyster.
things i like to do in the summer: the beach, minor league baseball games at the nat bailey, drinking in parks, there are a lot of parks. neighbourhoods i like to spend time in: gastown/downtown eastside, chinatown (which is right next to the aforementioned, strathcona (which is right next to Chinatown) - i used to live here, it's one of the oldest neighbourhoods and so has the greatest concentration of nice old houses, mount pleasant (i live here, it's a popular neighborhood for young(er) folks and close to downtown and there is lots of stuff aka stores, coffee shops, bars, breweries), further south on main street there is little mountain/riley park which also has good restos (e.g. the acorn best veg resto in town) little antique stores and shit, and the baseball field for aforementioned baseball games.
― The Nickelbackean Ethics (jim in glasgow), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:45 (seven years ago) link
other popular neighborhoods - hastings sunrise, in the north east of the city, recently gentrified, restos, bars, coffee shops record stores and shit. commercial drive - hippyish, some good stuff, gentrified but not totally. kistilano - on the west side were i technically live but spend very little time futher west, has lots of stuff, is popular with commonwealth expats, has a beach facing downtown.
― The Nickelbackean Ethics (jim in glasgow), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:48 (seven years ago) link
thanks!! ps u shd update ur login name ;)
― cozen, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:50 (seven years ago) link
that's v true, next week it'll be 4 years since I moved lol
― The Nickelbackean Ethics (jim in glasgow), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:50 (seven years ago) link
xp to cozen
whereabouts in alberta are you staying?
you don't really want to stay in kamloops or revelstoke more than one or two hours
from kamloops you're 6ish hours away to banff
try to get there on tuesday and explore the rockies for a few days
banff and jasper are about three hours apart
if you're a beginner hiker consider the amount of hiking you want to do in a short time (there are easy hikes of course though)
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:54 (seven years ago) link
The Icefields Parkway is a nice drive though the traffic can be bad sometimes. Most depressing part is the Athabasca Glacier, where you get first-hand evidence of global warming. When I last visited there (2007, I think) and went to the year marker for the first time I went there (1985) it had receded a lot. Very cool place, though.
― Bryan, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 21:03 (seven years ago) link
tues: van to kamloops (drive from van leaving afternoon (5 hrs).) stay thereweds: kamloops to jasper, stay overnightthurs: stay jasper fri: jasper to banff via the 'ice highway', stay overnightsat: banff to revelstokesun: revelstoke to van
no idea what we're doing in any of these places. three other ppl going and they've drawn up itinerary. being asked whether to stay 2 nights in jasper or 2 in banff
:shrug:
― cozen, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 21:04 (seven years ago) link
not sure I'd recommend this^ itinerary. bit intense
where's best for sushi in van & what are the must-eat non-meat spots? (fish ok obv)
― cozen, Monday, 25 July 2016 05:53 (seven years ago) link
e hastings st is... *teeth sucking sound* whewwwwww boy
― cozen, Monday, 25 July 2016 05:56 (seven years ago) link
for sushi, my two cents (sure there's more knowledgeable folk on ilx): miku in downtown and toshi in mount pleasant are the best ive had here.
non-meat best resto probably the acorn: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/table-talk-the-acorn-in-vancouver/
― ælərdaɪs (jim in vancouver), Monday, 25 July 2016 20:46 (seven years ago) link
plenty of decent sushi
sushi itoga for something decentconveyor belt for something cheapmiku for fancy times/special occasions because it is pricey/overpriced (get reservations; it can get insanely busy/booked)
my humble opinion is don't spend money on overpriced sushi, especially if you are ordering sushi and *not* sashimi
fancy to decent sushi quality will be only slightly better to the same so not really worth it, unless celebrating a special occasion
japanese girlfriend, japanese friends, and i stick to conveyor belt for the most part, believe it or not
having said that we know that white people tend to love guu with garlic, etc
favourite veg restaurants are actually indian restaurants in the punjabi area which is out of the way most likely
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Monday, 25 July 2016 21:40 (seven years ago) link
that one guu on nelson with the little patio is p nice, not very sushiy though iirc.
― ælərdaɪs (jim in vancouver), Monday, 25 July 2016 21:44 (seven years ago) link
never been to that one actually
i used to go to the one on thurlow and the robson location more than i care to admit a long time ago though
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Monday, 25 July 2016 21:50 (seven years ago) link
booked in for maumi. thx for the tips all
― cozen, Tuesday, 26 July 2016 02:47 (seven years ago) link
best places we ate in seattle: bar noroeste, mamnoon, paseo, piroshki piroshki, snug's best places in van: maumi, tacofino, meat + bread, bela gelateria, & go fish!
canmore was a surprisingly nice little town too
― cozen, Monday, 1 August 2016 22:18 (seven years ago) link
shug's*