VANCOUVER for Beginners

I have family there. It's really just a cozy, rather conservative town with a very visible and vocal minority of street kids.

The Parliament building in Victoria is easily the best capitol building in North America... It's stunning. Some may say it's gaudy, but I love the look of the Christmas lights all over the building at night. (I say this without having visited D.F, Mexico or any country south of it, granted.)

For the record geeks... interestingly enough, Goldie Records moved from Vancouver to Victoria over the past year or so. Almost all the records there used are the ones they used to play at the Luv Affair, which was the bar for many a scene of The X-Files. I kinda wish that place was still around.. we need more clubs with chain link fences. More clubs today that are wanting to get all nostalgic should follow the example of Club Berlin from the movie After Hours. Anyway, I found lots of great stuff at Goldie. Ditch Records is great for it's small size. A&B is alright, although it jut doesn't compare to Zulu, Scratch, Beat Street, or Active Pass in Vancouver. Lyle's is a great place to find really cheap CDs where you're likely to find that one $100-on-eBay find for $3 or so.

If you go to Victoria (and have drivers licences), rent scooters! (or just bikes!) You can ride around on the road next to the beach from downtown and all the way to the university. I went to UVic - I spent a lot of time riding my bike and studying/working and really liked (but not loved) it. The town is slow, quiet and very pretty. As with any town like that, there's gotta be some creepiness under the surface - but as a tourist (and a Londoner), you'll barely see it.

As with any town like that, there's gotta be some creepiness under the surface - but as a tourist (and a Londoner), you'll barely see it.

So very true. I keep forgetting these folks are coming from London. In that case, may I add VANCOUVER HAS NO PROBLEMS PLEASE STAY FOR THE OLYMPICS, INNIT.

Back to Vancouver:

The Sha Lin Noodle House is very nice.

(Also I second the recommendation of The Railway Club upthread.)

Nobody mentioned the beautiful Bouchart Gardens on Victoria nor the really fun coaster sled thingy on Grouse Mt. Gas town has good eats.

Salt spring Island is wonderful to explore and canoe around and has a quint little town with some pretty good food and local entertainment.

Have a fun and safe trip.

I prefer staying in the Hyatt Regency Burnaby outside the city and taking the train in. Its usually not all that tough to get a room there on Priceline for under $50, parking isn't too expensive, and the station is a 5 minute walk. Plus, if you get there early enough for checkin, they clean top down, so the only rooms available are on the executive levels (which gives you access to the lounge on the top floor, plus the oh so cool keycard only accessable levels on the elevator). There's also an asian market downstairs, where I was able to buy some cool toys and eat cheap breakfasts of pineapple rolls and Goya every morning (and a karaoke bar at night).

Playland Park, the one amusement park in Vancouver, is kinda dumpy, but the wood roller coaster there is top shelf. Unappreciated ride by the general public, but has a huge reputation in coaster enthusiast circles, with some fear that it may not be long for this world (as Playland prepares to move to a larger lot elsewhere in the city).

Any more tips or places to stay, or particularly forthcoming events / clubs / gigs in November please also let us know here.

This thread is so incredible: I can't believe there isn't an I Love Travel board.

That's actually $8CAN now for an all day trip... which is still a deal compared to paying $2.25CAN for a 90 minute transfer. (Seattle has weekday $5US all day passes, $2.50US on the weekends.. maybe that was the source of the confusion?)

But true, at least between early morning and midnightish you can go anywhere within concentrated greater Vancouver -- even North Van and West Van... bus, Skytrain, SeaBus, etc.

AFTER that, you'll have to take a cab though... but no big deal there. I imagine a neighborhood-to-neighborhood cab ride costs $10-12CAN?

http://www.translink.bc.ca/

VANFAP!!

I wanna hearre LeCoq say that out loud, goddamit!

After Vancouver we're driving through the States for a month (or two) down to Mexico and Guatemala, so we'll be coming through Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, LA, Vegas, Tucson etc anyway, so perhaps even a FAT* or FAC** would be on the cards.

(* Fancy A Thanksgiving)
(** Fancy A Christmas)

(You mean the same block as Beat Street?)

anyone else visiting here email me. I'm pretty busy but I always have tons of weed and a winning attitude.

VANFAP!!!! tomorrow? (weds). night?

I'm guessing getting into a Bard on The Beach perf isn't the HUGE all-day hassle NYC's Central Park Shakespeare is? I might go Tuesday,July 4, wd hafta choose btwn Measure for Measure & The Winter's Tale (outside v in, for one). How long before they open at 7:20 should I arrive?

What's the fastest bus/train from Vanc to Portland for the carless? I've looked at Amtrak and Greyhound, and neither seem to do it in less than 8-1/2 hours! I really don't wanna get on a bus at 5:30 a.m.

the train is obviously much more aesthetically pleasing. it runs along the water for much of the stretch from vancouver to seattle.

i would consider a flight. but really, it can be done cheaply, i think.

Taking a train or bus would be much cheaper than flying though, although it would take a lot longer.

Me! I need to sublet or get rid of mine. Email me.

is staying on Granville a good idea? if you'd rather not drive?

I stayed one night on Granville during a three night stay in Vancouver. It wasn't horrible, but luckily for me the weather was nice and I didn't mind a little hike. But yeah, I seem to remember a good 30+ minute walk to anything I wanted to do that day (and night).

Granville's fine. It's no more central that a bunch of different places though - the action is pretty spread out in the downtown area. With the skytrain though, there are places to stay that are not downtown but are within 10-15 minutes (or less), so look at that also.

Granville is the central street in downtown. If that's where you're staying, then you're fine.

I'm guessing the street itself is still under construction, so you need to grab your buses on Howe or Seymour, but that's like what a block away either direction? Also, Georgia/Granville is right by the Granville Skytrain station, so if that's the part of Granville you're staying in, then you're set.

However, if you're staying off Granville and, say, 80th st, then you're in south residential Vancouver and you'll be, to put it mildly, less set.

If you're in Granville Island, that's a whole 'nother discussion.

I mean the island.

I don't know much about the city. At first I thought I'd want to be near Stanley Park, but it sounds like the most interesting places to eat are in Kitsilano or Fairview (South Granville?), or Yaletown, so staying near those seems more logical. Is it true that Yaletown's easy on the ferry but a hike otherwise?

yeah I was referring to the island as well.

was actually around homer/nelson this morning, with work. looked for you, but I don't know what you look like. So I figured I probably saw you.

go stay at Jericho Beach at the Hostel there. it's a great place to be, nice walking trails, close to UBC and the 4th Ave. shopping area. The weather should be nice this week so go walk the beaches.

yeah that bit of granville is no fun at all but it's easy to get away! take the SkyTrain in either direction, go to the West End or Kits or UBC or Commercial drive or Main Street or anywhere else.

re:　apartments again. why is everyone horrified when i say i'm moving to richmond? is the canada line ----->>> 99 bline commute to ubc that horrifying? my neighbor was even like, "one day, that thing [canada line] is going to break down, mark my words, i would hate to be stuck over there. i even hate going there," etc.

cons: commute will change from 10 minutes to ~45 minutes, won't be able to see ocean, walk to jericho beach, play in tidal pools.

pros: i kinda hate the whole vibe of 4th avenue, fair trade thai handicraft stores and new age bookshops and ubc fratboys and everyone has a porsche, and it's a fucking terrible, terrible place that sums up everything that sucks about vancouver. when i escape from that weird fourth ave/broadway corridor and get downtown or go to richmond, or even burnaby, i love the city. i mean, fucking love richmond, cheap food and good food (best food in canada is in richmond [and burnaby]), lots of pretty girls, good grocery stores (t&t and yaohan and lots of smaller places), good chinese bookstores (三联 in the aberdeen mall which has lots of hk shit, bought an hk published version of feidu on the weekend, and the one under superstore [the only entrance is from the superstore parking garage and it smells like car exhaust but], you can get pick up caijing magazine there or buy softcore porn), i know tons of people that live in richmond and i don't know anybody that lives on fucking dunbar street, CRUCIAL:　MY RENT WILL BE $400 CHEAPER, MY RENT WILL BE $400 CHEAPER, MY RENT WILL BE $400 CHEAPER. right across from parker place mall, right beside a canada line stop.

dude who cares if they're horrified, that's their problem. you seem to be pretty stoked on the idea of being in Richmond, it's affordable, and you know people there. give it a try and if it turns out it's as awful as everyone else seems to think it is, you can use all the $$ you've saved to move back to some other place that's more Vancouver-based.

they can't let any lines break down until after the Olympics, anyway. right?

i know i know, right, i'll let them be horrified. but i was just wondering what was at the root of it all, you know? richmond->van transit links are pretty good, i think. i'd hate to have to drive there everyday.

Coworker just asked if Vancouver is east or west of us (in Toronto). We were all shocked, so we asked her 'is Calgary east or west of us?' and she said west. And then we explained Vancouver is west of Calgary. Then she asked to clarify 'so does that make Vancouver east or west of us'

I don't know whether to hit her or hug her. She furthered clarified that she 'knows it's north of us' and when we kept laughing, she said she meant British Columbia, not just Vancouver. 0_0

hello! i'm visiting Vancouver (B.C.) for the first time next summer and am interested in seeing some shows.

what are the best venues in the city (or region, if need be)? big to small, punk to classical, mom & pop to Local Bank Group Amphitheater ... all are welcome.

thanks!

Best venue for 5 local scene bands doing 20 mins sets is Red Gate imo.

Lana Lous for 2 local bands playing for too long. Nice room.

Pats Pub have credible punk and jazz bills but otherwise the bands are hit and miss.

Best mid-sized venue for popular tourung bands is the Biltmore.

Pat's seems to have shitty bridge and tunnel metal bands playing half the time,or it did before I stopped going there to watch hockey because they would try and make me pay to see the shitty langley metal band that was going to play.

I like the biltmore ok,the rickshaw is fine (and close to me)

punk: black lab

toast collective my personal fav venue

Toast is great except it has no stage, no sound system, no lights, nowhere to sit down & the worst toilets and bar ever.

other than that!

it’s an underground venue *shrugs*

where are u seeing noise shows that has any of those things

the toilet at 333 was the worst in the city (rip)

so Red Gate, Lana Lous, Pat's Pub, Biltmore, Rickshaw, Black Lab, Toast

these all sound like indoor venues to me ... any killer outdoor spots that regularly have music (even if summer/good weather only)?

what's the best music festival or two in town?

there are some shows at the malkin bowl in stanley park in the summer. there are also shows in the suburbs in dear lake park in burnaby sometimes. i don't think there's any festival of interest in the greater vancouver area if you mean the big outdoor thing. there's a really awful looking thing called FVDED In The Park which takes place in surrey (another suburb)

The two outdoor music fests which come to mind are Khatsalano in July, and Victory Square in September. Both free. There are others - mostly local events. Eg. There are decent bands on car free days on main St. Not sure what the schedule is next year.That big fest in Stanley park (sasquatch?) is coming back next year. And the folk fest is a great time but pricey. Kinda worth it though.

Oh yeah folk fest

Xxxpost I wasnt too serious about the Toast. Very happy it exists but they could hugely improve things for the audience and the performers without much effort.