Fun things to do in Vancouver

July 5th, 2007, 8:55 pm PDT by Kat

I’ve made a list of things to do in Vancouver for Lisa and Brian, who are going to visit the city in a couple of weeks (with me along for part of their trip). When I started the list I knew there had to be places to eat, places to shop, outdoors-y things to do, etc. Well, it turns out, since I don’t actually like being outside, that portion of the list is quite lacking, and since I LOVE to eat, eateries make up the majority of the list. Brian suggested that I post the list so that it’s up for everyone to access. This way, people from Vancouver can add to the list too! So, here goes…

Places to eat a meal

  • Lumiere
  • West
  • C
  • Nu
  • Tojo’s
  • Wild Rice
  • Feenie’s
  • Pear Tree
  • Moderne Burger
  • Sun Sui Wah
  • Pink Pearl
  • Golden Ocean
  • Hon’s
  • Schezuan Chong King
  • Bo Kong
  • Toyotomi
  • Koko
  • Vij’s
  • Bombay Bhel
  • Thai Cafe
  • Cioppino’
  • DaMario’s
  • Domenico’s
  • Provence Marinaside

Places to go for a snack

  • La Casa Gelato
  • Pearl Drops Teahouse
  • True Confections
  • Terra Breads
  • Senses
  • Tim’s
  • Thomas Haas Chocolates
  • I Fly for Pie – Chiliwack Airport Coffee Shop

Places to shop or site-see

  • Granville Island
  • Stanley Park
  • Chinatown
  • SFU
  • UBC
  • Farmer’s Market
  • Robson Street
  • Commercial Drive
  • West 4th
  • Fireworks on English Bay
  • Museum of Anthropology at UBC
  • Vancouver Art Gallery
  • Metropolis at Metrotown
  • Coquitlam Kwik-E Mart

Outdoors-y stuff (Summer)

  • Grouse Grind
  • Kayaking
  • The Chief
  • Mountain bike riding
  • Grizzly bear centre on Grouse Mountain
  • Hiking
  • Climbing in Squamish
  • Reiffel bird sanctuary
  • QE rose garden

Any other ideas?

Specifically, my family always does Dim Sum at Sun Sui Wah in Richmond… anywhere else that’s good?

14 Responses to “Fun things to do in Vancouver”

  1. Paul Says:

    Oh Kat,

    Moderne Burger is still closed and Senses downtown is closed. This city is falling apart without you… 🙂

    Now to be vaguely helpful:
    Bunsen Lake has a nice hike (easy around the lake or 13km up and around the ridge – Dias Vistas Trail)
    Mount Seymour has good hiking – various difficulties
    Dr. Sun Yat Sen (sp?) gardens
    Sea bus to Lonsdale Quay
    Kits Beach
    Coal harbor sea wall walk is nice

  2. Kat Says:

    Are Moderne Burger and Senses closed for remodeling? Any idea of when they’re scheduled to re-open? 🙁

  3. Eunice Says:

    Last I heard Moderne Burger’s closed till September for remodelling, so I can’t even go eat a burger in August! 🙁

    In the Kits area, if they’re in for a pub atmosphere, Coppertank on West Broadway is one of my favourites.

    The Cupcake place is also just a little west of MacDonald on West Broadway and is also quite good!

    THE EATERY!! I miss the Eatery – for sushi! Yum.

    Outdoorsy stuff: Kits Beach, Jericho Beach, Spanish Banks, Wreck Beach if they’re brave.

    At UBC they should go to the Botannical Gardens!

    That’s all I can think of right now. I might have more to add later. 😀

  4. Kelly Says:

    Hey Kat.

    Moderne Burger is closed for remodeling, but Senses is gone for good. 🙁

    And if Brian is interested, they could visit Transilvania Breads – a wood oven bakery that makes some thick dense breads. If they set it up before hand and don’t mind going in really early (like 2 am ish they might be able to watch him work too).

  5. Kat Says:

    Well, Brian, what do you think? You up for going to watch these guys early one morning? Maybe we could stay up and then watch them – much easier than waking up early!

  6. Brian Says:

    The bakery sounds cool! Are they set up for visitors and gawkers? I’d be up for it if there is a pay off at the end–fresh bakery items. My lifestyle (rock & roll) is more tuned to staying up late than waking up early, but I could be persuaded to do either.

  7. Kat Says:

    Just thought of another place to eat:

    Diva at the Met

  8. Lisa Says:

    With all the eating I plan to do, I’m interested in going for a hike outside the city one day to get some exercise. It doesn’t have to be a difficult hike; somewhere that I could see some interesting Pac NW landscape would be perfect. Are any of the places that Kat has listed accessible by public transport?

  9. Kat Says:

    I just thought of more outdoor stuff! 🙂

    Belcarra Regional Park
    Deep Cove (with those fabulous donuts! Can’t get away from the food!)
    Capilano and Lynn Valley Suspension Bridges
    Capilano Salmon Hatchery
    White Rock Beach

    Lisa, when I get back in to town I’ll show you Translink’s website. It’s Vancouver’s bus company. Their website allows you to “trip plan” but it’s REALLY annoying. I just looked up Grouse Mountain, and it’s 2 buses to get there, but straightforward. We can look up some of the other places too. 🙂

  10. Eunice Says:

    I would seriously call them and don’t use Chris the talking computer. They are far better on the phone and come up with far more sensible routes than the computer can come up with sometimes.

  11. Kat Says:

    Good idea. I forgot you can actually talk to a PERSON! How novel of Translink.

    When you go home make sure Greg gives you your Williams Lab shirt!

  12. Justin Says:

    Me and my girlfriend live in Langley and we decided that we needed more excitment in our lives so we decided to try something new every week. I’ve already gotten some ideas from this page but I was hoping for a few more if anyone knows any. We really don’t need any ideas for places to eat since there are thousands of places to go, but anything thats outdoors and more or less free would be really helpful

  13. Cathleen Says:

    The Foundation on Main and 7th has GREAT BLT-ish vegie sandwiches and lots of other great stuff to eat, you can bike under the Skytrain and see lots of the city as well, and the Seawall biking is open now and renting old fashioned rollerskates fun, biking the scenic route to Horseshoe Bay is also beautiful, Cypress Bowl is also good hiking/easy, Steveston in Richmond is cute, historic fishing village and Pajo’s fish and chips good, as is Kisemo’s for Greek food, just past Tsawassen is Point Roberts, USA–kind of a neat place and cheaper gas:)

  14. kerstboomweg Says:

    Thanks for this nice post!