A Day in Vancouver

Report by Anja H.

If you´re going to VIU, you have to visit Vancouver for sure. For me it is one of the most beautiful cities I´ve ever seen. The difficult part is finding a “good weather weekend” – luckily I had such nice weather on my trip, that I could wear a T-shirt and shorts, pretty cool! Friends of mine had really bad weather; it was raining the whole weekend.

Accommodation in Vancouver

If you need an accommodation I can recommend two good options. First the HI International Hostel on the Granville Street – it is direct in downtown and Granville Street has a lot of clubs and bars, so you have a huge choice for the nightlife. For sure there are lots of shopping opportunities and places for food. The Robson Street crosses Granville Street and here you can eat the best burger in town! It is called the “Five guys” and you can order a basic burger and then you can add so much toppings as you want and you don´t have to pay them – so use it! And you don´t have to order French fries because they will give you fries anyway. The second accommodation option is the Sandman Hotel – friends of mine were there and they paid 30 CAD a night; the same price you pay at the hostel. But if you´re going to the Hotel you have no breakfast, in the hostel you have some breakfast.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

I like the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park – it is a little bit out of town. You can get there by waterbus on the waterfront for 2,75 CAD. It will take you to the other side of Vancouver and there you can take the bus to the Suspension bridge. There is also a free shuttle to the bridge which leaves around 2 o´clock at the Canada Place on the Waterfront, too. You have to pay 25 CAD for the park – it sounds much but it´s worth it, believe me.

Stanley Park

The Stanley Park is also pretty nice with all the First Nations arts and the huge trees and the beautiful flowers. You can walk there for a long time and enjoy the nature – and it´s cheap, you don´t have to pay anything.  Friends of mine told me that Yaletown district is pretty cool, but I wasn´t there so I can just give you the name. Some other nice sightseeing points are Gastown, the National art gallery, waterfront, the UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver Aquarium, Grouse Mountain and Granville Island.
If you want to go clubbing I can recommend the Joseph Richard Nightclub. It´s not a huge club, but it´s pretty nice. The club is close to the HI Hostel –maybe one minute, just across the street.