Located in British Columbia and a 2.5-hour drive from Seattle, Vancouver is like a Canadian Seattle; it is rainy and dreary most of the year but has the most beautiful summers with sunshine and lush flora. They have a public market near the waterfront just like Seattle! Don’t forget to pack Canadian dollars or aim to use a credit card with low or no foreign transaction fee. Below items are not in any particular order.
What to Do
1. Granville Island Public Market: Fresh fish and farmers’ market great for tourists.
2. Stanley Park: Bike around this park for amazing greenery and seascapes. Breathe that great Canadian air! You can drive around and through it too but it’s not as good as biking it. Check out the hollow tree, fish house, totem poles, and lighthouse. There is a restaurant called Teahouse in Stanley Park; stop by! I heard it’s worth a trip.
 |
 |
3. Capilano Bridge: Amazingly touristy with tourist-gouging prices (expensive parking too!) but it’s a huge, very cool bridge. Don’t jump or shake the bridge but, man, that would feel good.
 |
 |
4. Richmond Night Market: It’s not like Taiwan night markets it’s imitating but it’s the closest you’re gonna get in North America. Pay the fee (which real night markets don’t have) and get some Asian snacks and toys.
 Richmond Night Market |
 Items sold at the Market |
5. A-maze-ing Laughter: A 2009 bronze sculpture by Yue Minjun, located in Morton Park along the English Bay in West End, Vancouver, is composed of 14 statues each about three metres tall and weighing over 250 kilograms; the sculpture portrays the artist’s own image “in a state of hysterical laughter.”
 My Buddy |
 And Me. 🙂 |
Other things on my to-do list for Van City are: Queen Elizabeth Park, Kilsilano Beach Park, Yaletown, Vancouver Art Gallery, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden, B.C. Place Stadium, Lions Gate Bridge, Grouse Mountain, SkyTrain, Georgia Street, Gastown, Science World, and Sunset Beach.
What to Eat Sweet
1. Laduree: The famous Parisian bakery specializing in French macarons in a number of flavors comes to Canada! 1141 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6E 1B5, Canada.
2. Lucky’s Donuts: Hipster coffee shop with fancy donuts – where JoYo always runs to. Gloriously beautiful and tasty, the donuts are best fresh (duh).
3. Cartems Donuterie: They look so good it hurts me not to have them now.
The Earl Grey and the fluffy Vanilla Bean were my favorites. They offer seasonal flavors all year round.
What to Eat Savory
1. Go Fish: Get the TACONE or TACONES. You must. It’s only the most delicious seafood shack snack ever. The place is next to Granville Market and is cash only.
2. Chinese Food: Some of Chinese’s best chefs go to Vancouver to settle down or retire, meaning there is going to be some of the world’s best Chinese food around town.
- Dim Sum: Some well-known ones include Chef Tony Seafood, Golden Paramount, Dynasty Seafood, Kirin, Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant, and Neptune Seafood
Kirin fancy seasonal dim sum: I give it 3.5/5 stars because we think there was a lot of MSG but it was cheap and had a very unique menu - Roast BBQ Duck: Some of the top include HK BBQ Master, Red Star Restaurant, Parker Place Meats & BBQ, Master Hung BBQ Restaurant, and Hopewell
Getting There from Seattle
If you’re driving from Seattle, remember to your passport and you can check the current and forecasted Customs wait times here: Canadian Border Wait Times (use Douglas/Peace Arch) and US Border Wait Times (use Blaine if you’re on I-5). If you’re taking I-5 straight up, the easiest the Douglas (Peace Arch) Surrey, BC/Blaine, WA entry point.
Resources
Vancitybuzz: Discover relevant and timely Vancouver news, events, and culture via easily consumable content.
I must be missing something! Let me know in the comments what I’m missing out on. 🙂 Thanks!
