A 1 hour slow cycle around Stanley Park with views of lion’s gate bridge, the local mountains, the city skyline, totem poles, and if you’re lucky a seal, otter, or raccoon. Mobi bikes is our local bike share company with bikes in lots of downtown locations. If you continue cycling the seawall around false creek, good patio stops on the way are the Tap Shack, Tap & Barrel, Mahony & Sons, and Bridges if you make it all the way to Granville Island. 

The Granville Island market is the best place to get delicious food and drinks. Although you can cycle around to get onto this fake island, the easiest way is to take one of the little false creek ferries, some of them take your bike as well. After a visit to Granville island, take your purchases for a picnic or bbq in one of the parks around the water. Our favorite picnic/bbq location is at the Inukshuk statue for sunset. If you don't want to bbq, a great option on Granville Island is to eat the daily catch of fresh fish on the Sandbar patio.

Rent a boat from Granville Island (the company is simply named Vancouver boat rentals), tour around the city and up Indian arm, or turn west towards lighthouse park. The staff at the rental company will say you can’t have beer on the boat, they’ll know there are beers in that cooler you carry and they don’t care.

Vancouver is surrounded by water and beaches. We live right on English Bay Beach, the most visited beach in the city. Our favorite beaches are Third beach (on the seawall around Stanley Park), which is nice to combine with a walk through Stanley park and possibly a round of pitch and putt while there, or a cycle around the sea wall. A bit further, out at the university campus, Wreck beach is the most beautiful of all the Vancouver beaches and clothes are optional here. This is also the beach where you could chance it, and camp in the city. Talk to us before about where to camp to minimize the chances you’ll get a visit from a park ranger in the evening.

Also out at the University campus is the anthropology museum showcasing indigenous art and other items. Their tour guides are good at telling interesting stories about the items on display, and it is nice to have a bit of background to all the first nations names and landmarks you’ll come across in BC. After your visit you’re only a staircase away from Wreck Beach, Vancouver’s most beautiful beach.

Whale watching boats depart from Granville island and trips take about half a day, a must for most tourists. However, if you plan to visit the west coast of Vancouver island, go see whales there. On the tour you’ll see whales, but also all kinds of other wildlife. Bring binoculars, or come borrow ours.

The seaplane tours depart from coal harbour, and especially the slightly longer ones not only fly over the city, but also over the mountains, and are truly spectacular.

Vancouver is an immigrant city with cuisines from every corner of the world. Here are our remaining favorites that haven't been listed in the previous sections:

At English bay where we live, skip the Cactus club, the view from Hook is almost as good and the food is 10x better. Espana is closeby and is one of our favorites (keep room for churros for dessert). Adesso for a nice patio and good Italian food. Red umbrella for lunch. Another great spot around sunset is our balcony, unless we’ve moved to a new house by that time…

Gastown is the oldest (but not that old) neighbourhood and is the best area for eating and drinking in Vancouver. Pourhouse for sitting at the bar and have a cocktail. Guilt&Co for drinks after 9 and often has live music or a show. The Diamond is good for drinks as well. Calabash is in the middle of a more sketchy area but has great Caribbean food and often a reggae band downstairs. The Sardine Can is good for tapas. In between Gastown and the business district you find the Railway Club, a great bar that often has live music. Also in Gastown: the history walking tours to learn more about the local history. Closeby in Chinatown is BaoBei for the best Chinese food. If you need to wait for a table go to the Keefer next door for a drink.

Outside of downtown: Restaurant Seasons in the Park in Queen Elizabeth park for a drink and the best views of the city (the food isn’t great). Vij's for amazing Indian food, and if Vij’s is full, next door is a simpler, cheaper, quicker and almost as delicious option from the same chef.

Live music, nasty carpet, and good deals on Corona/tequila combos. What more can you ask for? After the Roxy, visit Le Belle Patat for Poutine, a traditional Canadian fries with gravy dish. Visits to the Roxy should also be followed by a late night dip in the sea.

The next morning go to Score, put on one of their sombreros to protect your sensitive head from the sun, and order a caesar (again, a Canadian tradition).