Hotels in Vancouver

If you are interested in learning about the oceans and the underwater creatures of the Amazon river, and especially if you have children, be sure to include a visit to this amazing aquarium. The talks I attended were definitely geared for children. (our almost 3 year old just loved the shark presentation) and yet, even I learned things I had not known. The aquarium is set up in an an organized way, is respectful of the needs of the animals and visually beautiful. Its pricey at 31 dollars for each adult (our kids were free both being under the age of 3) but so worth it. For perfectly brewed tea and delicious, attractive high tea, visit "The Urban Tea Merchant" on West Georgia street. Although pricy, it was my most enjoyable restaurant experience in Vancouver and service was impeccable. Bistro Verde at Nordstrom's has a lovely view restaurant and ever so polite sweet staff. The Margherita pizza was a thin crusted and just delicious small pizza. The creme brûlée was very nice. The salmon was brought to my table raw in the centre even though I had specified that it be fully cooked. The vegetable medley that came with the salmon was strange( reconstituted dried mushrooms and brussel sprouts) The coffee arrived cool (even though the thick walled cup was warm) and asking for hot coffee twice did not result in hot coffee arriving. The bus service and sky train make having a car unnecessary. I loved the speed, the frequency of the rides and cleanness of the sky trains. Vancouver is beautiful and the parks and treed mountains are lovely to look at. But it is being developed…I fear too much and unless the beauty of the trees and natural vegetation is treasured and preserved, it may soon become ugly

Vancouver is a very beautiful and green city. We loved the parks, the science museum, the art gallery, the markets and the food. The people are very pleasant, helpful and hospitable. We ate in so many awesome restaurants. We found the cuisine to be so diverse and very authentic. One night we had Chinese in Kirin, another time we had Thai food in Sala Thai then we also ate in Miku (fusion Japanese), we had the most delicious oysters, my husband and I ate in Hawksworth one evening, it was just all amazing and incredible food. Even their street food, like meat and bread on Pender and japadog were incredible. We were in the ideal location, so we never really needed a car. We rented the most excellent service to go on tour to Stanley park, Kitsilano, Capiano suspension bridge and UBC. He even took us to places where not many tour buses go. My mother in law who is a paraplegic was even accommodated to be with us on tour and we truly enjoyed the service on the candy dart with Ramy. So much so that she called him to take us to the airport because she was so comfortable with his service and van. Our overall stay in Vancouver was excellent! We would definitely come back to visit!!

Definitely go to the Top of Vancouver *Lookout* | Revolving Restaurant - at least for a drink and appetizer! It is beautiful, it is warm and the view is incredible. Flyover Canada is worth the money! Totally do it :) Gastown is gorgeous <3 Chinatown was not a great experience by foot/bus, I guess I figured it would be like the one in SF but it is dirty and full of homeless people. Whistler is not that far away and it is amazing, almost surreal. If you want to snowboard or ski it is the place to be. Definitely stop for sightseeing on the way: 1) Horseshoe Bay Park. 2) Porteau Cove Provincial Park 3) Alice Lake Provincial Park 4) Shannon Falls Provincial Park 5) Murrin Provincial Park. You do not need a car while in Vancouver, if you are staying downtown, everything is close by in a walking/bus distance, however, definitely rent an suv to go to Whistler :) Stanley Park!! - Rent a bicycle, and go all around the park through the trail, a must do! Granville Island - go to the Market Place and you can eat there :) then on the way back, take the Aquabus for cheap :) Doolin's Irish Pub is a great spot to get snack and drinks at night. HAVE FUN! <3

Depending on where you stay in downtown Vancouver, it is still relatively easy to walk to key districts for restaurants and shops. You can walk the seawall from Canada Place all the way to Stanley Park if you like. I was there in Dec/Jan and so the weather was foggy then sunny. I would like to come back in the summer, the parks would be beautiful. Whistler in the winter is beautiful but cold, an absolute favorite with skiers. And us hikers too! There are no real Irish Pubs in Vancouver. They have been taken over by trendy young people and are clubs. The Chinese Garden is very beautiful and serene; The Lookout is overrated, pricey and touristy. Allow two days to see the city and another 3-4 to see the outdoor parks and other areas just outside Vancouver. Whistler, Grouse Mountain and Capilano are all good areas.

A must do restaurant - Le Crocodile. We just rocked up at lunch time, they found us a table and treated us like royalty. Food and Service was divine, as was the setting and atmosphere. A must do place - Capilano Suspension Bridge and Park. We could have spent the whole day there soaking in the sites. I would suggest going in the afternoon and timing it so that you see the lights at Christmas time. We visited in January so missed that anyway but it would be superb to see. A must do walk - Stanley Park coastal walk and Grey Point walk in Kitsilano. lovely vies of the city and water to the mountains.

We were here to spend time with our son, his wife, and our granddaughter who live in the Mount Pleasant area; just a few blocks away from our hotel. We were able to visit a few parks in the area with our little granddaughter and were pleasantly surprised to see how clean well maintained they are. Vancouver has always been a place where you can find some of the best ethnic food experiences anywhere in the world.