36 hours in Vancouver
With its urban forests, glassy downtown and energetic food scene, it’s easy to be captivated with this coastal city in British Columbia
It happens before you know it: Suddenly, you’re smitten with Vancouver — its endless coastline, glassy downtown, the extravagant nature that surrounds and permeates it. A recent article in The Vancouver Sun featured a 600-year-old Douglas fir in Stanley Park. Vancouver, British Columbia, is that kind of place — a place where a tree is a celebrity. It’s also a food lover’s kind of place: You could spend days sampling local variations on everything from sushi to lasagna to vegetarian concoctions that can transform an heirloom tomato into something decadent, and barely scratch the surface of the constantly evolving restaurant scene. On the cultural front, a commitment to public art has turned some areas into sculpture gardens. And in this city of many ethnicities, First Nations art and culture are becoming more and more visible: A series of murals by indigenous artists has appeared around the city; a reconciliation totem was recently raised; galleries and museums highlight the art, history and environmental practices of Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam and other Pacific Northwest societies.
FRIDAY NOON: URBAN JUNGLE
Stanley Park is the oldest and largest of the more than 230 parks in Vancouver: 1,000 acres of forest, wetlands and beaches (and a few man-made attractions — among them, an aquarium and a handful of restaurants). On mild weekends, some areas are more hectic than bucolic; by midmorning, swarms of bicyclists and skaters race around the park’s peripheral trail (the views, like the one near Siwash Rock, are spectacular). But most of the park is quiet, threaded with trails. On a recent guided walk (adult, 35 Canadian dollars, or about $28), Candace Campo, a First Nations co-owner of Talaysay Tours, identified salmon berry bushes, skunk cabbage and other plants, noting that taking “only what is needed” — for food, clothing, medicine and shelter — has long been a given in indigenous cultures.
2 P.M.: ON THE WATER
On the opposite end of the park spectrum is tiny Cardero Park, with its views across the harbor to the mountains beyond. Stroll east, past lawns where people hunch over books or picnics. Not far away, on West Pender Street, the Heritage Asian Eatery offers communal tables and a concise, pleasing menu. A plump bao stuffed with shiitake mushrooms and green and crispy onions (CA$7) will hold you over until dinner.
3:30 P.M.: CHINATOWN AND BEYOND
West Pender changes as you head east into an area that itself wavers, block by block, from trendy to seedy to touristy. Eventually, you’ll reach Chinatown, home to the serene Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, and (if you are in the neighborhood later) notable dinner restaurants like the JapaneseItalian Kissa Tanto and the equally stylish, perpetually crowded Bao Bei. Not far from the flaring tiled roofs of the Millennium Gate, a totem rises above Skwachays Lodge, an indigenous artists’ residence and boutique hotel. In the beautifully lit gallery, contemporary works draw on ancient images and beliefs — including sculpted pieces by Alex Mountain and Chris Sparrow.
4:45 P.M.: LITERARY CHAOS
MacLeod’s Books is a vintage bookstore par excellence. Inside, pure, lovely, literary chaos awaits: precarious stacks and overstuffed shelves of history and art books, novels, rare editions of Rudyard Kipling and Oscar Wilde, pamphlets on Chinook jargon. Then wander into the nearby Gastown neighborhood, its narrow streets thick with shoppers and the occasional panhandler. Yes, it’s touristy, but this is also the historic heart of the city, a place where loggers and seafaring types once communed. Amid the current frenzy, Purebread, a Whistler import, offers irresistible treats, like a thick slice of buttermilk coconut cake, which can be wrapped up for later.
7:30 P.M.: ICE WINE AND SABLEFISH
Watch the sky fade above False Creek from the quiet terrace at Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio. The Japanese-Peruvian menu recently included crispy prawn causa
with gold Yukon potatoes and swirls of avocado mousse; and sablefish in an aji panca glaze, with broccoli, charred eggplant and roasted pineapple and tomatillo salsa. Regional ice wines may be paired with desserts, like coconut panna cotta. Dinner is about CA$100, with drinks.
SATURDAY 9 A.M.: ON ENGLISH BAY
Denman Street is lined with restaurants, galleries and shops (make a note to stop by Ayoub’s Dried Fruits and Nuts later, for everything from Turkish delight to okra chips). Get a coffee and pastry to go at Delany’s Coffee House and head past the bronze statues of laughing men, collectively known as “A-mazeing Laughter,” to English Bay. Find a comfortable log on the breezy beach, and eat breakfast to a soundtrack of waves and gulls.
2 P.M.: LOCAL LUMINARIES
Emily Carr, born in Victoria in 1871, was a devotee of Pacific Northwest nature and culture, and made it her life’s work to paint both. Through Dec. 3, Emily Carr: Into the Forest, at the Vancouver Art Gallery, focuses on her moody, swirling landscapes and trees. At the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, another creative luminary is celebrated, along with other artists. Of Haida and Scottish-German descent, Reid mastered Haida craftsmanship and — using wood, stone, gold, silver and other materials — produced exquisite objects, from jewelry to monumental sculptures inspired by indigenous designs and myths.
6:30 P.M.: CANTONESE FEAST
It’s not difficult to find a reason to hop on the Canada Line to nearby Richmond with its largely Chinese population. There are temples, like the imperial-style International Buddhist Temple, which welcomes visitors; midday dim sum feasts; and tea shops where you can find rare and expensive pu-erh teas. And then there is dinner at Chef Tony. On one wall, a screen flashed through the menu: Stewed pumpkin and short ribs, stir-fried sea cucumbers, fried purple rice with eel, and on and on. Expect to stay long and pay from CA$50 to CA$70 for a delicious dinner.
SUNDAY 9 A.M.: BUILDINGS AND BREAKFAST
At Forage, a sleek little restaurant in the artsy West End Listel Hotel, just about everything is house-made, from the spiced pear jam to the candied bacon. A full breakfast is about CA$20. Afterward, stroll around the neighborhood. Vancouver has many wonderful buildings — from the art deco Marine Building to the Colosseum-like Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library — but the West End is special, with its verdant streets and graceful heritage houses. An online map (go to vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/west-end-architectural-walk. aspx) provides highlights.
11 A.M.: A FITTING SETTING
The University of British Columbia campus holds many surprises: a suspended walkway through a forest canopy; a Japanese tea garden, a reconciliation pole by the Haida master carver James Hart, and a longhouse student center. The Museum of Anthropology (adult, CA$18) has thousands of First Nations artifacts (among many other holdings).