---------------------------------------------------- Things to do in and around
Vancouver, UBC, Victoria ----------------------------------------------------
Long day or weekend trips
--------------------------
1. go to Whistler, a local ski resort town 3 hours away.
On the way there or back, stop off at an oceanside park (Lighthouse?) for a
great view of Howe sound. Also go hiking at Garibaldi park and Panorama ridge,
or Black Tusk (slightly harder). You can also get helicopter (or even heli-ski)
tours from Whistler or Vancouver.
2. take a ferry ride on a nice day to the Sunshine coast,
one of the Gulf Islands, or even Vancouver Island. You can also get a cruise
ship ferry from/to Seattle to/from the island, and this might be very scenic.
There are also boat cruises of varying lengths, including one to the Queen
Charlottes, another to Alaska, and many smaller ones. There is also a
combination train/boat tour up the coast on the Royal Hudson/Queen Victoria ---
you go by boat one way and train the other way. Call them at (604)688-7724 for
more info. This in itself is a one day trip where the cruise and the old steam
train ride takes you through the natural untouched beauty of British Columbia's
coastal regions. 3. Go to the Okanagan Valley, especially during the Penticton
Peach
festival or Kelowna regatta, and sample the local fruit and wine and the best
weather in Canada.
4. Drive to Harrison Hot Springs.
5. Drive to Manning park, especially during cross-country ski season. 6. Go to
Golden Ears Provincial Park.
7. visit Victoria and Vancouver Island, especially Long Beach
Go whale watching (this might take longer), near Tofino and Uluwet? There may
be excursions from Vancouver as well. This is seasonal. Hiking the West Coast
Trail is also recommended (I haven't done it). While in Victoria, have tea at
the Empress hotel, check out Harpo's for live music. The Royal Theatre is
supposed to be nice, too.
Here is more detail:
(a) museums: wax, provincial, Royal BC and heritage museums (b) amusement
parks: miniature world, heritage village, an
underwater park, a seaworld, a breakwater/scuba diving facility. There is a
tourist info centre in the inner harbour. (c) etc: horse carriages, tours of
the legislature, other touristy stuff (d) Butchart Gardens. Come before sunset
and stay after dark. They
are lit up at night, and there are fireworks in the summer. (e) go up north to
Nanaimo, check out the museums and displays there
and the parks and shorelines and boat tours along the way. (f) restaurants:
Pagliacci's (Italian) on Broad St. (downtown).
San Remo (Greco-Roman) near Quadra and Hillside. Rebecca's (seafood), Wharf St.
Camille's (romantic) in Bastion Square, downtown Chandler's (seafood).
Milestones, Wharf St., near info-centre.
(All of these were others' romantic picks, not mine.) (g) walks/hikes/drives
around Victoria:
- Drive to the top of Mt. Doug park and enjoy the 360 degree view. The top of
Mt. Tolmie also has a good view of the city. - The newly-opened Butterfly World
on W. Saanich Rd is beautiful, especially if you've got an hour or two to kill
on a rainy afternoon. You walk among the butterflies; they may even decide to
land on you. - The town of Chemainus has about 20 murals on the outside of
their buildings. It's about an hour's drive from Victoria. Lots of small shops.
Great for picture-taking. Enjoy the view from the Malahat on the drive up.
For casual walks around Victoria, you can do any of: - Beacon Hill Park
- walk from West Bay marina in Esquimalt all the way to downtown, stop at the
ice cream place on Government St, and walk back or continue on past the Inner
Harbour, Fisherman's Wharf, and all the way to Clover Point and back to
Esquimalt. If you do this whole walk, you'll be tired! Or, take a shorter
route: after Fisherman's Wharf head south to the breakwater, look at the
Olympic Mountains in Washington State, and return to Fisherman's Wharf, buy the
take-out fish&chips (YUM!), and take the tiny harbour ferry back to Esquimalt.
Avoid the neighbourhood pubs like Spinnaker's in Esquimalt; we locals don't
want outsiders to monopolize our favourite places.
(h) scenic driving routes from the ferry terminal to Victoria: i) Drive out the
Juan de Fuca coast past Sooke to Jordan River and beyond. The road ends at Port
Renfrew, where there's Botanical Beach provincial park. Takes about 2 hours to
get there from Victoria. Beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean. Some sweeping
clearcuts on the way, too. If you can find it, go down to Sombrio Beach, about
2/3 of the way to Port Renfrew. (No overnight camping at Botanical Beach.)
There's also Mt. Work Regional Park, on the Saanich Peninsula near Brentwood
Bay. Climb up the hill, or go down to McKenzie Byte on Saanich Inlet. Both
really nice hikes.
ii) Take a left off the Pat Bay Hwy. at the Petrocan just before Elk Lake, so
you go down through Cordova Bay and Mt. Douglas Park. This will get you onto
Shelbourne St.
iii) On the drive in from the ferry, you can detour to Island View beach. Hang
a left on Island View road. There's a traffic light at the intersection and
some kind of big red barn on your left. Also, just off the highway is
Beaver/Elk Lake. Stop for a picnic if it's a nice day. You can also walk
completely around the two lakes (they're joined so most people actually
consider it one lake). The walk is about 8km. iv) You can also turn right off
the Pat Bay Hwy. at McTavish and then left on East Sanich Rd. It isn't as fast
as it is along the Pat Bay, but it is much nicer. East Sanich Rd. will
eventually merge with the Pat Bay again before Sayward (the Petrocan mentioned
above) so you can follow that route as well. [all these responses are not mine]
NOW BACK TO VANCOUVER
Shorter trips and sights
-------------------------
1. Visit Stanley park, walk, jog or cycle (rentable) around the seawall,
and visit the Vancouver Aquarium and one of several fine restaurants in the
park. There is a petting zoo and artists have work on display, and do sketches
on demand.
2. Go to Grouse Mountain, hike up (difficult) or ride the Skyride
for a good view. On the way there or the way back stop at the Capilano
suspension bridge. Also, visit Cypress bowl. Lynn
Canyon also has a suspension bridge. The Capilano salmon hatchery is near the
Capilano suspension bridge and has tours.
If you want to turn this into a longer day trip, go north and visit the shores
of the Campbell river (good for fishing).
3. Visit the University of British Columbia:
a) walk some of the surrounding trails,
b) visit the main botanical gardens and nearby Asian garden.
(On the last day of classes, usually the first Friday in
April, there is a noon-8 benefit concert in the nearby football stadium with
some top-notch Canadian bands. The AMS BBQ, with good local bands, may also be
held in the stadium on the first Friday of classes in September.) c) see the
UBC art gallery in the basement of Main library,
and an occasional exhibit in the AMS art gallery on the main floor of the SUB
building (near bus loop) d) stop at the Nitobe Japanese garden for a moment of
contemplation. Also see the nearby Asian centre. [The gardens were just
renovated and re-opened Apr93] e) *definitely* visit the world class Museum of
Anthropology
and go behind it for the view.
f) drop into the grad centre for refreshments (and usually live
music Fridays around 8:00 p.m.). During the spring and summer, service is
Koerner's Pub/Patio, open M-F from noon to midnight. This is directly across
the road from the Museum of Anthropology, and can be accessed either by walking
through the trees or going around the building to the main entrance. During the
regular term there should be full service in Thea's. The view is nicer from
Thea's (2nd floor) or the Penthouse balcony
(third floor) but it gets too hot in the summer. No minors.
Near the grad centre, just past the Faculty Club, there is a nice view point,
and a beautiful Rose Garden. [However, this has just been uprooted to prepare
for installing an underground parking garage. The garden will then be replanted
on top.] g) on a nice summer day, go to the nearby clothing-optional Wreck
beach if you like. Casual environment, vendors selling food, drinks, t-shirts,
haircuts, massages, drugs, etc. All types.
There is a busy main area, but there are more secluded areas. [The old path
through the Place Vanier residences has been
blocked off by a fence, so people going to the beach from the bus loop will
have to take a more indirect route, to the left or right (near the grad centre)
of the residences.] h) Also check the Music building for occasional lunchtime
or evening
recitals, or the Freddy Wood theatre for occasional theatre runs. There are
also live rock bands outside SUB most good weather
lunchtimes, and live rock bands Thursday night in the Pit Pub. i) There are
free campus tours, starting in the Student Union
Building, during the summer, but they probably don't hit all the places I
mentioned.
4. Visit Queen Elizabeth park, Van Dusen Gardens and the Bloedel
conservatory. Minter Gardens and Fantasy Gardens may also be of interest to
some (these are out of town 27 acre BIG gardens). Queen's Park (Burnaby) is
also nice. Simon Fraser University (Burnaby mountain) has interesting
architecture.
5. Visit the main Vancouver Art Gallery, downtown, and a host of smaller
art galleries downtown, on Granville Island and South Granville. These are
listed in the final issue of the month of the Georgia Straight, since the first
Thursday of each month there is a showcase (but many of the shows continue for
a while). The other (weekly) Georgia Straight issues have a smaller listing.
There is also a new craft gallery attached to the Cathedral Place building,
downtown.
Canada Place and Pan Pacific hotel is also located in the downtown area. It
caters to the high class expensive crowds. In fact, Canada Place itself is a
port where cruise ships can dock right off the side of the hotel. Canada Place
also houses the CN IMAX theatre for 3D movie experience. This part of downtown
is also where other first class hotels. And only minutes away is the Harbour
Centre Tower. Ride the elevator to the rotating top for a good over view of
downtown Vancouver. The spiraling restaurant is also located at the top of the
tower so that as you eat your meal over the period of an hour or so, the
restaurant very slowly rotates all the way around for a full view of Vancouver
and the magestic mountains.
6 Visit Granville Island, sample food from the public market, check
the Arts Club Theatres and Waterfront theatre, numerous art galleries, and lots
of touristy shops and restaurants. Also tour the Granville Island brewery and
get some free samples. The Arts Club Backstage Lounge has a good beer
selection, food, and some really good bands on weekend nights, plus a patio for
the daytime.
7. Visit Gastown (near downtown) and check out many touristy shops,
several bars and restaurants, and several art galleries. Also, Harbour Centre
(nearby, at the SFU downtown campus) has a tower with an observation deck. See
the famous steam clock.
8. Visit the Vancouver Museum and Vancouver Maritime Museum and Heritage
Harbour, and the nearby Kits beach. For sunsets go to Sunset beach in English
bay (downtown) or Wreck beach (at UBC). Vanier Park (at the Museums) hosts
kite-flying festivals and a children's festival, and sometimes there is live
music there or at Jericho.
It is also a good vantage point to view the fireworks festival. The
planetarium, which has educational and laser rock shows, is
in the same building as the main museum.
10. Visit the second largest Chinatown in North America. It is close to
Gastown. Check out the restaurants, Chinese bakeries, exotic food stores, and
colourful streets. However, it is not far from a seedy area (along Hastings,
near and east of Main) that should probably be avoided after dark. The On-On
Tea Garden is very good, fast, and reasonably priced. For very good fish and
chips, go to the Only, nearby on Hastings, west of Main (closes at 7 p.m.). It
also has lots of more expensive seafood, including good oysters.
Chinatown has a huge selection of chinese goods, and feels like a small piece
of Hong Hong. There are also smaller chinese
malls in the suburbs, including the Aberdeen mall, Parker Place Yoahan in
Richmond. Like a small Hong Kong in North America since it caters to the
authentic Hong Kong style as opposed to the westernized style of other chinese
malls around town. There are many chinese movie theatres, herbal shops, and
traditional medicine practitioners.
Don't forget the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Tours, tea and gift
shop available. Authentic garden architects were sent from China in building
this garden. Located in Vancouver's chinatown.
11. Go to Richmond (near the airport) and visit Steveston, eat fish and
chips, and walk or cycle along the Richmond dike (I haven't done this). Also do
some beachcombing along the White Rock beach.
12. Visit Science World in the geodesic dome near downtown. It has the
Omnimax theatre. i.e. a the screen is spherical and surrounds the audience for
a real feeling of being in the middle of the action.
13. For architecture (Vancouver doesn't have much since it is new), see
Hotel Vancouver, Cathedral Place, Science World, SFU campus, the Museum of
Anthropology at UBC, the Vancouver Planetarium, the Expo site re-development,
the UBC Asian centre, the Hong Kong bank building lobby, Chinatown, the Chinese
Cultural centre, the world's narrowest office building, an earthquake resistant
building on a pedestal, another suspended from a cable. The Vancouver
courthouse/art gallery (downtown, near Robson Square) may also be of interest.
14. Other nature stuff: hiking (there is a book called `101 hikes in the
Lower Mainland'), diving, windsurfing, ocean kayaking, whale watching, rock
climbing, cycling, kite flying in Vanier Park, downhill skiing
at Whistler, Blackcomb, Grouse, Seymour, cross-country skiing at Cypress bowl
or Manning Park, telemark skiing on backcountry trails,... In fact, Whistler
and Blackcomb has now become worldrenowned for skiing (world class races held
there now) and also summer activities as well. A resort "get away" town which
can sometimes get expensive. And not to be missed, the Hell's Gate Airtram at
the Fraser Canyon. And year round moutain top adventiure on Grouse Mountain.
15. Kid's parks, etc: Playland has rides, near the PNE, for much
of the summer. There is a Flintstone Bedrock City, a Game Farm, lots of
waterslides, and plenty of children's attractions at some of the
above-mentioned parks (Stanley, Queen's, Fantasy, etc.).
16. Young and old may also enjoy a visit to the Burnaby Village Museum.
A recreation of the early days of Burnaby when it was just starting out as a
small little town. It's quit big and may take awhile to walk through through
the whole town while looking at all the misc buildings back in the old'n'days
and how people used to live.
Entertainment and food:
-----------------------
1. Dance, theatre, movies etc.: check up-to-date listings in the Georgia
Straight, which comes out every Thursday, is free, and can be found at many
bars, record stores, 7-Elevens and Macs (24-hour food stores), drugstores, etc;
or check the Thursday Vancouver Sun (Friday for movie reviews). The Sun has
movie listings daily. The Hollywood, Starlight, Park, Paradise, Pacific
Cinematheque, Varsity, UBC SUB films have the cheapest and/or best fare.
Tickets for most major events can be charged by phone at (604) 280-4444. The
film festival is in the early Fall at many of the above venues. Also see my
festival list below. There are Omnimax theatres at Canada Place and at Science
World.
2. Music: again, check the Georgia Straight, which is by far the best
entertainment guide, for up-to-date listings, but here are some venues. Again,
major concerts can be charged by phone at (604) 280-4444, but this will cost
you a service charge, so it is often cheaper to get tickets at local record
stores or at the door. [The Discorder monthly has more alternative band info.
Terminal City, bi-weekly, is intermediate in tone, has more on the local and
Washington state scene than the Straight, but is relatively new. The Thursday
Vanouver Sun also has some space-limited info.]
(a) classical and opera --- see what's on at the Orpheum, Queen
Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver East Cultural Centre, or UBC
Music Department recital hall.
(b) folk music --- the Vancouver Folk Festival is in late July.
In the meantime, see what's playing at the W.I.S.E. Hall, 1882 Adanac, which
puts on Rogue Folk Club events, plus Acoustic Connection events and monthly
country dances and Irish ceilis. Call 736-3022 or 254-5858 for listings. Also,
the Railway, ANZA club, Vancouver East Cultural centre and UBC grad centre
often have concerts. For Irish music, go to the Blarneystone, the Unicorn, or
the W.I.S.E. (Also, Luka Bloom plays the Commodore on Apr. 1.) [The Carribean
Cafe in New Westminster has some Newfoundland Nights]
(c) jazz --- the jazz festival is in mid-July. The best venues
in the meantime are the Glass Slipper, Cafe Django, Alma Street Cafe, Cafe
Bergman, Carnegie's, and sometimes the Commodore.
[Also, the Hot Jazz Club?, may be members only.] The best part of the jazz
festival is the free outdoor concerts in the Plaza of Nations, in Gastown, and
on Granville Island. [New: Glass Slipper is moved to a former church with great
acoustics, call for the new address (not in 1992 phone book). Hollywood North
has some jazz.]
(d) blues --- check out the Yale, especially the Sat. afternoon
and Sunday night jams. However, this, and the Hotel California, are in a seedy
area of town, at least after dark. Other blues bars include: Maximum Blues Pub,
Hogan's Alley, Jake O'Grady's, the Fairview, Holywood North, the Lamplighter
and sometimes the Arts Club Backstage lounge or the Commodore. Also the
Rattlesnake Grill for acoustic dinner blues and the W.I.S.E. lounge, 1882
Adanac, west entrance, Sunday jam 4--8 for acoustic.
(e) rock --- local and touring acts: Railway Club (intimate),
Commodore (biggest in town, best dance floor), Town Pump, 86 Street. With the
right band, the Commodore is my favourite, else the Railway Club is the best
place, except it sometimes gets too smokey. To get into the Railway Club, just
say you are a guest, meeting a member, and give my name if necessary. Else,
just say you are a tourist in town for a few days, or tip, and they should let
you in. Major touring acts play the PNE Coliseum, BC Place Stadium, or the
Orpheum. [Update: 86 Street is now (Mar93) at least temporarily
an all-ages gig. Other new clubs include the Hungry Eye, Cruel Elephant,
Lunatic Fringe, Vogue, etc.]
(f) Latin American --- check out La Quena, and the Latin Connection,
and other places on Commercial Street, which also has lots of very good Italian
restaurants and coffee bars and Latin American restaurants.
(g) reggae --- Wed. nights at Graceland
(h) metal --- Rock Cellar,...
(i) Alternative, punk, house, hiphop, rave --- Cruel Elephant (live bands,
some normal), Luv-a-Fair, Warehouse, Graceland, Twilight Zone. (j) Dance bars
frequented by young UBC students --- UBC Pit pub,
the Roxy, Notorious, Kits Pub, the Side Door... [Update: Pit
has live music Thursday nights]
(k) Upscale dress code dance bars --- Richards on Richards, the
Big Bam Boo, the Big Easy, Soft Rock Cafe, Shenanigans, Pelican Bay... (l) Pubs
with good beer --- Culpepper's, Cheshire Cheese, UBC Grad Centre (has patio, in
summer open M--F 1 p.m.--12, possibly more, phone 822-8954),
Railway Club (more in rear bar), W.I.S.E. club, the King's Head, Blarneystone,
the Jolly Taxpayer, Unicorn, Fringe, Fog and Suds (trendy), Jeremiah's, Jolly
Taxpayer. (m) Pubs with good view: I think on top of the Pan Pacific there is
a good one, and also in another hotel, on Denman. comedy clubs --- Yuk Yuk's
(o) piano bars --- O'Ryan's (Gastown), O'Doul's, others in hotels. (p) My
favourites --- Railway, W.I.S.E., Yale, Commodore, UBC grad
centre, Town Pump, Blarneystone, Jolly Taxpayer.
The UBC grad centre pub has a nice patio and
is near the Museum of Anthropology and Wreck Beach.
(q) after hours --- The World. cab should know. near Seymour and
Pacific. All-ages. Railway Club doorman or cabs may know other places or raves.
[Also new place: 303 W. Hastings.] For regular bars, the W.I.S.E. members
lounge, Railway and Fairview will serve you right up until 2 and don't
kick you out until around 2:30.
(r) cafe/bar/gaming places. The Soho Cafe and Automotive are
new upscale pool halls, one with good coffees, the other
with a license and occasional live bands. Bar None is a extremely popular new
game bar, with a few pool tables, different game boards and tables, etc.
(I did get carried away with the pub listings, but that's because I appreciate
live music and good beer, when I'm away from the office. I haven't been to any
of the many strip clubs, gay bars and tough joints, so I won't recommend any
--- although I hear that the Balmoral is the toughest place in town, if you
want to get some souvenir scars. But I hear it has good darts.)
Neighbourhood pubs are open until midnight weeknights and Sunday, 1 a.m. Friday
and Saturday. Many nightclubs close 1 a.m. weeknights and 2 a.m. (1:30 for the
Yale) on weekends, midnight on Sundays. The Railway is open until 2 a.m.
Mon.--Sat. There are probably some (often illegal) after hours clubs (these
change all the time), cab drivers or fellow nightclubbers would probably know
of some.
You can purchase alcohol only at BC Liquor stores, wine stores beer and wine
stores attached to pubs and through off-sales from a bar. All sales must be
completed by 11 p.m. The liquor stores are closed on Sundays, the others are
usually open. Cab drivers might know of bootleggers.
3. restaurants:
a) Chinese --- go to Chinatown, the On On, New Diamond, Pink Pearl,
Won Ton House, Uncle Willy's, the Dynasty... A lot of the bigger places have
dim sum on Sundays. Also, just walk through Chinatown and sample the wares,
especially at the bakeries (Chinese filled buns) and the Won Ton House
(pan-fried Chinese dumplings). There are also three Chinese restaurants at the
Village near UBC. Lots of really good Hong Kong chefs around town.
Update: chinatown no longer has the best food in town. For a moderately price
yet authentic Hong Kong style chinese meal, I'd suggest Red Flamingo on Fraser
St. or Top Gun in Richmond. For the high class expensive places, there are
plenty around town depending on what type of specialty food you like. For the
economy minded meals, we have so many chinese restaurant around Vancouver now
it's almost impossible to not bump into one every few blocks.
b) Mexican --- Topanga, on 4th, or a place on Commercial (Mayan), or
Pepita's downtown or Las Margaritas or Primo's on 12th, [**or the Mayan
(Yucatan) Tito Pepe's on Commercial, near WISE.**] c) Thai --- Thai House
downtown, Montri's, Salathai on Cambie?, Malinee
Try the Pnomh Penh for Cambodian.
d) Vietnamese --- Saigon on Broadway (best) or 4th, Green Valley? e) Greek:
Sympatico, Vassili's, Maria's, Romeo's, Alexi's, Orestes,
Athenes, Xen's..., all in the Kitsilano area. Candia near UBC. Estia, near
Granville Island, has a buffet. f) Italian --- Villa Lupo?, Il Giardino,
Zeppo's, Umberto's (several),
Settebello (good pizza), some cheaper places along Commercial, Piccolo Mondo on
Burrard.
g) vegetarian --- La Quena, Circling Dawn, Sweet Cherubim, Vegetarian
Buddhist restaurant, the Naam (24 hour), Woodlands (buffet) h) seafood --- the
Only (downscale), the Cannery, Joe Fortes,
Salmon House on the Hill, Kettle of Fish, Bud's Halibut and Chips, places in
Stanley Park. i) pizza --- some very good pizza by the slice places along
Robson, Davie.
Sympatico also makes good pizza. So does Settebello. Alexi's makes good deep
dish pizza. Also Flying Wedge, Candia, Golden Boy's, UBC Pizza, Sasamat. j) 24
hour --- the Naam (veg), Benny's Bagels, the Bread Garden, the
Vineyard (Greek), probably some Bino's and some downtown places too. k) Indian
--- there's a good place next to the XXX-theatre at Main and 7th
Also a place (Natraj?) near 41st and Main (or Cambie?) has a good buffet. Also
Heaven on Earth on 4th. l) Japanese --- Tojo's is supposed to be the best, but
is expensive. Raku,
near UBC, is a very good new Japanese/Canadian cross. m) Lebanese --- one of
the Little Dar Lebanons, Elissar, or Cafe Beirut? n) African --- there is a
great Ethiopian place, Nyala, next to Black Swan
Records and near Topanga. Also Kilimanjaro in Gastown. o) Swiss ---the William
Tell and the Cafe Grunhaus (both expensive)
Also the Frog and Peach, near UBC (fairly expensive) p) French --- Le
Crocodile, Le Gavroche, Cote D'azur, Le Railcar (expensive),
Chez Thierry, Bishop's, etc. [Bishop's has the rep] q) British --- Culpepper's,
King's Head, The Diner, Cheshire Cheese... r) Latin American --- La Quena,
Latin Quarter,
and Brazilian and Mayan restaurants may be found on Commercial Drive between
Broadway and Adanac. There is a great little Mexican chicken place, but it
closes early. s) Portuguese --- Chamine on Commercial, Fado on Broadway t)
Spanish --- La Bodega, other tapas places. u) breakfast --- Sophie's Cosmic
Cafe, Thorntree Cafe, Red Pepper, the Naam. v) local favourites --- the
Raintree (westcoast), Raku (Japanese/American). w) view restaurants --- English
Bay Cafe, Raintree, Seasons in the Park,
Salmon House on the Hill, Grouse Mountain Grouse Nest?, Harbour Centre, many
hotels (one on Denman, also Pan Pacific), etc. .
.
Sports venues
--------------
BC place --- football, in season (fall)
PNE Coliseum --- NHL hockey, playoffs starting soon (May) Nat Bailey Stadium
--- professional baseball (AAA), not major league, outdoors. Softball City,
Surrey --- local softball leagues Swanguard Stadium ---- professional soccer
rugby is often played on the UBC fields.
Tickets for most major entertainment and sporting events can be obtained by
phoning (604) 280-4444.
Bookstores
----------
UBC Bookstore --- biggest but much of this is textbooks Duthie's books downtown
and on 10th
Duthie's professional bookstore (on 7th?) White Dwarf (science fiction)
Michael Thompson (good for out of print) Banyen Books (new age)
Book Warehouse (discount) on Broadway, Fourth, and Robson. Pink Peppercorn
(cookbooks only)
Travel Bug (travel books)
------ cut here -----------------------------------------
Div. of Medical Informatics
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
e-mail: caal@bphvax.biophysics.rochester.edu
Vancouver, UBC, Victoria ----------------------------------------------------
Long day or weekend trips
--------------------------
1. go to Whistler, a local ski resort town 3 hours away.
On the way there or back, stop off at an oceanside park (Lighthouse?) for a
great view of Howe sound. Also go hiking at Garibaldi park and Panorama ridge,
or Black Tusk (slightly harder). You can also get helicopter (or even heli-ski)
tours from Whistler or Vancouver.
2. take a ferry ride on a nice day to the Sunshine coast,
one of the Gulf Islands, or even Vancouver Island. You can also get a cruise
ship ferry from/to Seattle to/from the island, and this might be very scenic.
There are also boat cruises of varying lengths, including one to the Queen
Charlottes, another to Alaska, and many smaller ones. There is also a
combination train/boat tour up the coast on the Royal Hudson/Queen Victoria ---
you go by boat one way and train the other way. Call them at (604)688-7724 for
more info. This in itself is a one day trip where the cruise and the old steam
train ride takes you through the natural untouched beauty of British Columbia's
coastal regions. 3. Go to the Okanagan Valley, especially during the Penticton
Peach
festival or Kelowna regatta, and sample the local fruit and wine and the best
weather in Canada.
4. Drive to Harrison Hot Springs.
5. Drive to Manning park, especially during cross-country ski season. 6. Go to
Golden Ears Provincial Park.
7. visit Victoria and Vancouver Island, especially Long Beach
Go whale watching (this might take longer), near Tofino and Uluwet? There may
be excursions from Vancouver as well. This is seasonal. Hiking the West Coast
Trail is also recommended (I haven't done it). While in Victoria, have tea at
the Empress hotel, check out Harpo's for live music. The Royal Theatre is
supposed to be nice, too.
Here is more detail:
(a) museums: wax, provincial, Royal BC and heritage museums (b) amusement
parks: miniature world, heritage village, an
underwater park, a seaworld, a breakwater/scuba diving facility. There is a
tourist info centre in the inner harbour. (c) etc: horse carriages, tours of
the legislature, other touristy stuff (d) Butchart Gardens. Come before sunset
and stay after dark. They
are lit up at night, and there are fireworks in the summer. (e) go up north to
Nanaimo, check out the museums and displays there
and the parks and shorelines and boat tours along the way. (f) restaurants:
Pagliacci's (Italian) on Broad St. (downtown).
San Remo (Greco-Roman) near Quadra and Hillside. Rebecca's (seafood), Wharf St.
Camille's (romantic) in Bastion Square, downtown Chandler's (seafood).
Milestones, Wharf St., near info-centre.
(All of these were others' romantic picks, not mine.) (g) walks/hikes/drives
around Victoria:
- Drive to the top of Mt. Doug park and enjoy the 360 degree view. The top of
Mt. Tolmie also has a good view of the city. - The newly-opened Butterfly World
on W. Saanich Rd is beautiful, especially if you've got an hour or two to kill
on a rainy afternoon. You walk among the butterflies; they may even decide to
land on you. - The town of Chemainus has about 20 murals on the outside of
their buildings. It's about an hour's drive from Victoria. Lots of small shops.
Great for picture-taking. Enjoy the view from the Malahat on the drive up.
For casual walks around Victoria, you can do any of: - Beacon Hill Park
- walk from West Bay marina in Esquimalt all the way to downtown, stop at the
ice cream place on Government St, and walk back or continue on past the Inner
Harbour, Fisherman's Wharf, and all the way to Clover Point and back to
Esquimalt. If you do this whole walk, you'll be tired! Or, take a shorter
route: after Fisherman's Wharf head south to the breakwater, look at the
Olympic Mountains in Washington State, and return to Fisherman's Wharf, buy the
take-out fish&chips (YUM!), and take the tiny harbour ferry back to Esquimalt.
Avoid the neighbourhood pubs like Spinnaker's in Esquimalt; we locals don't
want outsiders to monopolize our favourite places.
(h) scenic driving routes from the ferry terminal to Victoria: i) Drive out the
Juan de Fuca coast past Sooke to Jordan River and beyond. The road ends at Port
Renfrew, where there's Botanical Beach provincial park. Takes about 2 hours to
get there from Victoria. Beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean. Some sweeping
clearcuts on the way, too. If you can find it, go down to Sombrio Beach, about
2/3 of the way to Port Renfrew. (No overnight camping at Botanical Beach.)
There's also Mt. Work Regional Park, on the Saanich Peninsula near Brentwood
Bay. Climb up the hill, or go down to McKenzie Byte on Saanich Inlet. Both
really nice hikes.
ii) Take a left off the Pat Bay Hwy. at the Petrocan just before Elk Lake, so
you go down through Cordova Bay and Mt. Douglas Park. This will get you onto
Shelbourne St.
iii) On the drive in from the ferry, you can detour to Island View beach. Hang
a left on Island View road. There's a traffic light at the intersection and
some kind of big red barn on your left. Also, just off the highway is
Beaver/Elk Lake. Stop for a picnic if it's a nice day. You can also walk
completely around the two lakes (they're joined so most people actually
consider it one lake). The walk is about 8km. iv) You can also turn right off
the Pat Bay Hwy. at McTavish and then left on East Sanich Rd. It isn't as fast
as it is along the Pat Bay, but it is much nicer. East Sanich Rd. will
eventually merge with the Pat Bay again before Sayward (the Petrocan mentioned
above) so you can follow that route as well. [all these responses are not mine]
NOW BACK TO VANCOUVER
Shorter trips and sights
-------------------------
1. Visit Stanley park, walk, jog or cycle (rentable) around the seawall,
and visit the Vancouver Aquarium and one of several fine restaurants in the
park. There is a petting zoo and artists have work on display, and do sketches
on demand.
2. Go to Grouse Mountain, hike up (difficult) or ride the Skyride
for a good view. On the way there or the way back stop at the Capilano
suspension bridge. Also, visit Cypress bowl. Lynn
Canyon also has a suspension bridge. The Capilano salmon hatchery is near the
Capilano suspension bridge and has tours.
If you want to turn this into a longer day trip, go north and visit the shores
of the Campbell river (good for fishing).
3. Visit the University of British Columbia:
a) walk some of the surrounding trails,
b) visit the main botanical gardens and nearby Asian garden.
(On the last day of classes, usually the first Friday in
April, there is a noon-8 benefit concert in the nearby football stadium with
some top-notch Canadian bands. The AMS BBQ, with good local bands, may also be
held in the stadium on the first Friday of classes in September.) c) see the
UBC art gallery in the basement of Main library,
and an occasional exhibit in the AMS art gallery on the main floor of the SUB
building (near bus loop) d) stop at the Nitobe Japanese garden for a moment of
contemplation. Also see the nearby Asian centre. [The gardens were just
renovated and re-opened Apr93] e) *definitely* visit the world class Museum of
Anthropology
and go behind it for the view.
f) drop into the grad centre for refreshments (and usually live
music Fridays around 8:00 p.m.). During the spring and summer, service is
Koerner's Pub/Patio, open M-F from noon to midnight. This is directly across
the road from the Museum of Anthropology, and can be accessed either by walking
through the trees or going around the building to the main entrance. During the
regular term there should be full service in Thea's. The view is nicer from
Thea's (2nd floor) or the Penthouse balcony
(third floor) but it gets too hot in the summer. No minors.
Near the grad centre, just past the Faculty Club, there is a nice view point,
and a beautiful Rose Garden. [However, this has just been uprooted to prepare
for installing an underground parking garage. The garden will then be replanted
on top.] g) on a nice summer day, go to the nearby clothing-optional Wreck
beach if you like. Casual environment, vendors selling food, drinks, t-shirts,
haircuts, massages, drugs, etc. All types.
There is a busy main area, but there are more secluded areas. [The old path
through the Place Vanier residences has been
blocked off by a fence, so people going to the beach from the bus loop will
have to take a more indirect route, to the left or right (near the grad centre)
of the residences.] h) Also check the Music building for occasional lunchtime
or evening
recitals, or the Freddy Wood theatre for occasional theatre runs. There are
also live rock bands outside SUB most good weather
lunchtimes, and live rock bands Thursday night in the Pit Pub. i) There are
free campus tours, starting in the Student Union
Building, during the summer, but they probably don't hit all the places I
mentioned.
4. Visit Queen Elizabeth park, Van Dusen Gardens and the Bloedel
conservatory. Minter Gardens and Fantasy Gardens may also be of interest to
some (these are out of town 27 acre BIG gardens). Queen's Park (Burnaby) is
also nice. Simon Fraser University (Burnaby mountain) has interesting
architecture.
5. Visit the main Vancouver Art Gallery, downtown, and a host of smaller
art galleries downtown, on Granville Island and South Granville. These are
listed in the final issue of the month of the Georgia Straight, since the first
Thursday of each month there is a showcase (but many of the shows continue for
a while). The other (weekly) Georgia Straight issues have a smaller listing.
There is also a new craft gallery attached to the Cathedral Place building,
downtown.
Canada Place and Pan Pacific hotel is also located in the downtown area. It
caters to the high class expensive crowds. In fact, Canada Place itself is a
port where cruise ships can dock right off the side of the hotel. Canada Place
also houses the CN IMAX theatre for 3D movie experience. This part of downtown
is also where other first class hotels. And only minutes away is the Harbour
Centre Tower. Ride the elevator to the rotating top for a good over view of
downtown Vancouver. The spiraling restaurant is also located at the top of the
tower so that as you eat your meal over the period of an hour or so, the
restaurant very slowly rotates all the way around for a full view of Vancouver
and the magestic mountains.
6 Visit Granville Island, sample food from the public market, check
the Arts Club Theatres and Waterfront theatre, numerous art galleries, and lots
of touristy shops and restaurants. Also tour the Granville Island brewery and
get some free samples. The Arts Club Backstage Lounge has a good beer
selection, food, and some really good bands on weekend nights, plus a patio for
the daytime.
7. Visit Gastown (near downtown) and check out many touristy shops,
several bars and restaurants, and several art galleries. Also, Harbour Centre
(nearby, at the SFU downtown campus) has a tower with an observation deck. See
the famous steam clock.
8. Visit the Vancouver Museum and Vancouver Maritime Museum and Heritage
Harbour, and the nearby Kits beach. For sunsets go to Sunset beach in English
bay (downtown) or Wreck beach (at UBC). Vanier Park (at the Museums) hosts
kite-flying festivals and a children's festival, and sometimes there is live
music there or at Jericho.
It is also a good vantage point to view the fireworks festival. The
planetarium, which has educational and laser rock shows, is
in the same building as the main museum.
10. Visit the second largest Chinatown in North America. It is close to
Gastown. Check out the restaurants, Chinese bakeries, exotic food stores, and
colourful streets. However, it is not far from a seedy area (along Hastings,
near and east of Main) that should probably be avoided after dark. The On-On
Tea Garden is very good, fast, and reasonably priced. For very good fish and
chips, go to the Only, nearby on Hastings, west of Main (closes at 7 p.m.). It
also has lots of more expensive seafood, including good oysters.
Chinatown has a huge selection of chinese goods, and feels like a small piece
of Hong Hong. There are also smaller chinese
malls in the suburbs, including the Aberdeen mall, Parker Place Yoahan in
Richmond. Like a small Hong Kong in North America since it caters to the
authentic Hong Kong style as opposed to the westernized style of other chinese
malls around town. There are many chinese movie theatres, herbal shops, and
traditional medicine practitioners.
Don't forget the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Tours, tea and gift
shop available. Authentic garden architects were sent from China in building
this garden. Located in Vancouver's chinatown.
11. Go to Richmond (near the airport) and visit Steveston, eat fish and
chips, and walk or cycle along the Richmond dike (I haven't done this). Also do
some beachcombing along the White Rock beach.
12. Visit Science World in the geodesic dome near downtown. It has the
Omnimax theatre. i.e. a the screen is spherical and surrounds the audience for
a real feeling of being in the middle of the action.
13. For architecture (Vancouver doesn't have much since it is new), see
Hotel Vancouver, Cathedral Place, Science World, SFU campus, the Museum of
Anthropology at UBC, the Vancouver Planetarium, the Expo site re-development,
the UBC Asian centre, the Hong Kong bank building lobby, Chinatown, the Chinese
Cultural centre, the world's narrowest office building, an earthquake resistant
building on a pedestal, another suspended from a cable. The Vancouver
courthouse/art gallery (downtown, near Robson Square) may also be of interest.
14. Other nature stuff: hiking (there is a book called `101 hikes in the
Lower Mainland'), diving, windsurfing, ocean kayaking, whale watching, rock
climbing, cycling, kite flying in Vanier Park, downhill skiing
at Whistler, Blackcomb, Grouse, Seymour, cross-country skiing at Cypress bowl
or Manning Park, telemark skiing on backcountry trails,... In fact, Whistler
and Blackcomb has now become worldrenowned for skiing (world class races held
there now) and also summer activities as well. A resort "get away" town which
can sometimes get expensive. And not to be missed, the Hell's Gate Airtram at
the Fraser Canyon. And year round moutain top adventiure on Grouse Mountain.
15. Kid's parks, etc: Playland has rides, near the PNE, for much
of the summer. There is a Flintstone Bedrock City, a Game Farm, lots of
waterslides, and plenty of children's attractions at some of the
above-mentioned parks (Stanley, Queen's, Fantasy, etc.).
16. Young and old may also enjoy a visit to the Burnaby Village Museum.
A recreation of the early days of Burnaby when it was just starting out as a
small little town. It's quit big and may take awhile to walk through through
the whole town while looking at all the misc buildings back in the old'n'days
and how people used to live.
Entertainment and food:
-----------------------
1. Dance, theatre, movies etc.: check up-to-date listings in the Georgia
Straight, which comes out every Thursday, is free, and can be found at many
bars, record stores, 7-Elevens and Macs (24-hour food stores), drugstores, etc;
or check the Thursday Vancouver Sun (Friday for movie reviews). The Sun has
movie listings daily. The Hollywood, Starlight, Park, Paradise, Pacific
Cinematheque, Varsity, UBC SUB films have the cheapest and/or best fare.
Tickets for most major events can be charged by phone at (604) 280-4444. The
film festival is in the early Fall at many of the above venues. Also see my
festival list below. There are Omnimax theatres at Canada Place and at Science
World.
2. Music: again, check the Georgia Straight, which is by far the best
entertainment guide, for up-to-date listings, but here are some venues. Again,
major concerts can be charged by phone at (604) 280-4444, but this will cost
you a service charge, so it is often cheaper to get tickets at local record
stores or at the door. [The Discorder monthly has more alternative band info.
Terminal City, bi-weekly, is intermediate in tone, has more on the local and
Washington state scene than the Straight, but is relatively new. The Thursday
Vanouver Sun also has some space-limited info.]
(a) classical and opera --- see what's on at the Orpheum, Queen
Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver East Cultural Centre, or UBC
Music Department recital hall.
(b) folk music --- the Vancouver Folk Festival is in late July.
In the meantime, see what's playing at the W.I.S.E. Hall, 1882 Adanac, which
puts on Rogue Folk Club events, plus Acoustic Connection events and monthly
country dances and Irish ceilis. Call 736-3022 or 254-5858 for listings. Also,
the Railway, ANZA club, Vancouver East Cultural centre and UBC grad centre
often have concerts. For Irish music, go to the Blarneystone, the Unicorn, or
the W.I.S.E. (Also, Luka Bloom plays the Commodore on Apr. 1.) [The Carribean
Cafe in New Westminster has some Newfoundland Nights]
(c) jazz --- the jazz festival is in mid-July. The best venues
in the meantime are the Glass Slipper, Cafe Django, Alma Street Cafe, Cafe
Bergman, Carnegie's, and sometimes the Commodore.
[Also, the Hot Jazz Club?, may be members only.] The best part of the jazz
festival is the free outdoor concerts in the Plaza of Nations, in Gastown, and
on Granville Island. [New: Glass Slipper is moved to a former church with great
acoustics, call for the new address (not in 1992 phone book). Hollywood North
has some jazz.]
(d) blues --- check out the Yale, especially the Sat. afternoon
and Sunday night jams. However, this, and the Hotel California, are in a seedy
area of town, at least after dark. Other blues bars include: Maximum Blues Pub,
Hogan's Alley, Jake O'Grady's, the Fairview, Holywood North, the Lamplighter
and sometimes the Arts Club Backstage lounge or the Commodore. Also the
Rattlesnake Grill for acoustic dinner blues and the W.I.S.E. lounge, 1882
Adanac, west entrance, Sunday jam 4--8 for acoustic.
(e) rock --- local and touring acts: Railway Club (intimate),
Commodore (biggest in town, best dance floor), Town Pump, 86 Street. With the
right band, the Commodore is my favourite, else the Railway Club is the best
place, except it sometimes gets too smokey. To get into the Railway Club, just
say you are a guest, meeting a member, and give my name if necessary. Else,
just say you are a tourist in town for a few days, or tip, and they should let
you in. Major touring acts play the PNE Coliseum, BC Place Stadium, or the
Orpheum. [Update: 86 Street is now (Mar93) at least temporarily
an all-ages gig. Other new clubs include the Hungry Eye, Cruel Elephant,
Lunatic Fringe, Vogue, etc.]
(f) Latin American --- check out La Quena, and the Latin Connection,
and other places on Commercial Street, which also has lots of very good Italian
restaurants and coffee bars and Latin American restaurants.
(g) reggae --- Wed. nights at Graceland
(h) metal --- Rock Cellar,...
(i) Alternative, punk, house, hiphop, rave --- Cruel Elephant (live bands,
some normal), Luv-a-Fair, Warehouse, Graceland, Twilight Zone. (j) Dance bars
frequented by young UBC students --- UBC Pit pub,
the Roxy, Notorious, Kits Pub, the Side Door... [Update: Pit
has live music Thursday nights]
(k) Upscale dress code dance bars --- Richards on Richards, the
Big Bam Boo, the Big Easy, Soft Rock Cafe, Shenanigans, Pelican Bay... (l) Pubs
with good beer --- Culpepper's, Cheshire Cheese, UBC Grad Centre (has patio, in
summer open M--F 1 p.m.--12, possibly more, phone 822-8954),
Railway Club (more in rear bar), W.I.S.E. club, the King's Head, Blarneystone,
the Jolly Taxpayer, Unicorn, Fringe, Fog and Suds (trendy), Jeremiah's, Jolly
Taxpayer. (m) Pubs with good view: I think on top of the Pan Pacific there is
a good one, and also in another hotel, on Denman.
comedy clubs --- Yuk Yuk's(o) piano bars --- O'Ryan's (Gastown), O'Doul's, others in hotels. (p) My
favourites --- Railway, W.I.S.E., Yale, Commodore, UBC grad
centre, Town Pump, Blarneystone, Jolly Taxpayer.
The UBC grad centre pub has a nice patio and
is near the Museum of Anthropology and Wreck Beach.
(q) after hours --- The World. cab should know. near Seymour and
Pacific. All-ages. Railway Club doorman or cabs may know other places or raves.
[Also new place: 303 W. Hastings.] For regular bars, the W.I.S.E. members
lounge, Railway and Fairview will serve you right up until 2 and don't
kick you out until around 2:30.
(r) cafe/bar/gaming places. The Soho Cafe and Automotive are
new upscale pool halls, one with good coffees, the other
with a license and occasional live bands. Bar None is a extremely popular new
game bar, with a few pool tables, different game boards and tables, etc.
(I did get carried away with the pub listings, but that's because I appreciate
live music and good beer, when I'm away from the office. I haven't been to any
of the many strip clubs, gay bars and tough joints, so I won't recommend any
--- although I hear that the Balmoral is the toughest place in town, if you
want to get some souvenir scars.
But I hear it has good darts.)Neighbourhood pubs are open until midnight weeknights and Sunday, 1 a.m. Friday
and Saturday. Many nightclubs close 1 a.m. weeknights and 2 a.m. (1:30 for the
Yale) on weekends, midnight on Sundays. The Railway is open until 2 a.m.
Mon.--Sat. There are probably some (often illegal) after hours clubs (these
change all the time), cab drivers or fellow nightclubbers would probably know
of some.
You can purchase alcohol only at BC Liquor stores, wine stores beer and wine
stores attached to pubs and through off-sales from a bar. All sales must be
completed by 11 p.m. The liquor stores are closed on Sundays, the others are
usually open. Cab drivers might know of bootleggers.
3. restaurants:
a) Chinese --- go to Chinatown, the On On, New Diamond, Pink Pearl,
Won Ton House, Uncle Willy's, the Dynasty... A lot of the bigger places have
dim sum on Sundays. Also, just walk through Chinatown and sample the wares,
especially at the bakeries (Chinese filled buns) and the Won Ton House
(pan-fried Chinese dumplings). There are also three Chinese restaurants at the
Village near UBC. Lots of really good Hong Kong chefs around town.
Update: chinatown no longer has the best food in town. For a moderately price
yet authentic Hong Kong style chinese meal, I'd suggest Red Flamingo on Fraser
St. or Top Gun in Richmond. For the high class expensive places, there are
plenty around town depending on what type of specialty food you like. For the
economy minded meals, we have so many chinese restaurant around Vancouver now
it's almost impossible to not bump into one every few blocks.
b) Mexican --- Topanga, on 4th, or a place on Commercial (Mayan), or
Pepita's downtown or Las Margaritas or Primo's on 12th, [**or the Mayan
(Yucatan) Tito Pepe's on Commercial, near WISE.**] c) Thai --- Thai House
downtown, Montri's, Salathai on Cambie?, Malinee
Try the Pnomh Penh for Cambodian.
d) Vietnamese --- Saigon on Broadway (best) or 4th, Green Valley? e) Greek:
Sympatico, Vassili's, Maria's, Romeo's, Alexi's, Orestes,
Athenes, Xen's..., all in the Kitsilano area. Candia near UBC. Estia, near
Granville Island, has a buffet. f) Italian --- Villa Lupo?, Il Giardino,
Zeppo's, Umberto's (several),
Settebello (good pizza), some cheaper places along Commercial, Piccolo Mondo on
Burrard.
g) vegetarian --- La Quena, Circling Dawn, Sweet Cherubim, Vegetarian
Buddhist restaurant, the Naam (24 hour), Woodlands (buffet) h) seafood --- the
Only (downscale), the Cannery, Joe Fortes,
Salmon House on the Hill, Kettle of Fish, Bud's Halibut and Chips, places in
Stanley Park. i) pizza --- some very good pizza by the slice places along
Robson, Davie.
Sympatico also makes good pizza. So does Settebello. Alexi's makes good deep
dish pizza. Also Flying Wedge, Candia, Golden Boy's, UBC Pizza, Sasamat. j) 24
hour --- the Naam (veg), Benny's Bagels, the Bread Garden, the
Vineyard (Greek), probably some Bino's and some downtown places too. k) Indian
--- there's a good place next to the XXX-theatre at Main and 7th
Also a place (Natraj?) near 41st and Main (or Cambie?) has a good buffet. Also
Heaven on Earth on 4th. l) Japanese --- Tojo's is supposed to be the best, but
is expensive. Raku,
near UBC, is a very good new Japanese/Canadian cross. m) Lebanese --- one of
the Little Dar Lebanons, Elissar, or Cafe Beirut? n) African --- there is a
great Ethiopian place, Nyala, next to Black Swan
Records and near Topanga. Also Kilimanjaro in Gastown. o) Swiss ---the William
Tell and the Cafe Grunhaus (both expensive)
Also the Frog and Peach, near UBC (fairly expensive) p) French --- Le
Crocodile, Le Gavroche, Cote D'azur, Le Railcar (expensive),
Chez Thierry, Bishop's, etc. [Bishop's has the rep] q) British --- Culpepper's,
King's Head, The Diner, Cheshire Cheese... r) Latin American --- La Quena,
Latin Quarter,
and Brazilian and Mayan restaurants may be found on Commercial Drive between
Broadway and Adanac. There is a great little Mexican chicken place, but it
closes early. s) Portuguese --- Chamine on Commercial, Fado on Broadway t)
Spanish --- La Bodega, other tapas places. u) breakfast --- Sophie's Cosmic
Cafe, Thorntree Cafe, Red Pepper, the Naam. v) local favourites --- the
Raintree (westcoast), Raku (Japanese/American). w) view restaurants --- English
Bay Cafe, Raintree, Seasons in the Park,
Salmon House on the Hill, Grouse Mountain Grouse Nest?, Harbour Centre, many
hotels (one on Denman, also Pan Pacific), etc. .
.
Sports venues
--------------
BC place --- football, in season (fall)
PNE Coliseum --- NHL hockey, playoffs starting soon (May) Nat Bailey Stadium
--- professional baseball (AAA), not major league, outdoors. Softball City,
Surrey --- local softball leagues Swanguard Stadium ---- professional soccer
rugby is often played on the UBC fields.
Tickets for most major entertainment and sporting events can be obtained by
phoning (604) 280-4444.
Bookstores
----------
UBC Bookstore --- biggest but much of this is textbooks Duthie's books downtown
and on 10th
Duthie's professional bookstore (on 7th?) White Dwarf (science fiction)
Michael Thompson (good for out of print) Banyen Books (new age)
Book Warehouse (discount) on Broadway, Fourth, and Robson. Pink Peppercorn
(cookbooks only)
Travel Bug (travel books)
------ cut here -----------------------------------------
Div. of Medical Informatics
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
e-mail: caal@bphvax.biophysics.rochester.edu