Exploring Vancity (aka Vancouver)

Downtown Vancouver in the rain

On the days before and after our Alaskan cruise, we spent some extra time taking in the sites of Vancouver, where our cruise started and ended.

On our first day in Vancouver, pre-cruise, we decided to brave the rain and walked around the city. Vancouver is a city like any other— it’s big, it’s smelly in spots, and there are homeless people on the streets. However, Vancouver is also a beautiful seaport known for its pristine parks, thriving culinary scene, galleries, museums, and interesting neighborhoods. But before we went anywhere, we fueled up on coffee and pastries at Tim Horton’s, because that’s what you do in Canada, eh? 😉

L: The beautifully gilded Marine Building, completed in 1930

M: The entrance to the Marine Building

R: The Deloitte Summit Tower

One of the first things we noticed walking around were many impressive flower displays around the city. During our visit there was a Fleurs de Villes exhibit going on, where mannequins dressed in clothing made of flowers designed by local florists were placed along a designated trail throughout the city. We enjoyed seeing them and it was a bright spot in an otherwise drizzly, grey day.

Fleurs de Villes exhibitions

Our Uber driver had suggested we check out the downtown library (much to Marianne’s excitement!), so after visiting the Convention Center at the harbor, we picked up a map and made our way to the library. Vancouver has a lot of interesting architecture, and this Vancouver Public Central Library is as impressive as any other building in the city. The architects chosen to design the library wanted it to resemble the Colosseum, with a colonnaded facade that spirals out to create interior and exterior spaces for the public. The library has nine floors, including a public roof garden which faces the harbor.

L: The entrance to the Vancouver Public Central Library from afar

M: The atrium of the library

R: The view (sort of) of the harbor from the roof of the library

In the evening we did the popular Forbidden Downtown and Gastown Walking Tour. Our guide (who dressed the part!) walked us around the Gastown neighborhood of Vancouver, where the well-known Gastown steam clock keeps residents on time. We learned a lot about Vancouver’s prohibition history and were surprised to learn how young the city really is. Vancouver started out as a small sawmill settlement called Granville and was officially incorporated as a city in 1886; however, just a few months later the entire city was burned in less than an hour during the Great Vancouver fire. The residents got to work the very next day on rebuilding the city and it has evolved into the beautiful destination we see today. We also walked through the historic Woodward’s department store building (built in 1903), where a 30 foot by 50 foot mural depicts the Gastown Riots of 1971. The Woodward’s building has been since turned into condominiums.

L: The Gastown clock

R: One of the original neon Ws that was originally above Woodward’s department store

After our fascinating tour of Vancouver’s history, we were pretty famished, and ended up finding our now favorite pizza place in the city called Straight Outta Brooklyn, which will decide the fate of another adventure we had when we returned after our cruise. Stay tuned!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Forbidden Downtown and Gastown Walking tour we did, click here.