Granville Island, Vancouver

The Granville Island silos, AKA the “Giants”. The silos are the work of Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo.

Our next stop on our Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour was Granville Island, right outside of downtown Vancouver. When we looked at the map we were given, Granville Island looked like nothing but an industrial area, so we weren’t interested in stopping there. However, we had worked up an appetite wandering around Stanley Park and it was close to lunchtime, so we were getting pretty hungry. To our delight, the bus stopped right in front of our new favorite pizza place, Straight Outta Brooklyn, and we made a last-second decision to get off the bus and have lunch there. Afterward, we thought we might walk around Granville a little bit, just to see what we could, and we were so glad we did!

It’s true — in the early 1900s, Granville Island was home to factories, plants and sawmills, but today the island is an important cultural district with theaters, artisan workshops, and craft studios. The large indoor public market is a big draw with visitors. Inside are rows of fresh produce, gourmet foods and baked goods, as well as waterfront restaurants and breweries. Around the market there are lots of unique boutique stores, art galleries, and craft studios where you can watch artists create. We were pleasantly surprised to see that Granville Island is a clean, vibrant, and colorful place, and we’re glad we decided to check it out.

There is lots to see and do in Granville Island, so don’t discount it on your next trip to Vancouver, like we almost did!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Hop-On-Hop-Off tour we did, click here.