When I was at college, I was about to go to a congress in Vancouver. It did not work out in the end, and ever since, Vancouver was somehow in my to-do list. Now, another conference had brought me there, and I have the impression that I would have seen a different city if I had come 15 years ago.
Canada in general, and Vancouver in particular, are going through a real estate bubble: plenty of new buildings are currently being built, and many others have been built in the last years. This is a bit surprising, as Canada is the second biggest country in extension in the world, and has less population than Spain. One would assume people do not need to live in skyscrapers in the city centre… but they do, and they pay for it. For instance, the whole waterfront, where the Congress Center, the cruise terminal and our hotel was, is less than 10 years old, and apartments prices there go up to one million USD.
People seem to be happy in general and, at least in August, they seem to have good quality of life, with mild temperatures, sunny days, and nature and sea really close by. You encounter plenty of good restaurants from all over the world, with a significant leadership of Asian ones. This brought my mouth and taste back to Japan a couple of times during our week in Vancouver.
Vancouver is not directly at the Ocean front, but in an inner bay, and that makes it a perfect host of several recreational ports, and water airports for the small planes flying to Vancouver Island. I could spend hours looking at the water aircrafts departing and landing, and it was quite entertaining to see the early morning docking activities when a big cruise arrived to the terminal, or how the pilot safely led these huge cruises into open waters, which is not an easy task due to the strong currents.
Once you leave the waterfront, all streets look very familiar: the typical appearance of North American cities. That look that we are tired to see in the movies: their particular signalling, the traffic lights after the crossings, wide lanes and big cars. The surge in prices have also created problems for many people, and the big number of homeless people is something that also strikes you when walking around the city.
When it comes to things to visit, there are not many “musts”, but you can be entertained for a few days easily. I would say Vancouver is a better place to live than to visit, or a nice complement when visiting other near nature destinations.
I was positively surprised by our first stop: Granville Island, a former industrial area which has been transformed into an entertainment area, with bars, restaurants, and a delicatessen market that makes you want to eat everything, from a piece of fruit to smoked fish.
Sunday was fully dedicated to tourism, and we spent the morning in the Anthropology Museum, which was in the opposite corner of the city, in the University. It is an interesting recommendation, as it mainly deals with the First Nations, i.e. the first inhabitants of that zone of the World before the Europeans arrived and changed everything. They are very present in the local culture (in the opening of our conference, for instance, there was a show by them) and they also seem to be protected by the law at some degree.
Other good spots are Stanley Park, a nice and convenient park in front of the waterfront area, or Chinatown, one of the most important ones in North America. As the main icon in the city, and a must for the tourists, Vancouver lists the Gastown Clock. This is a clock which runs with gas, and which whistles every hour in a very unique way.
In summary: not much to see, but lots to do, and a very comfortable atmosphere to chill out. That is Vancouver for me.
