Rachel & Tara
Things To Do
Downtown Vancouver
Walk the cobbled streets of Gastown for its trendy eateries, galleries, and shopping. Skip the souvenir shops, or don't. See the Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Walk along the waterfront. Eat lunch at Miku. If so desired, walk Robson St. for high-end boutiques (Vancouver's SoHo if the comparison must be made). Past the boutiques you will find Vancouver's Koreatown, as well as 'Ramen Row', where people can be found performing their pilgrimage to the half-dozen ramen shops concentrated in two blocks. LGBTQ+ nightlife is found all along Davie Street, between Denman and Burrard. Chill on Sunset Beach and people watch. Enjoy. Dine in Yaletown. Think sushi or west coast fare. "Nightlife in Downtown Vancouver is centered on Granville Street, known generally as the Granville Entertainment District... Granville Street is packed with bars and nightclubs, making it easy to club-hop from one destination to another". In other words, the bridge-and-tunnel crowd has a strong presence here.
Stanley Park and the Seawall
Walk or bike the seawall. Check out the totem poles and Prospect Point Overlook. Eat and have some ice cream and/or a beer. Stroll around Lost Lagoon and say hello to some ducks, herons, and rascally raccoons (it's okay - they're rabies-free on the West Coast). Walk the trails for some urban hiking, and relax on Second and/or Third Beach. If you have kids in tow, or you're a big kid yourself, there's a heated outdoor pool at Second Beach, and a water park in Lumbermen's Arch. DO check out the Vancouver Aquarium, though possibly on a second day. I would allot a minimum 2-3 hours for the aquarium alone. Sunset is around ~8:50 pm, so while it's possible to do everything in a day, you will probably be exhausted after doing half of the activities I listed unless you're an early riser. Here is another site with useful resources https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/stanley-park.aspx Thanks for visiting you special, wonderful out-of-townies!
Vancouver Aquarium
Unless you have a deadly fear of otters and penguins (in that case, do I even know you?), the Vancouver Aquarium is worth the price of admission, and the 2-3 hours you will spend wandering its indoor and outdoor exhibits. Those with a deadly fear of jellyfish because you got stung as a child, unlike the rest of us who are still dealing with family trauma, are excused. Though not really because they're behind several feet of glass, and I don't have it in me to give you a referral to therapy at my wedding.
Granville Island
Go there. On a sunny day, it's absolutely charming and magical. Check out a gallery. Pop in on the artisans laboring at their craft in the Railspur District, inside Net Loft, and generally all over. Peruse the fresh cheeses, meats, and produce in the Granville Island Public Market. Smell the fresh bread, and have yourself some bagel and lox, while fending off the seagulls hovering above, waiting for an inattentive gaze to snatch a tasty morsel from your hands. Take it all in, and just wander. When you're done exploring all the nooks and crannies you want to explore, take an Aquabus (water taxi) across False Creek to wherever you want to go.
Vintage Shopping, Dining, and Hipster Watching in South Main
Make like a hipster, grab some coffee, and do some breweries, all in the same day. The consignment and vintage stores are worth slowing down for. Toshi Sushi is stellar sushi if you can get a table and the wait isn't long. Ignore TripSaavy's General Public recommendation. Unless it's vastly improved since I last tried it, it's the same clumsily put together crud your nephew makes in Home Ec, which is saying a lot because it's almost impossible to have a bad sushi meal in Vancouver. Do Hawkers Delight Deli, or The Fish Counter instead. Go off the beaten path a little to Earnest Ice Cream if you have a hankering for dessert. Take a stroll along the seawall in Creekside Park, and loop around to the Olympic Village, where athletes stayed during the 2010 Olympics. The area has been re-developed into more condos, which if you haven't noticed, is a thing in Vancouver. Have some more beer, and strut around like a true Olympian - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWgZkUcC9hM
Commercial Drive - More beer, vintage/crafts shops, cafes, and boho hipster watching. Also lesbians
Yes, lesbians. They're around, but gentrification is taking its toll. It's also Vancouver's Little Italy, and while businesses remain, the Italian community has long since moved elsewhere. This is nevertheless a diverse community with a rich cultural heritage. Read more about it here https://www.tourismvancouver.com/vancouver/neighbourhoods/commercial-drive/
Victoria
Victoria is worth staying the night instead of trying to do a day trip, especially if you plan to also see the Butchart Gardens. Airbnbs are extremely affordable, and I am happy to give recommendations on neighbourhoods to stay in. I am not typing a whole other city guide for y'all, but here's the gist. See the Parliament building. Do high tea if it's your thing or want it to be your thing. Eat some fish and chips if you like, and do the Inner Harbour. You see what I did there? I put a U in harbor, because only the Queen's English is permitted in Victoria. Google the rest, and cater your day around your interests. You can do it. I believe in you. Just don't go to the Victoria Bug Zoo expecting a bearded hipster to teach you how to start your own cricket farm for a sustainable food source. It ain't Brooklyn. You'll have to go to the other side of Vancouver Island for that.
Butchart Gardens
Butchart Gardens is stunning, and worth a day trip. Having never been to the Palace of Versailles myself, walking around the Butchart Gardens feels EXACTLY like how Louis XVI must have felt walking around his palace, before he learned the revolution was coming for his head. The Butchart Gardens truly needs to be experienced rather than simply seen. Remarkable that this place exists at all in a country with socialized medicine.