Vancouver is the largest city on the West coast of Canada and it is also the largest city in British Columbia. Due to its dense population in the city, the city has became a metropolitan with a lot of sky scrapers. It is also a city that many people like to visit due to its cultural diversity and the nature surrounding the city!
I would recommend to stay at a hotel near Robson Street. This is the street that has most shops and restaurant! We stayed at Sheraton hotel this time. This Sheraton hotel is quite luxurious. The rate is $250 per night plus $20 parking fee per day. Although the hotel is a bit more expensive, it is at a very good location and easy access to anywhere. There are several other hotels around the area as well. So you can just stay at whichever hotel that offers the best rate and meet your need.
The first thing we did the next day is heading to the famous Capilano Suspension Bridge. It is said to be the longest suspension bridge on the western part of Canada. If you are going to Capilano Suspension Bridge, avoid driving to there yourself. Parking space is very limited and extremely hard to drive due to large crowd of people. There is free shuttle service at many locations at Vancouver Downtown. One of the pick up location is at Hyatt Hotel, so it is very accessible for you if you are staying near the area.
I find the admission fee to Capilano Suspension Bridge to be quite expensive. It is about $75 per person! It is $75 just to visit a bridge! Well, obviously there are additional things to look at other than just the bridge such as tree top trekking and there are guides providing the history behind the bridge. When you get on the bridge, please make sure you don't intentionally try to shake the bridge. It is very dangerous and some people do have the fear of height. To keep everyone safe, just walk normally on the bridge. In addition, many people like to take selfies by extending their arm or selfie stick out of the bridge. If you are doing that, just make sure you are holding your selfie equipment tight! I have seen an incident where a guy dropped his phone into the valley!
The visit to Capilano Suspension Bridge will probably take around 2 hours. Once you exit the park and head back to the shuttle service, you don't have to head back to where you got on the shuttle. I recommend you to head to Canada's Place waterfront. Once you get off the shuttle at Canada's Place, head East to Gas Town. There are many famous restaurants at Gas Town and you can enjoy your lunch there. When you are at Gas Town, make sure you visit the steam clock. This steam clock is one of the oldest steam clock in the world! The steam clock will play the music at the point of every hour. There are also many gift shops around the area and most of them offer a lot of cool Canadian themed souvenirs. You can pay a visit and buy some cool stuff!
Once you are done with Gas Town, you can head West pass Canada's place towards Stanley Park. I recommend you to rent a bike from one of the many bike rental shops. Then you can take your bike and bike around Stanley Park. It is an amazing experience! When you bike around the park, make sure you pay close attention to pedestrians and other bikers. I have seen many incidents where a biker just stopped in the middle of the bike lane and almost caused people running into them. This is very dangerous!
For dinner, you can head back up to Robson street. Like I previously mentioned, there are many restaurants on the street. I love the Japanese Ramen restaurant! The soup base is amazing and I just want to go back to the restaurant again! Keep in mind that these restaurants are very popular even to the locals. So make sure you go there early around 5pm to avoid standing in the line.
In addition, don't forget to pay a visit to Granville Island! It has one of the oldest Farmer's Market on the island. You don't really have to drive to Granville Island since there is usually a lot of people causing traffic. You can simply walk to the south tip of Hornby Street from your hotel and take the water taxi. It is also an interesting experience to take a water taxi! Just keep in mind that water taxi only takes cash, so make sure you have cash with you. Once you get on Granville Island, make sure you try the clam chowder and the poutine fries!
Moreover, if you are visiting Vancouver during the summer, you can visit Richmond Night Market. It is one of the largest Asian night market in North America. You can simply take the Sky train there instead of driving. The only down side is that it has $20 admission fee! Once you enter the night market, I recommend you to walk around first to see what exactly you would like to try because there is no way that you can try all the food! If you have been to the night market in Asia, you will find the food at this night market to be more expensive but this is expected.
Lastly, if you have time, you can visit Whistler Mountain as well! We didn't go to Whistler Mountain due to time constraint but would definitely pay a visit next time.
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