2. Gastown has great café culture
Gastown has long been the city’s coolest enclave. Cobblestone streets and Victorian brick buildings offer a comforting contrast to the shiny Downtown high rises just next door.
In the streets spreading east from the landmark steam clock, bearded baristas compete to craft the best cup of coffee in the city. Excellent independents include Lost + Found, East Van Roasters, The Birds & The Beets, Nelson the Seagull, Prado and Revolver.
3. There’s a bunch of brilliant small batch breweries
Granville Island Brewing reignited Vancouver’s brewery scene in 1984 when it opened Canada’s first microbrewery. There are now brewpubs and tasting rooms across the city, with some of the most innovative and exciting in The Flats, a burgeoning arts district in the gritty industrial neighbourhood east of the Olympic Park, and Main Street, the historic focus of the city’s brewing culture.
Get a guide from toursbylocals to take you out to some of the newest and coolest on the scene: retro Red Truck Beer, hipster Brassneck, industrial Main Street Brewing Co. and Scandi-cool 33 Acres. Most of them have also got seriously good food menus featuring local produce.
4. You can marvel at the views from Kits beach and pool
The hip young professionals and yummy mummies who live here are too busy and cool to to use the neighbourhood’s full name “Kitsilano” – and so are we.
Kits beach is a lovely spot facing out to Burrard inlet with the stunning city skyline opposite, but the cherry on top is the outdoor saltwater pool. Open all summer, it’s nearly three times the size of an Olympic pool. And did we mention the views?