I'll be heading up to Vancouver and Vancouver Island for a few days in the middle/end of March. Does anyone have any POI, coffee/tea shops, dinners, festivals going on during that time they can suggest. How is the weather in March? What is the best way to travel in Vancouver?
Reply to this Hello from Vancouver! Well, expect rain. Expect lots of rain...and in between the rain, we get rain. When we do have the odd glimpse of sun...Vancouver and Vancouver Island are quite possibly the most gorgous/glorious places on earth! We Vancouverites charish these rare days and you will see us all out enjoying and frolicking. Be warned we are also known to have the odd snowfall or two in March (I remember last St. Patricks Day we did) but it is usually melted and gone quickly. Then we get rain. We are mild mostly in March at about 10 - 15 celcius.
Best way to travel in Vancouver is probably using the city buses. You can get around pretty good in the entire metro Vancouver area. If you are looking to go outside of Vancouver, then skytrain should be fairly effective. A greyhound bus can take you to the ferry terminals and across to Vancouver Island, if you haven't got another method planned. The ferry trip is another very scenic journey (when its not raining)
You cannot walk two steps in Vancouver without stumbling over a coffee/tea shop. We live on the stuff. Festivals? Well we usually save those for summer time but there could be the odd indoor type thing going on.
A stroll along the Seawall or English Bay, stopping in at any of the lovely eateries on Robson st. Taking in various plays at the Orpheum, enjoying a jaunt up to Whistler. Maybe a streetcar tour of the downtown. How about a hockey game at GM Place. Maybe check out a nightclub or two. Vancouver is extremely beautiful, rain or not.
Reply to this Dito on the rain at that time of year! Not to make you nervous but it does rain a lot in march in vancouver! As far as places to go and things to do, I've always been a big fan of granville island in vancouver. Its packed with open markets, toy stores, theaters, walking paths and a number of other things. I like the fact that I can go down at lunch time and have a deli lunch in the sea food market and then play around all afternoon in the toy stores and art shops before going to a nice restaraunt like the keg and then taking in a small play. Its a cool place and its right in the heart of down town vancouver. The walking path that leads away from granville island will eventually take you to the science center but its a long walk so you might want to ride a bike or catch a bus. Stanley park is always cool but I haven't been back to vancouver since the storm destroyed a large portion of the sea wall so you might want to check on that. One of my favorite things about vancouver is it doesn't really matter which direction you go, you will find all kinds of cool little restaraunts, eccentric shops, and art galleries all very close to each other. Its a fantastic city to put a pack on in the morning and just walk all day! don't forget to take a walk through gastown, its a great little district with great restaraunts and pubs. Take note though that the region known as east hastings street near gastown is a region of downtown vancouver with a high rate of drug addiction and extreme poverty so its not very safe at night time but you will be okay during the day. (I have never had a problem day or night on this street but felt i should give you some measure of warning. poverty doesn't mean crime but you should use caution in this area) There are also a ton of really cool day trips you can take just outside of vancouver as well if you look around. If you want a bit of a challenge then check out the grouse grind! Or if you like, lynn canyon is very popular. I've always been a big fan of the community of white rock which has a really cool water front district with all kinds of restaraunts to choose from. I can't really help you with Victoria since I haven't been there for years and years but I know you will have a great time. Vancouver island is probably one of the most beautiful regions of british columbia and you might want to consider spending more time on the island and less time in vancouver. anyways, I hope this helps.
cheers
Reply to this Victoria is a wonderful walkable city to explore. If you enjoy biking there are many wonderful trails that will have you wandering miles of beautiful terrain, some with increadible ocean views. Buchart gardens is a not to be missed experience!
Reply to this Coffee: Vancouver and Victoria have great places to drink good coffee!
Some of the best places to check out, given to me by self-professed coffee geeks in the area:
(You'd have to look them up for addresses though.)
Vancouver: 49th Parallel (I am so in love with their coffee it's not funny...we thrive on it in Montreal), Wicked, Elysian Coffee, Cafe Artigiano (several locations), Bump n' Grind, JJ Bean (on Commercial Drive) and Crema (west Van)
Victoria: 2%!J(MISSING)azz, Street Level Espresso, Habit, Fantastico (sometimes rude baristas though), Discovery Coffee and Buon Amici
Bon café!
I liked Commerical Drive in Vancouver as a place to find good food. We found some cool places to eat near Chinatown in Victoria and down by the water was a lovely walk at night.
Reply to this March is a beautiful time on Vancouver Island! The flowers are booming and the cherry blossoms are gorgeous and to be found everywhere.
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