Vancouver

The Wedgewood Hotel

Stay

The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver - Considered Vancouver’s grande-dame hotel, The Fairmont’s 556 rooms and suites are perfectly appointed with English décor. Bistro-style Griffins Restaurant offers distinguished fare, and the Absolute Spa pampers perfectly. (604) 684-3131, fairmont.com.

The Wedgewood Hotel - Set in the heart of downtown on fashionable Robson Square, this elegant boutique hotel offers 83 rooms and suites, the award-winning Bacchus Restaurant & Piano Lounge and a full menu of treatments at the day spa. (604) 689-7777, wedgewoodhotel.com.

The Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver - Supremely sophisticated, this lovely hotel features 372 rooms and suites overlooking the city, as well as fine dining at Chartwell and easy access to Pacific Centre shops. (604) 689-9333, fourseasons.com/vancouver.

Lumiere Restaurant Photo courtesy Tourism Vancouver

Eat

Lumiere Restaurant - Executive chef Rob Feenie, a winner of Iron Chef America, serves up deliciously innovative dishes, such as sake-and-maple-syrup-baked sablefish with braised shortrib meat, at this super sleek eatery. Dinner nightly. Dinner entrées from $16. Mountain chic attire.
VITALS: Located about 10 minutes from downtown on the west side of Vancouver. 2551 West Broadway, (604) 739-8185, lumiere.ca.

West - Seasonal regional cuisine (think Mt. Lehman squab with smoked bacon or honey-and-clove-braised pork cheeks) from executive chef David Hawksworth pairs perfectly with wine director Owen Knowlton’s impressive list. Lunch Mon.-Fri., dinner nightly. Dinner entrées from $32. Mountain chic attire.
VITALS: Located in the South Granville shopping district. 2881 Granville Street, (604) 738-8938, westrestaurant.com.

Blue Water Café & Raw Bar - Housed in a converted heritage warehouse, this Yaletown hotspot is popular for wild and sustainably harvested seafood dishes by chef Frank Pabst, and sushi and sashimi from “cut master” Yoshi Tabo. Dinner nightly. Dinner entrées from $31.50. City casual attire.
VITALS: Located in the heart of historic Yaletown. 1095 Hamilton Street, (604) 688-8078, bluewatercafe.net.

Yaletown

Photo courtesy Tourism Vancouver/Al Harvey

Shop

Shopping ’til you drop is a definite possibility in Vancouver’s neighborhoods. Some spots not to miss: the fashionable Pacific Centre (pacificcentre.com) in the heart of downtown, featuring 100 or so designer and boutique shops, trendy Yaletown (myyaletown.com) and Robson Street (robsonstreet.ca), filled with one-of-a-kind clothing boutiques, antique shops, galleries and other finds. In West Vancouver, The Village at Park Royal kicks in with housewares and clothing shops, plus plenty of coffeehouses and restaurants in which to munch.

Culture

Arts lover? Appreciate a world of fine art at the Vancouver Art Gallery (vanartgallery.bc.ca)—as well as numerous galleries all around the city—and a notable collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Museum of Anthropology (moa.ubc.ca). Book a seat for a play or special seasonal events at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre (vecc.bc.ca), or hear a symphony at the Baroque-style Orpheum Theatre (vancouverplayhouse.com).

Top 10 Picks in Vancouver

1. Hop a ferry to Granville Island Public Market (granvilleisland.com), a food lover’s mecca, for exotic produce, fresh Coho salmon, international cheeses, Asian spices and other goodies that will make you wish for a kitchen in your hotel room.

2. Get a bird’s-eye, panoramic view of the city from the revolving observation deck atop the Harbour Centre Tower (vancouverlookout.com).

3. Visit Vancouver’s Chinatown (vancouverchinatown.ca), where colorful street stalls overflow with culinary treats, and shops house everything from herbal remedies to fine porcelain.

4. Explore the wonders, including 70,000 creatures and state-of-the-art exhibits, at the Vancouver Aquarium (vanaqua.org) in Stanley Park. Pick up a souvenir at the ClamShell gift shop, too.

5. Catch the Chinese New Year Festival (this year on Feb. 10) featuring traditional storytelling, martial arts, crafts and more at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden (vancouverchinesegarden.com). If you miss it, don’t fret, as the garden has offerings all year long.

6. Book a trip on a float plane to Nanaimo (tourismnanaimo.com) on nearby Vancouver Island, where you can stroll through the charming downtown and explore the thriving arts scene, or try a sightseeing trip to see the area’s glaciers.

7. Indulge in some dim sum (har gow, cheung fan, siu mai) at one of the city’s many popular spots, like Kirin (kirinrestaurant.com) downtown, or Gingeri (604-278-6006) in Richmond.

8. Ogle the totem poles, unique to the natives of the Northwest coast of North America, in Stanley Park (city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/stanley).

9. Catch a sunset view—and an Okanagan wine or creative cocktail—and nibble on fresh seafood platters at the bar at Nu (604-646-4668) downtown.

10. Make tracks to ski country in Whistler Blackcomb (whistlerblackcomb.com).

FYI

Vancouver, BC, Canada
tourismvancouver.com