Vancouver tips

Fingers crossed for you for this trip!

Will you be staying near a Canada Line (the Richmond/Vancouver ‘subway’)? If so it will be easier to use that for your Canada Place and Lonsdale Quay (take the Seabus from Waterfront Station which is the last stop on Canada Line in Vancouver itself) outings. Lynn Canyon is a less touristy and free option compared to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

https://www.translink.ca/

If you are doing North Vancouver for either suspension bridge on its own as a day outing, beware of morning rush hour traffic from Richmond up until about 0930 and possibly a line up to get on the Lions Gate Bridge (one lane going north until about 10:00 am).

For Granville Island, be aware of the morning rush hour traffic as mentioned above but head out by 0930 as GI gets crowded for traffic and parking. There are some transit options including walking a bit from the Canada Line Olympic Village station along the seawall towards GI.

Steveston is easiest by car.

Parking is expensive in the downtown area but not bad at Granville Island. There are fewer coin meters and many that use an app and credit card,

At the moment several local beaches are closed for swimming because of e-coli. We are getting some rain every week or 10 days but not enough for that issue. Spanish Banks is the furthest beach/swimming area from the inner harbour so it is the last one to usually have restrictions and I don’t think it does right now. Your car would be essential for there and you could combine that with walking around UBC which is a beautiful campus and exploring Pacific Spirit Park.

The one area to avoid is the downtown section east of Gastown for several blocks. Sadly it is the current and historical area where folks with addictions and no housing congregate. I don’t feel unsafe in that area during the day but there isn’t any reason for a visitor to be there unless going to a few of our highly regarded restaurants and food places that are in that area ie St. Lawrence, Ask Luigi.

Other locals may have additional suggestions for you.

There are some laws regarding vacation rentals in BC now…not banned entirely, but the history must have and disclose a business license, and the property rented has restrictions.
Here’s the easiest and most current explanation I can find for you:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/information/visitors

Basically, you need to do your homework before you commit to renting short term here.
We don’t want you arriving and finding no accommodation!

Can you share where you plan to rent , and through which platform?

Personally I find the water around Vancouver too cold for swimming. There's always a chance you'll have smoke from a fire in August. The city sits in a bowl and the smoke can get trapped there.

Don't pass seeing the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. One of my favorite places, and fits in well with a day at Granville. https://moa.ubc.ca/

Thank you everybody for your suggestions and advice.

For exploring downtown, I will for sure take the subway.

My rental is rented via Airbnb. It claims that it's registered with the authorities.

With the water temperature being low, I probably won't bring my swimsuits.

Any restaurants/eateries that you recommend? I am not looking for Michelin stars, but I would like to try food prepared with local ingredients. I marked the following in Google Maps:
-Fable Kitchen
-Farmer's Apprentice
-Stock & Supply
-Nightingale
-The Mackenzie Room
-Fratelli Authentic Italian Baking
-Westoak

Are there places on the north (or other) side of town that shouldn't be missed?

Thank you again!

Consider a day trip to Victoria. The ferry ride from Vancouver is lovely.

I really like Continental Seafood for dim sum. I go there whenever I need something from the Richmond IKEA. I'm sure it's not world class dim sum, but it's easy. I will follow this thread in case someone recommends a different place. I'm surprised you can't get good dim sum in the Bay Area.

For all the locations you mention you do not need a car. It is quite a hassle to find parking in Vancouver, and it is expensive. Transit is easy, and frequent enough that you can easily get around by bus, Seabus, and Skytrain. Even for a visit to Steveston you can easily hop on a bus from Richmond center, but finding parking in the village often requires circling the block several times hoping someone will leave. To go to North Vancouver just take the train from Richmond to the last stop at Waterfront station then walk down to the Seabus and take it across to Lonsdale Quay. Directly on the other side is the bus loop where you can catch a bus to either Lynn Canyon or Capilano. No need to fight your way through downtown traffic and across a bad bridge. It only takes the Seabus 15 minutes to cross the harbour. Everything else you mention in Vancouver is within walking distance, or a short bus ride. You can buy a day pass that will cover all modes of transit. Just know that if you pay cash on a bus, and the driver gives you a paper transfer, this ticket cannot be used to transfer to the trains or Seabus. It is a different ticket. But, if you have a ticket from a ticket vending machine then you are good to go. For some reason the Translink web site does not explain this well. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

If you like Shakespeare or just good repertory theater, look into The Bard on the Beach https://bardonthebeach.org/2025-season-announcement/. It’s an annual repertory festival in the Kitsalano neighborhood of Vancouver with 4 rotating shows running through September 20. We’ve gone several times over the years and have never been disappointed.

Thank you again for the suggestions.

I was thinking that I will use public transit while visiting downtown. Finding parking looks like it's gonna be a headache.
I will check out the ferry to Victoria and the Shakespeare event. Both sound interesting.

As far as dim sum in the Bay Area is concerned, only two places are truly good and authentic. They are in Colmar and SF, which are far for me. I live in South Bay. Also, dim sum is a luxury here. In 2023, I had dim sum in SF with one other person. We did not order anything expensive, but the bill came out to be $130. That's just too much.

BTW, I will need to drive from my rental to the Richmond metro stop. Will I find parking at the stop? How do I pay?

Which “metro” stop do you mean that you want to drive to to park at?
The metro is called the SkyTrain here.
If you mean Bridgeport Station, there is a large parking lot connected to the station, charging $3. for 24 hours of parking.
It’s multilevel and gets very busy, so you might have to get right to the very top level to get a spot.
Get there early.
Where…you can be vague, but nearby…is your accommodation in Richmond?
We can help you out planning your routes.
We have a good bus system that might be better for you to use to get from the rental to the station, rather than driving.
Ask your host ,they should know, and also get the CityMapper app.
And, the Transit website will let you plan routes by bus.

https://www.translink.ca/

Contrary to KGC’s comment many many folks spend time in the water while at the beach here in Vancouver. That is why the e-coli warning is unfortunate. The main beaches have lifeguards too. Water temperature comfort is very personal. Given you will have a car, if you want to enjoy a beach, Spanish Banks would be a lovely choice as it is furthest west with a great view of the downtown area, the mountains, and the inlet. If you don’t have your bathing suit, you could still walk/wade out and go quite a distance when the tide is out.

Canada Line (subway) is what we call the route from Richmond and Skytrain is the name of the route that goes east of Vancouver. Without knowing where you will be staying in Richmond, driving to Steveston could still be manageable. I drive there from south Vancouver and don’t have trouble parking particularly during the week. I wouldn’t go out there on the weekend necessarily as it can be more crowded.

The transit system allows for tapping with your credit card. The website explains it all.

I haven’t been to the restaurants you list but have certainly heard of several of them and they are well regarded. The restaurants here with Michelin stars and the ones that are Bib Gourmand are actually quite a good representation of our better restaurants so the list could certainly guide you. And with the exchange rate as it is, many will be decently priced for you.

Bard on the Beach is a great idea and you can park in the large parking lot as it would be a long transit ride. If you did a matinee, you could combine it with UBC in the morning ad a short visit to Spanish Banks.

Which area are you referencing regarding the ‘north side of town’? I don’t want to give you an incorrect answer.

For swimming, check out the English Bay Second Beach pool and the Kitsilano pool. Both are by the beach and large (Second Beach) and enormous (Kitsilano).

Queen Elizabeth Park and the UBC Anthropology Museum are other notable sights.

Victoria is lovely and highly recommend a visit. The downtown core is compact and there are several pedestrian only streets that make the wandering so pleasant. The small Chinese Canadian Museum - probably have the name wrong- is very interesting - It's on Fan Tan alley. Note that if you do go to Victoria the ferry terminal on Vancouver Island and on the mainland for Vancouver are outside of the core. One way on the ferry take about 4 hours from city centre to city centre. The actual ferry ride is about 90 minutes.

There is the Granville St. bus that goes to Granville Island. Lots of great little stores and the food market is great.