What to do in Vancouver and Seattle

2rs

Have 2 days in Vancouver followed by 2 days in Seattle in a couple of weeks.

Limited amount of time, I know.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do while there?

tks

mikedragon32

That's very limited time indeed. Never mind.

In Vancouver, Stanley Park and Capilano Suspension Bridge are the main must-sees. If you had time to get up to Whistler, so much the better, but that would scrub a day out of your schedule. Pop down to Canada Place Pier and take a floatplane trip for an aerial view of the whole area for around Can$100. Granville Island is very touristy and to be honest, I thought it was a bit of a waste of time, but it seems to be touted in every guide. Likewise Gastown.

woodseb

mikedragon32 wrote: »

Granville Island is very touristy and to be honest, I thought it was a bit of a waste of time, but it seems to be touted in every guide. Likewise Gastown.

agree with granville island not that great, likewise gastown can be very quiet at night, you could get a seaplane over and back to victoria which is a lovely city too. rent a bike for around stanley park


in seattle, you can spend a day in an around pike place, the underground tour is very good too as is the boeing museum.

both cities are nice to stroll around, do a bit of shopping, have a coffee etc

Quatre Mains

I enjoyed walking around Seattle but found (unusually for the US) the attractions a bit of a rip off. The space needle was $14 and the science museum/expo place next door was a rip-off $25 (2005 prices). If I were to go back I would try and get some kind of boat tour. The whole Pacific NW is famous for microbreweries, some savage beers and ales there, so dont be afraid to deviate from the normal brands. As Woodseb already said the Boeing museum is good, his seaplane trip sounds like a good idea as well

Sundy

As mikedragon said go to capilano suspension bridge. Get the seabus to lonsdale quay and then get the bus to capilano. Its the same one as goes to grouse mountain so you could get both in the one day.
Theres excellent views from Grouse mountain and the have a lumberjack show, birds of prey show, falcons etc, grizzleys bears in a big pen/cage. You can get the cable car up grouse or if your very energetic do the grouse grind, basically lots of steps up to the top instead of the cable car.
On you way up/back down drop in to lonsdale quay market and have a strole around and then pick some lunch from one of the many food outlets and sit on the quay side and eat it.
Seaplanes are great fun and give you great views of the sunshine coast or vancouver island but wouldnt really suit a tight budget. You could get the seaplane to victoria for the day and visit there.
In downtown vancouver theres lots of shops and resturants. Theres a place that does reasonable food (one of the resturant chains in canada) right down by english bay beach which is a great place to have dinner and watch the pacific sunset. Also check out the cupcake shop when your on Denman street.

China town is also worth a strole around, interesting sights and smells and samples of green tea. Dont be surprised my vancouvers massive asian population! this is also the east end area where the junkies tend to hang out but they really dont bother you at all. Just dont stay in this area.
You could also get the Skytrain expo line out to Metrotown, a massive shopping mall which you could walk around for a few hours and do some shopping.
The science expo place is just beside the two stadiums and usually has some interesting exibition on and has one of those 3D movie screens which can have some good shows on.

As others mentioned, granville island is worth a visit if just for the beer at granville island brewery. A slice of lemon in a beer was new to me. The doughnuts in the market there are awesome too. Theres a good comedy club that does "Theatre Sports" improve comedy can be really funny at times, starts with a clean show (no curses or sexual references etc) and then a rude one follows. Get one of the harbour ferries over to granville its fun and cheap and i think they go around the corner to kitsalano beach to.

Well that should keep you going for a day or two and its put in most of my afternoon.
Enjoy

dogmatix

Capiliano bridge is worth visiting but If time is limited i would recommend heading further uphill from the bridge and spend your time on Grouse mountain instead. The views from there are amazing and you can go on a wander down through various trails. Both attractions are on the same bus route from the harbour ferry terminal.

Lynn canyon park is also on the north shore a little further east and worth a peek. Stanley park is a must.