Vancouver Nightlife - Bars Nightlife Vancouver

Best of Asia nightlife, bars and entertainment

Best of USA nightlife, bars and entertainment

Vancouver is without a doubt the jewel of North America, for many years it has gone reasonably unnoticed by many European travelers, as it was just a hell of a long way to travel and doesn’t have the fame of other world class cities. That will all change as Vancouver is the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Well let’s dispel a few myths regarding Vancouver Canada. Although Vancouver does have its share of liquid sunshine the rainfall is comparable to that of London. Summer average temps in the mid to high 20’s and winter 5-10c. Canadians do not live in Igloo’s, use snowmobiles to commute, or feast on whale blubber. What you will find when you arrive in Vancouver is an amazing cityscape, bordered on the north by mountains, west by the Pacific Ocean, one hour south is the Canadian - USA border and east is well, the rest of Canada (all 7,821 km of it to St. Johns, Newfoundland)

Probably one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities, Vancouver is the epitome of racial, political, religious and lifestyle tolerance. With the massive Asian immigration prior to the 1999 handover in Hong Kong the population of Greater Vancouver is approximately 50% of European descent and the rest are from everywhere else (and I mean everywhere). This has given Vancouverites access to some of the greatest restaurants in North America.

Downtown Vancouver has an incredible mixture of clubs, restaurants, pubs and shopping. Robson Street is high end shopping with all of the branded shops and a Starbucks almost every 100m. Davie and Denman Streets converge on English Bay with incredible mountain and ocean views. The Boathouse Restaurant with incredible views over the water and a nicely put together seafood menu is always a good choice. Phat Burger is home to one of the best burgers in town, don’t order the big one as it could feed a small village in Africa. The stroll down Denman Street towards Stanley Park is filled with small cafes and coffee houses.

The Yaletown district is relatively new, it was built on the lands used for Expo 86 and developed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka Shing. The high density style condo’s that fill the skyline have given Vancouver the nick name “Hongcouver”. Yaletown has dozens of great restaurants and clubs, Rodney’s Oyster Bar serves up some of the west coasts best raw oysters as well as a fine plate of fish and chips. Au Bar is well known with the young business types for its martini’s and people watching. Bar None describes itself as a New York style nightclub with a good mix of DJ and live entertainment. Other notables in Yaletown are Cioppino, Capone’s, Goldfish, Hamilton Street Grill and Yaletown Brewing Co. (they make the beer on premise).

Gastown is Vancouver’s oldest tourist area, located on the water on the north side of the downtown core. It is a collection of souvenir shops, pubs restaurants and clubs. The Black Frog Pub, Irish Heather and Steamworks Brew House are worth a visit, and Shine nightclub is very popular in Gastown.

Granville Island is yet another of the great treats in town, accessible by the Aqua bus from Yaletown or road, it was originally a market for fresh foods, and although the market still remains, there are some very good bars and restaurants surrounding it. The Sandbar Restaurant sits directly under the Granville Street Bridge and serves up some of the finest seafood in town. (There is a little Sushi bar at the entrance that is one of the best you will find around). The patio at Bridges is packed on any day it is not raining, overlooking the harbour it’s a great place to kick back and savour a cocktail. (The pizza is pretty good too)

A great resource in Vancouver for best of is the Georgia Straight newspaper website. Edgy little paper that reviews and advertises the best and worst of the city as voted by the readers, and from personal experience they are bang on. See http://www.straight.com/best-of-vancouver-2006

by Geoff Howes - Our man in Vancouver.

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Just Follow Me Ltd 2007