Vistas, nature and art await you in these Vancouver neighbourhoods.
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Kitsilano
Kits stands apart, a perfect example of Vancouver as a great beachside city. With a shoreline of walkways and sand, including a beach access mat for those using wheelchairs or walkers. The neighbourhood name, a nod to Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, sets a suitable tone, acknowledging unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh land. Former fishing terrain is now a meander of shoreline from Burrard Bridge to Kits Point, Elsje Point, Hadden Beach, where eagles and seals are frequent, to the groomed sand of Kits Beach itself. City skyline fronts the north-facing view while away to the west, through tankers at anchor, all you see is the lure of the sea.
Granville Island and False Creek
Another mesh of Indigenous and settler culture, where the traditional seafood harvest took place, commercial trawlers now moor. A slow-rolling timeline follows the seawall, with Granville Island providing a quick snap of settler history. An industrial past — logging, shipbuilding and rail still evident, with treasure for inquisitive eyes. The dirt base of a former rail and trolley car bridge sits east of Burrard Bridge. And two columns of steel, part of that former manufacturing industry, have been repurposed into a footbridge crossing wetland in Olympic Village next to Habitat Island. Plus, the sheer pleasure of seeing it from the water when riding foot passenger ferries.
West End and English Bay
Here strollers can savour a history mosaic by walking side streets and laneways. An ingenious initiative, West End alleys are not only named but personalized, commemorating groundbreaking locals and deepening a sense of community. Those memorialized include LGBTQ+ civil rights activist Ted Northe, Black politician and professor Rosemary Brown, first Chinese-Canadian teacher hired by the Vancouver school board, Vivian Jung, AIDS-diagnosed educator and medical doctor Peter Jepson-Young, Mary See-em-is, granddaughter of Chief Capilano, and Native Hawaiian Eihu, one of Mary’s two husbands, offer a window onto early Trans-Pacific relationships.
Gastown, Chinatown, and Downtown Eastside
Perhaps the best window into Vancouver’s settler history, present and past. These neighbourhoods serve as a timeline, with Gastown considered the city’s Eurocentric “birthplace,” while Chinatown showcases culture and history by way of Vancouver’s prevalent transpacific mosaic. Meanwhile, the Downtown Eastside offers some of the most innovative and collaborative art installations I’ve seen. Murals adorn buildings and laneways, while mosaics can be found along sidewalks, enabling passersby to experience history, stories and legends in the asphalt and brick underfoot. Much of this creative display is amid streetscapes of unending socioeconomic and mental health challenges, accompanied by ongoing community efforts toward social improvement, inclusion and change.
Stanley Park
Stanley Park, Vancouver’s green heart, remains somewhat untamed. A forested landmark, it could well be a prow to the city, as though our metropolis would be perfectly happy to break free and set sail. I like the fact that this urban park, like many places, reclaimed itself during the pandemic. Wildlife resuming its role at the top of some unnamed order. Walkers can still lose themselves in a short leafy stroll from downtown, at times literally. Vistas of mountain, shoreline and strait continue to inspire locals and visitors alike, while informative plaques offer insight for those keen on nature and history, and photo ops are of course inexhaustible.