The Perfect City for a Family Vacation: Vancouver

TRAVELINGKokoHooi0

As some of you know, we are city lovers rather than friends of the great outdoors. However, cities always tend to be tiring when traveling with children, so we were even more excited to discover that Vancouver was the perfect city for a family vacation. 

We did not really plan to go to Vancouver, it just happened.
After a somewhat, hmm let’s call it difficult 48 and something hours in Las Vegas (read about it here) and a lucky coincidence we ended up in this fantastic city, where we spent a fabulous week in July. Even though it’s actually a massive city with many high-rise buildings it doesn’t have this busy metropolitan feeling about it and the fact that most buildings have vast glass fronts and almost all apartments have balconies, makes it look cute and friendly even. 

here are our recommendations:

We stayed at a small but neat Hotel. The Listel on Robson Street was neither a bargain nor over-prized but perfectly located in the middle of the city (more or less) and on a very busy and lively street where there was eating, drinking and shopping all in walking distance albeit in a rather touristy area.

getting around:

public transport/bus:

We mostly took the bus. OMG we still talk about the busses in Vancouver! They were fantastic. You get in, the bus driver actually greets you with a friendly smile. To buy a ticket you just tap your credit card in front and in you go. There is no difficult figuring out which ticket to buy or not being able to pay with card or needing the exact amount of change etc. 
There is also more than enough space for strollers and these busses are clean and modern, I tell you.
Once everyone entered, the driver asks wether all the strollers (or wheelchairs) are on the break (mostly people even proactively let him know that this is the case) and he also makes sure that all elderly persons are seated or holding on before driving again.

What a difference to Montreal where the bus normally stops a meter away from the stoop so one can hardly get in with a stroller in one and a toddler in the other hand. I always make sure not to go in last because the moment the last person’s foot has left the sidewalk the driver hits the gas and who ever does not hold on for dear life (most likely my daughter) will fly right through the bus.

bicycle:

One day we rented bicycles and a trailer at Spokes (I’m married to a Dutchman so cycling always is a must). First we set off for Stanley Park. We biked all along the water around the Island and took a first break at Second Beach, where we had a coffee and ate some berries and muffins we had bought at Whole Foods Market earlier that morning. There is also an outdoor pool and a nice playground. 

We biked on to Kitsilano Beach passing over Burrard Street Bridge. On Kits Beach (as they call it) there is a Pool, a playground but mainly the fantastic and pretty wide beach!
Our next stop was Olympic Village. We got there on a beautiful bicycle path along the water. We continued to Creekside Park where Liya almost fell over herself and out of the Trailer when she saw the newly built playground. It was indeed a fantastic one with everything the little human heart desires. eventually we managed to pry the girls loose and continue to Sunset Beach, where we watched the sunset – duh!

Suddenly realizing we had to return the bicycles before the shop closed we crossed straight through the city back to the rental place. I’m still amazed how easy it was to move around and how well they integrated wide bicycle paths on the roads. Please, send a representative of the Zurich Bureau of Road Planning to take a good look at this. In Zurich I hardly dare to sit on my bicycle let alone with children in the back – I am not suicidal, thank you very much!

This whole cycling gave me an adrenalin rush. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air near water and forrests. It somehow felt like home (Switzerland) and made me realize I had missed it. Nature lovers don’t have to miss out on anything in Montreal, but still this felt different, more familiar, I don’t know what it was.

breakfast and coffee:

Which ever city we go to, our ambition is always to leave with having been to all the most cool coffee places in the city. It has become our sport or like a challenge to find them – collect them almost. Why Niels also got super excited about looking for the best Cafés around the globe beats me, he never even drinks the stuff!

  • Revolver: cozy, hip but cramped coffee place. there was not enough space for the four of us (especially not for two noisy spreading children) so we checked out an alternative right around the corner.
  • Nemesis Coffee: turned out to be a great place for cool people and small children. Liya’s highlight of the week was when Niels ordered Avocado (toast) and the waiter brought Affogato (espresso and a scoop of ice cream) instead. So she got to eat the ice cream (for breakfast!) while I drank the espresso. Everybody was happy except for Niels!
  • Timbertrain Coffee Roasters: I purchased a delicious coffee to go, feeling obliged after they let Liya pee there three times in a row while we were window shopping on that street – this was during her potty training phase.
  • Kahve Coffee, a nice small coffeeshop in Kitsilano. Not really worth the travel if you are downtown but since we anyway had planned to get out there, it was a good pick.
  • Nelson the Seagull: a super cool and cozy little coffeeshop in Chinatown with an open kitchen ad very good brunch. My alternative option was Di Beppe Caffé a few houses further, which unfortunately we did not got to try anymore.
  • Matchstick Coffee Roasters – in the middle of Chinatown we had breakfast here and were over the moon about their Croissants. The kids would yell „meh gipfeli!“

restaurants: 

  • The Birds & The Beets on Alexander St., a small but friendly vegetarian eatery where we had a delicious Sandwich and Soup for Lunch. In from of the place they were busy shooting a scene for The Flash, which was interesting to witness. At home we once watched this particular episode but had to realize that the scene we saw seemed to have been cut out.
  • In Yaletown we went for an early dinner at The Flying Pig where we stuffed ourselves with the most delicious nibbles (it was happy hour) while enjoying the evening sun on their deck. 
  • Another fantastic dinner in Yaletown with a friend brought us to the rooftop terrace at The Keg Yaletown (you have to ask for a table on the roof!). It was not necessarily a child friendly place but being outside, having beautiful sunset and a booth dining table where the kids could sit on the bench, made it relatively relaxed.
  • The Afternoon we visited Olympic Village we had an early dinner at The Flying Pig (Olympic Village) again. It was rather empty and had space on the Terrace so we went for the delicious Happy Hour tidbits again, hmmm. (there is another Flying Pig also in Gastown)

where to go, what to do

  • We explored the neighborhood around W Cordova St. which turned out to be most interesting with cute little boutiques and many nice coffee shops. We did some window shopping at Nouvelle, Nouvelle had a peak into Frank and Oak (one of my favorites from Montreal) and checked out Old Faithful Shop. 
  • From there, we turned into Water St. where I bought some earrings at Oak + Fort. A bit further you’ll find the famous Gastown Steam Clock which we watched playing its tune. 
  • We went to Coal Harbour to watch the Water planes land. (guess whose pick this was?)
  • We took a breathtaking stroll along the water (on Island Park Walk) to Granville Island.
  • Our first stop there was Kids Market, an Indoor shop and playground for children – definitely worth visiting if you travel with kids. we then headed over to Granville Island Public Market where they sold all kinds of foods and crafts. It’s a bit of a tourist trap but still worth going. From Granville we took the little Ferry to Yaletown. This Ferry ride was another big highlight and while we worried wether we were allowed to bring the strollers, the skipper just smiled and helped us fold and hoist them in.
  • In Vancouver Aquarium at Stanley Park: So, we love aquariums and go almost every time we are near one. We basically spent the whole day there because it was awesome. It was more educative than entertaining, focussing the children’s attention on problems like pollution of the oceans and showing them how they work with ill or injured animals. While this part was more aimed at older children, the younger ones still had fun just watching the animals and also crafting Jellyfish out of carton plates.
  • Take a ride with Stanley Park Railway. It’s a very cute little train driving through the forrest while they explain all about the flora and fauna in and around Vancouver. It’s a must for families!
  • Science World: plan to spend there most of the day because it’s amazing. There are exhibitions and so many things to discover concerning physics but also biology, geography etc. But most of all, for parents of toddlers: there is the most amazing indoor playground I have ever seen in my life. I seriously wanted to be a child again and I did not like being a child. The little ones can play with water, with snippets of cork which seems like sand. They can climb into a huge tree labyrinth or build with foam material blocs. There is a special area for babies where they can use buttons which trigger balls behind a glass to dance in the air. This is the perfect bad weather place to go even if you couldn’t care less about physics and the like.

playgrounds

  • We went splashing in the Water at the playground in Crab Park at Portside. Looking out on Vancouver Harbor there is a beautiful Park with a cool playground for kids to play in Summer. The water is cold but it’s fun nonetheless.
  • We spent one afternoon at Granville Island Water Park, a fantastic free park with many fun water toys to play with for children of all ages. What an amazing place for families to spend a summer day!
  • The Playground at Creekside Park right next to Science Center is brand new and so much fun. There are swings, and awesome sandbox with a little source pouring water into it. There are slides and carousels, absolutely a must for families!
  • Playground at Hingepark. We passed by with the bicycle when the girls were sleeping in the trailer so we did not stop there but it looked worth going!
  • Ceperley Park Playground at Second Beach. Mommy can grab a coffee at Second Beach Concession while the kids play on one of the two playground near second beach. The view is also nothing to be sniffed at!
  • What’s more: there are pianos everywhere distributed throughout the city during the summer months (also in Montreal they do that). Let your kid sit down and play For Elise or whatever comes to their mind, it’s fun!

places that looked worth a visit but there was no time…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *