Exploring Vancouver: Your Ultimate Weekend Guide

3 days in Vancouver

We arrived in Vancouver and after a long and nervous wait for our second case got a taxi to the hotel. Our first impressions on the city and hotel are both good. we are staying at Times Squares Suites which are very nice but not as posh as it sounds. We are a five minute walk away so had a walk round Stanley Park and also a look round the harbour and found a really nice bakery. We somehow refrained from having a cake which is something our friend Liz (joining us from the UK for a few weeks) wasn't able to resist when she arrived.

Walking in the Atmospheric River

The rain from the Atmospheric River arrived with Liz, and looking at reports various records for rainfall were broken. We still had a few walks including round a very wet Stanley Park. The subway that took us under the main road was shut as was flooded meaning our walk for lunch became around 40 minutes instead of 12. We were completely soaked by the time we arrived but made up for it with extra cocktails. We took a shorter route back stopped at the Amazing Laugher sculptor for some photos during a brief break in the rain.

Seaplane...third time lucky

After two failed attempts to get a seaplane across to Vancouver Island, on our last day the weather cleared and we were able to get a flight round the harbour. Definitely worthwhile and another type of transport for our trip. We also manged to have a walk round in the dry and get a better impression of the city.

Vancouver 1 - Rain 0

Despite the weather we really enjoyed Vancouver and definitely recommend it as a place to visit. The harbour and parks are really nice to walk round. There are lots of nice places to visit. I liked the Bill Reid gallery with its indigenous art displays. We liked the plaques throughout the seafront giving a history and feel for the city.

I imagine on a drier weekend the city would be fabulous but we still really enjoyed our stay.