LinuxCon North America 2011 | About Vancouver

If you want to get away from Linuxcon for a while, or stay over in Vancouver for a few days, you're in luck. The Hyatt Regency is centrally located for dining and tourism in Vancouver. In fact, many restaurants and tourist spots are within a few blocks of the hotel. 

Others are only a short ride on rapid transit or the bus away. Head north half a block, and you come to the Burrard Street Skytrain Station. Hop the train for Waterfront Station, and you are one stop away from the Gastown shopping and tourism district.

Head the other way, and you are only a few stops from Chinatown. A few stops further on, you hit Commercial Drive, a kind of Telegraph Avenue in miniature.

Alternative, head south to Georgia Street and walk two blocks east to board the Canada Line to visit the restaurants in Yaletown, the open air market at Granville Island, or one of the many eateries on Broadway. If you arrive by plane, you may remember the Canada Line from your trip to the Hyatt Regency.

On Georgia Street, you can also catch buses heading west to the restaurants on Denman Street, or across Burrard Inlet to some of the tourism sites.

Hint: Ordinary transit tickets are good for ninety minutes, and can be used for your return trip if the time hasn't expired. However, Greater Vancouver has a complicated zone system for fares that puzzles even locals, so be sure to carry lots of change and to ask transit officials what sort of ticket you need. If you are spending a day on the town, purchase a day pass, which allows unlimited travel.

Places to Eat

Dining out is a way of life in Vancouver. Add a diverse ethnic mix, and Vancouver compares favorably to any North American city you can name, including New York. And you don't have to spend a fortune to eat well, either -- although there are plenty of first class restaurants as well, if you're so inclined, from the venerable William Tell, the Five Sails withs its view of the harbour, and The Blue Water Cafe, a favorite of sports stars and visiting celebrities.

However, convention-goers are traditionally more interested in cheap to mid-price restaurants. For example:

Half a block north of the Hyatt is a Cactus Club restaurant, a small chain whose menu is overseen by Iron Chef Rob Feenie. A long walk south will take you to La Boedga, a Mediterranean restaurant with a heavy emphasis on Spanish tapas. About two kilometers northeast on the Coal Harbor seawall is the original Boathouse, a slightly upscale restaurant specializing in seafood.

In Gastown, you can choose from The Steamworks Pub, where Vancouver's business and tech communities meet after hours, or the tourist favorite The Old Spaghetti Factory. The Irish Heather is also an old favorite for techies and social media types, although newer hot spots like The Salt Tasting Room are opening (and closing) all the time.

In Chinatown, Wild Rice is another perennial, with its modern take on classic Chinese cook. Venture to Commercial Drive, and among the dozens of places to eat you can try the always trendy Havana, or Carthage Cafe, a small Tunisian-French restaurant with onion soup worth raving about.

On the south side of False Creek, you'll find Vij's, which has been called the best Indian restaurant in North America, A Taste of Vietnam, and Athene's, which makes the best saganaki of any Greek restaurant in the city.

This is only a small sampling of personal favorites. However, if it all sounds too much to choose from, you can do worse than choose a direction and start walking. Chances are, you'll find a restaurant to suit your budget no matter which direction you head.

For those who really want to eat cheaply, during the day, another alternative is to try one of Vancouver's street-food carts. Many are within walking distance of the Hyatt, and, although quality varies, in many of them you can find surprisingly good food at budget prices.

Things to Do

You don't have to leave the downtown core to play tourist. At The Hyatt, you are only two blocks west of The Bill Reid Gallery, dedicated to First Nations art in general, and one of Canada's great twentieth century artists in particular. A block south takes you to The Vancouver Art Gallery, which is featuring a Surrealist retrospective this summer.

Take the rapid transit east from Burrard Station to the Stadium-Chinatown Station, and you can visit the Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, one of the first genuine ones to be built outside of China, and a place specifically designed to de-stress you in the middle of the city.

If you feel the need of exercise, the seawall is a couple of blocks north. Head west on Georgia Street, and get off at Stanley Park, where you can rent roller blades or bicycles for the day and explore Vancouver's answer to Central Park in New York, with its many examples of First Nations art and landmarks commemorating the early days of the city.

For something more strenuous, you can cross Burrard Inlet for hiking or trail biking at such locales as Cypress Mountain or Grouse Mountain, including timing yourself on the infamous Grouse Grind. Another place for a day hike is in the parklands around the Capilano Suspension Bridge, with its new CliffWalk.

If shopping is your idea of relaxation, the fashionable Robson Street shopping district is only two blocks south of the Hyatt.

In the evening, clubbers can walk over to Granville Street or hop the Skytrain to Gastown to find all the action they could want. Either Google or just keep walking until you see a lineup, then ask a few questions. At the opposite extreme, culture vultures might want to see what is playing at Bard on the Beach, a modern Shakespearean company that performs in giant tents at Vanier Park on the south side of False Creek.

More Information

This is only a small sampling of where to eat and where to go in Vancouver. For more information, have a look at Tourism Vancouver. There, you will find more information, especially about specific types of tourism, including First Nations, gay-friendly, ethnic, wheelchair, and sustainable tourism, as well as a list of events currently happening in the city.

The truth is, because Vancouver is the major Canadian port on the Pacific Ocean, the city has more culture and better restaurants than almost any other city of its relatively small size. If you want something I haven't mentioned, search for it and the odds are overwhelming that you'll find it.