A week ago, end of May, I was in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the past I made it as far North as Washington State and to Ottawa and Toronto on the other side of Canada. But the trip to Vancouver was a first.
While primarily attending a conference, I spend a few extra days in the city, and walked around. Here’s what I found and visited.
The Airport
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is on Sea Island, which is almost entirely occupied by the airport. This gives a bit of distance to the rest of the city, for approaching and starting planes.
First thing you see when leaving the arrival area are the Clayoquot Welcome Figures, which quite literally welcome you.
These sculptures have been designed by Joe David and were installed in 1986.
One level up, in the departure area, is a large figure named “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe”. It is surrounded by seats, and you can sit down and enjoy the view, or just rest with a coffee in your hand.
Outside of the terminal, when walking to the SkyTrain, is the Musqueam Welcome Figure.
This sculpture was designed by Musqueam artist Brent Sparrow and erected in 2022.
Traveling to the city: SkyTrain
The Canada Line is a rapid transit line which brings you all the way to the city center and the water front. Walk out of the terminal, follow the train signs and don’t forget to either buy a ticket or swipe your credit card.
Train ride to Downtown Vancouver was around 30 minutes, and a train is leaving every few minutes. Easily beats a cab, and is cheaper as well.
Bikes in the city
While enjoying a walk from the Downtown train station to my hotel, it came to my attention that the city has a quite good bicycle infrastructure. At least in this area of the city are separate bike lanes, crossings have improved visibility, and all around rental stations for bikes. Plus no scooters just standing around and blocking sideways.
eCars and charging
There are plenty of electric cars in the city. And by plenty I mean a lot. Every cab and almost every Uber/Lyft was electric. That’s fewer noises, and emissions. Found a number of charging stations while walking around, but haven’t checked the conditions or prices.
Cleanliness
The city looks clean, all around. Either it makes an effort to remove stickers, or people do not litter and put stickers up. Stark contrast to Berlin, where stickers and graffiti is everywhere.
Sightseeing
The sightseeing tour(s) are a separate blog posting. Please look here.
Also check out the restaurants in Vancouver which we visited.
Palestina protests
Almost every day I spotted a pro-Palestina protest somewhere. Sometimes a couple people gathering, sometimes a large demonstration with a police escort. All in all the protests have been peaceful.
Pride and LGBTQ+
Across the city one can spot many Pride signs, mostly in the form of rainbow colors, but sometimes also people dressing accordingly.
Weather and Sunlight
Vancouver is a rainy city, averaging 161 rain days per year. Bring a rain coat, or an umbrella.
On the other hand, the city is far North, which makes for early sunrises and late sunsets. Along with the mild temperatures, it is a green city lovely for walks. When it’s not raining.
Comments
With an account on the Fediverse or Mastodon, you can respond to this post. Known replies are displayed below:
Note: This will load data from mastodon.social.
Learn how this is implemented here.
Share: