Greater Vancouver - Cities
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Vancouver |
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Greater Vancouver has an area that is larger than the City of Toronto, but has less people. The City of Vancouver is the economic and cultural centre of the area. The other cities and towns have developed with their own histories and have their own unique qualities. Altogether, they form Canada's third largest metropolitan area.
Vancouver
The heart of the city. Vancouver is the lively city centre that many North American cities no longer have. People from around the area travel into Vancouver for work, health services, and entertainment.
Vancouver is also the economic and transportation centre of the entire province of British Columbia. Major businesses have their offices Downtown. Tourists and travellers must often travel to Vancouver first before continuing onto the rest of the province.
Vancouver has a unique collection of neighbourhoods that each have their own characteristics. The City of Vancouver started a project called CityPlan to involve residents in how they wanted their neighbourhoods to grow.
Learn about the City of Vancouver and its neighbourhoods in more detail under the Vancouver-Neighbourhoods page.
Burnaby
Burnaby is the closest suburban city to the City of Vancouver. In fact, a lot of Burnaby is no longer truly suburban, but more urban. Burnaby is very central in the Greater Vancouver area and has many transportation routes that pass through it.
Burnaby has 3 major town centres where businesses and residences are concentrated. They are Lougheed Town Centre, Brentwood Town Centre, and Metrotown Centre. The most developed of these centres is Metrotown. Metrotown has the province's largest shopping complex which is surrounded by dozens of apartments businesses, and hotels. Most of the city is made up of single family homes except near major town centres.
There are many business and industry parks in Burnaby too. Land in Burnaby is cheaper than in Vancouver, so many businesses build large offices here. Companies like Electronic Arts and IBM are examples of large corporations that have offices in Burnaby.
Major attractions in Burnaby include Metrotown, Deer Lake Park, and Simon Fraser University (SFU). Metrotown is a major attraction because of all the shopping you can do. There are also "super" movie theatres, a "super" arcade, and many major department stores. Deer Lake Park is near the Burnaby City Hall and has a collection of cultural attractions like Heritage Village, a centre for the arts, and a heritage carousel. Simon Fraser University is on top of Burnaby Mountain and is known across the country for its amazing architecture.
Burnaby is also home to two major post-secondary institutes: SFU and the British Columbia Insitute for Technology (BCIT).
New Westminster
New Westminster is often called the Royal City because Queen Victoria named the city herself, likely after Westminster Abbey in England. It is a small city that was the capital of British Columbia for a short time.
New Westminster has many old houses, but I find many are run down and don't look so good. New Westminster also has many apartment buildings built near the river. The only major attraction in New Westminster is the Westminster Quay where there is a public market and a chance to walk along the riverfront.
Richmond
Richmond is an island city by nature. The only way in and out of Richmond is over a bridge. The city is made up of a lot of farm land, large single family homes, and townhomes. Closer to Richmond City Centre in the west part, there are some low-rise apartments (12-20 storeys) and a lot of shopping.
Richmond also has a large Chinese population and is well-known in the city for the large number of Chinese shopping centres, stores, and restaurants. There are also many "big box" superstores in Richmond that are very large and sell many products.
Attractions in Richmond include the former fishing village of Steveston where you can still buy fresh fish from boats along the river and take a walk along the river. There's also the Kuan Yin Buddhist Temple which is an exquisite piece of Chinese architecture.
The Vancouver International Airport is in Richmond, so you can always see and hear jets flying overhead. It makes Richmond a little noisier than some people might like.
North Vancouver
North Vancouver is a unique suburb. It is directly across from Vancouver's downtown and is close to the busy nature of the city, but it is also blessed with mountains that give wonderful views and places to play sports. It often feels like a small mountain town just outside of the city.
People who live in North Vancouver and work in Vancouver have 3 options to travel to work. One is by car and cross over 1 of 2 very busy bridges. The second is to take the bus which also must cross a bridge. The third option is to take the SeaBus, a passenger ferry that crosses Burrard Inlet and takes passengers to the heart of downtown.
Lonsdale Quay is a popular destination for locals. It is right beside the SeaBus station and has a public market and a great view on the waterfront. There are also the North Shore mountains that are popular with skiiers and snowboarders in the winter and with hikers and tourists in the summer.
West Vancouver
West Vancouver is a wealthy suburb. One of it's neighbourhoods, called the British Properties, is full of huge estates with breathtaking views of the city. West Vancouver is also blessed with mountains.
Just like North Vancouver, residents of West Vancouver must take the bridge in order to get across Burrard Inlet to the rest of the city. The Lions Gate Bridge that connects West Vancouver and Vancouver is a beautiful landmark that is found in many photos and postcards.
There are two popular beaches in West Vancouver. There is Ambleside Park where people like to have picnics, play volleyball, and watch cruise ships sail in and out of the harbour. There is also Dundarave which has a number of small shops and restaurants near the beach.
Other attractions include Cypress Mountain for skiing and skywatching. There is also Horseshoe Bay where you can take a car and passenger ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, to Bowen Island, and to the rugged Sunshine Coast. Horseshoe Bay is also home to many small shops and restaurants that makes for a nice quiet getaway.
Bowen Island
Bowen Island was very popular in the early days for recreationists. People used to always go there in the summer and enjoy the quietness of the island. The island, today, is still a quiet place, but not as popular and well-known. There are no bridges to Bowen Island, so everyone must take the ferry to Horseshoe Bay before going anywhere else in Greater Vancouver.
Surrey
Surrey is quite likely the largest city in area in Greater Vancouver. However, much of its land is still made up of farm land and of natural land reserves. This is unexpected to change in the future because natural land and farm land are becoming so rare, that we can't afford to lose any more.
Surrey can be divided mainly into North and South. The North is made up of mainly single family homes, but there are many apartment buildings and townhomes in the north as well. Major shopping centres like Surrey Place Mall and Guildford Mall are popular shopping destinations with people in Surrey. South Surrey is more wealthy and the houses are bigger. There aren't as many shopping centres in the south.
People who live in Surrey and work in Vancouver have a few options for travel. Most use their cars and drive to work. The drive to downtown takes between 1-2 hours. Some people will take suburban express buses that are 1-1.5 hour rides to downtown. People in North Surrey may take the SkyTrain, an automated light rapid transit train, to downtown and that just takes only 39 minutes.
Surrey is home to the newly opened Technical University of BC, better known as TechBC. It's a university designed to train students in the technical trades including computer hardware and software.
Delta
Delta gets its name from its geography. The municipality sits at the mouth of the Fraser River delta. Although Delta is a suburb, much of it is still rural. In other words, there is a lot of farmland there. Most people in Delta live near the city limits near Surrey where there are more services available.
Delta is home to a bird sanctuary that is on Westham Island, right at the mouth of the river. It's a popular place for schools to visit on field trips to teach about birds and nature in BC. There is also the Tsawassen Ferry Terminal which is the main ferry terminal to take if you want to travel to Victoria, the provincial capital.
White Rock
White Rock is named White Rock because there is this huge white rock along the shores of Boundary Bay. Apparently, it's a huge boulder that was dropped in place during the Ice Age when glaciers covered most of present-day Canada.
White Rock is a very small community, but it has a wonderful row of stores and restaurants along the beachfront. There is also a pier that is popular with tourists and locals. White Rock is a popular day trip for locals who want to get away, but not go too far.
Langley
Langley originally started as a trading post in the fur trade run by the Hudson Bay Company. The fort was a centre of activity hundreds of years ago, but now it is a national heritage site and attraction. You can go to Fort Langley and learn how traders and natives in the area lived hundreds of years ago.
Modern day Langley is mainly just farmland, but it is still considered a suburb because many residents work in Vancouver. It's about a 1 hour drive to Vancouver on a good day, but when traffic is bad, I guess it would take about 2 hours. There are a fair number of single family homes in Langley.
Trinity Western University is in Langley and offers courses in Christian Studies and other subjects. The Vancouver Game Farm is also out in Langley. The Game Farm is a large piece of land where you can walk around and see lots of different animals. Essentially, the farm is a zoo. Some people also enjoy playing in corn mazes. This is where farmers decide to create a maze in their corn field and charge people to come and play in the maze.
Coquitlam
This is the largest city in the Northeast section of Greater Vancouver. It is made up of primarily single family homes. There are some apartments near the city limits with Burnaby and some near Coquitlam Town Centre.
Coquitlam Town Centre is the major shopping area in Coquitlam and also has a large civic stadium just behind the shopping mall. Coquitlam also has many large "big box" superstores along the Trans-Canada Highway like Ikea, a internationally popular Swedish furniture store. This Ikea is apparently the largest Ikea in Canada.
Port Coquitlam
Port Coquitlam is a small town surrounded by Coquitlam. It is made up mainly of single family homes with some town homes. There is an old historic part of town, but I don't know much about it.
Port Moody
Port Moody was the original terminus for the Canadian National Railway, so there is a lot of history in Port Moody. However, the terminus was moved further west to Vancouver and the rest is history.
Port Moody is a small town with mainly single family homes and sits at the very end of Burrard Inlet. This part of Greater Vancouver is relatively quiet.
Pitt Meadows
When I think Pitt Meadows, I think farmland. And I think that's all that's out there. But in reality, there are more and more people moving to Pitt Meadows. It's far, though. Just last September, I passed through Pitt Meadows for the very first time in almost 20 years of living in Vancouver
Maple Ridge
Maple Ridge is another place where I imagine farmland, but, again, more and more people are deciding to move out there. Land is cheap and houses are more affordable. Most of the homes out in Maple Ridge are single family homes.
Just north of Maple Ridge is Golden Ears Provincial Park. The park is home to Alouette Lake and Alouette River. It's a nice place for a day trip with friends to have a picnic and go canoeing. Or, you could go there and camp out overnight in the park and enjoy nature that way.
Anmore & Belcarra
These small villages have never been incorporated, but they are a part of this metropolitan area. There are few houses here and few stores that I can tell, but there are definitely two nice parks. One is Buntzen Lake. It is own by BC Hydro and is a wonderful place for family picnics. The other park is Belcarra Park which is also great for picnics and canoeing. Such wonderful one-day getaways in our backyard.