Greater Vancouver - Neighbourhoods
West End
The West End of the Burrard Peninsula is the most densely populated area in all of Canada. This small area's population density is rumoured to rival the population density of parts of Hong Kong. Almost everybody in this area lives in 15+ story apartments.
Robson Street is the chic shopping stretch in Vancouver. It's a major tourist attraction and is home to major international retailers like HMV and Roots. Denman Street is also a popular street filled with little shops and restaurants that serve the area's residents. Davie Street is an important street that is the centre of the gay and lesbian community in Vancouver.
The West End also borders on Stanley Park and English Bay. Stanley Park is one of the largest urban parks and is home to the Seawall, the Vancouver Aquarium, and other attractions. English Bay is a pleasant beach that is filled with suntanners in the summer.
Downtown
Downtown is the central business district of entire region. Office towers and hotels make up most of the buildings. People from all over Greater Vancouver work downtown. There are also arts and entertainment establishments in this neighbourhood like Queen Elizabeth Theatre and GM Place.
Within the Downtown area are three new residential neighbourhoods: Coal Harbour, Yaletown, and Concord Pacific Place. All three developments used to be old industrial areas with factories and warehouses. Now apartment highrises and condominiums dominate the landscape. Concord Pacific Place used to be the land used for the World Exposition in 1986, better known as Expo 86.
Granville Street is one of the busiest streets in the city, even though only buses and taxis are allowed on the street. Pacific Centre is the major shopping mall on the street, but there are also cinemas, small clothing stores, and other grungy urban shops. It's one of the few streets where businesspeople and street people mix together on a daily basis.
Downtown Eastside
This is the poorest and most run-down neighbourhood in all of Canada. This neighbourhood is all too famous for its drug dealers, drug addicts, prostitutes, homeless people, and drunks. There have been no easy solutions for this area.
The area is made up mostly of old low-income apartments. Some stores in the area have closed down, but many stay in hopes of improving the neighbourhood's condition.
Strathcona
Strathcona is Vancouver's oldest neighbourhoods and, possibly, one of the poorest. Most of the houses in the neighbourhood go back to the early 1900's. These houses carry a lot of charm and character, but many are in poor condition.
Chinatown is found within this community and provides a strong ethnic and cultural identity to the neighbourhood. Vancouver's Chinatown is one of North America's largest and is in the midst of revitalizing itself as it competes with new Asian centres outside of the area. The lesser known and less busy Japantown can also be found in Strathcona.
Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant isn't much of a mount; it's more of a gentle rising hill. Most of the activity in Mount Pleasant is centred on Main Street where there are several churches in the area, a number of restaurants, and many small stores. The area is a mix of small single family homes, townhomes, apartments, and lofts.
The landmark building in Mount Pleasant is the old post office building on Main Street and East 15th Avenue. It has a lovely clock tower that overlooks the neighbourhood. There is now a restaurant and meeting hall in the building.
Fairview
Fairview is a mix of business, healthcare, and residential use. It's position directly across False Creek from Downtown gives the area beautiful views of the glass skyscrapers in the foreground and the North Shore mountains in the background.
All activity in this neighbourhood is centred on Broadway. Office buildings are packed in along a few blocks on Broadway. There are also many medical clinics and specialists who have set up shop because of Vancouver General Hospital. With the new trend of living-near-work, more and more people are moving into apartments and condominiums in Fairview.
The biggest attraction in Fairview is Granville Island, an old industrial land that was converted to a lively cultural and tourist centre. The Granville Island Public Market is a huge success because of its fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and fish for sale. The Emily Carr Institute of Art is also situated on the island.
Kitsilano
Kitsilano is often viewed as a neighbourhodd full of young to successful people. There are many more houses than apartments and the yards are kept very well.
The Vancouver Museum, the Pacific Space Science Centre, the Maritime Museum, and Kitsilano Beach are some of the many attractions in this neighbourhood. The area is blessed with many lovely parks and tree-lined avenues.
West 4th Avenue is the centre of activity in this neighbourhood. It is full of small boutiques shops and cafes that meet the needs and wants of young successful people.
West Point Grey
West Point Grey is extremely close to UBC and has several apartment buildings and basement suites that rent out to university students. There are also many older single family homes in the area.
The area is blessed with a good view of downtown and the North Shore mountains. There are also a number of beaches including Spanish Banks, Locarno Beach, and Jericho Beach. Not to mention that residents can visit Pacific Spirit Park which is within the University Endowment Lands just beside the neighbourhood.
Local neighbourhood residents do a lot of their shopping along West 10th Avenue where there are lovely little restaurants, a few bookstores, and the Safeway supermarket.
University Endowment Lands
The University Endowment Lands is made up of three distinct parts: the University of British Columbia, Univesity Hill, and Pacific Spirit Park. The University Endowment Lands are not officially a part of the City of Vancouver. The area is actually administered by the provincial government.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is home to 35,000 students. It offers programs in Arts, Music, Commerce, Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Forestry. UBC is full of vibrant collegiate life that is centred around the Student Union Building, or SUB.
Pacific Spirit Park is a large forested area that is twice the size of Stanley Park. The park actually helps to isolate UBC from the rest of the city. It is full of old-growth trees and trails for nature lovers to enjoy.
Dunbar-Southlands
Dunbar is the northern part of this area and there are primarily big single family homes with many tree lined avenues. Along Dunbar street are more apartments because of all the shops and services on the street.
Southlands is the southern portion and is home to very big and expensive homes. Many of the homes here are like small estates. Even the mayor's house is here. There are also three golf courses to serve those who have the money to join the clubs.
Arbutus Ridge
This area is actually made up of Arbutus Ridge and Mackenzie Heights. Arbutus Ridge is centred upon Arbutus which runs parallel to an old railway line that helped to develop the area. Arbutus Shopping Centre and The Ridge Theatre are the primary landmarks in the neighbourhood.
You can go west across a small valley from Arbutus Ridge to Mackenzie Heights. Mackenzie Heights is made up almost entirely of single family homes. There is prime real estate here because houses on the side of the hill have a beautiful view of downtown and the North Shore mountains. Shops in the area can be found along Mackenzie and Macdonald Streets.
Kerrisdale
Kerrisdale is almost like a fairy tale neighbourhood with beautiful wooden houses, tree-lined avenues, and a vibrant little shopping area. The neighbourhood started when the interurban streetcar was built from downtown to Richmond. Kerrisdale was an important stop on the line. The streetcar line is long gone, but the neighbourhood is still here.
The centre of neighbourhood is at the corner of West 41st Avenue and West Boulevard. The small shops are close-up on the street with beautiful brick covered sidewalks. The feel of walking in Kerrisdale is just totally different from any other part of the city.
Shaugnessy
If there is such a thing as a exorbitantly rich man's neighbourhood, Shaughnessy fits the bill. There aren't just houses in this place, there are mansions hidden in the network twisty tree-lined streets. Shaughnessy is home to many heritage buildings that were lived in by some of the richest people in the city's past.
There are not enough rich people in this city that could afford the properties in this neighbourhood, so many of the homes actually belong to ambassadors and consulates from other countries that can afford a 1 million dollar estate.
South Cambie
South Cambie is a small neighbourhood centred on a portion of Cambie Street. This stretch of the street is lined with small shops and restaurants alongside small 4-storey apartments.
British Columbia Children's and Women's Hospitals plus St. Vincent Hospital form a trio of hospitals in the neighbourhood. Children's Hospital has an especially key role in healthcare for children from all over the province.
In the southern portion of the neighbourhood, Cambie Street becomes a beautiful boulevard with large trees separating the two sides of the road. This is known as the Cambie Heritage Boulevard.
Oakridge
Oakridge is a collection of simple, but elegant houses. It is known to be a quiet and pleasant neighbourhood in the city. The neighbourhood is anchored by Oakridge Centre, a major shopping centre on Cambie Street.
Langara College can also be found in this neighbourhood. It's a small community college that is often attended by students who are eager to enter one of the two universities in Greater Vancouver.
Marpole
Originally known as Eburne, Marpole is a strategic transportation crossroads in the city. The neighbourhood is directly across from Vancouver International Airport and one can hear and see jets flying by everyday.
Marpole is not simply a place to drive through, though. It's life is centred on Granville Street where small shops and stores are set up. Near the shops, many 4-storey apartments surround the little shopping area. Traffic is heavy in the area, so parking can be difficult.
Riley Park-Little Mountain
This neighbourhood is blessed with two major parks: Queen Elizabeth Park and Riley Park. Queen Elizabeth Park is on top of Little Mountain which is an extinct volcano. The mouth of the dead volcano is now a beautiful garden popular with wedding and graduation photos.
The neighbourhood is made up of mainly single houses with some duplexes and 4-story apartments. Life in this neighbourhood is centred on Main Street. This part of Main Street has been called Antique Row because of the significant number of antique shops on the street. There are also a great deal of small, affordable, and delicious restaurants. There has also been a trend of small, chic cafes popping up on the street. These cafes are hip and trendy and often have live music at night.
Sunset
Sunset is a relatively quiet neighbourhood made up of single family homes. There are two major shopping areas in the neighbourhood. Fraser Street is home to a number of stores and restaurants. Main Street in this area of town is the centre of the Punjabi Market and is full of Indian restaurants and clothing shops.
Sunset is also known for having a high percentage of Punjabi and Sikh families from India. Very often, these people have large extended families that all live together in one big house. There is also a large Sikh temple in the very south of the neighbourhood along South East Marine Drive.
Victoria-Fraserview
This neighbourhood is mostly single family homes except close to Victoria Drive where there are more apartments within walking distance to the shops and restaurants. Apparently within a one-kilometre radius of Victoria and East 41st Avenue has the highest concentration of Chinese families in Greater Vancouver. No wonder that Victoria Drive is starting to look like another Chinatown with Chinese stores up and down the street.
Killarney
There are actually two neighbourhoods in this area: Killarney and Champlain Heights. Killarney is made up of mainly single family houses. Champlain Heights, on the other hand, is made up of a variety of townhomes and has lots of twisting roads, trees, and parkland. Both neighbourhoods are mainly quiet residential places.
Activity in the neighbourhood is centred around two places. The first is the Killarney Community Centre beside Killarney Secondary School. It offers a variety of recreational activities such as ice skating, swimming, fitness workouts, and tai chi classes. Champlain Square is the other centre of activity in the area and offers some food and shopping options along with a newly renovated public library.
Renfrew-Collingwood
Collingwood is the southern portion of this area and its busy area is along Kingsway where there are a range of small shops and restaurants. Around Joyce SkyTrain Station, is a new development of apartment highrises called Collingwood Village.
Renfrew is the northern part and contains a small valley through which the Grandview Highway runs. Along Grandview Highway are what North Americans call "big box stores" that are like large warehouses in which people shop. These stores include supermarkets like The Real Canadian Superstore, a pet store called PetCetera, and hardware centres like Revy. There are also new high-tech industry office buidings being built near the new SkyTrain Stations of Rupert and Renfrew.
One relatively unknown natural attraction of the area is the Renfrew Cut which is like a small tree reserve and ravine right in the middle of the city. It is also the beginning of Still Creek which runs through Vancouver and Burnaby.
Kensington-Cedar Cottage
Kensington-Cedar Cottage is made up of mostly bigger single family homes in the south and mostly narrower older wooden homes in the north. Kingsway and Knight Street are the major thoroughfares in the area. Kingsway is full of small shops including a collection of Korean stores and restaurants. Knight Street is an extremely busy truck route and is infamous for its number of traffic accidents.
One portion of Kensington-Cedar Cottage around East 37th Avenue and Knight Street sits upon a hill that offers breathtaking views of Burrard Inlet, the North Shore Mountains, and sometimes Downtown.
Grandview-Woodland
Grandview-Woodland is filled with older style wooden homes and small townhomes and apartments. It has the major crossroads of Broadway and Commercial Drive. The intersection is busy with traffic on the streets and pedestrians from the Broadway SkyTrain Station and the soon to be opened Commercial SkyTrain Station.
If you go further north on Commercial Drive, you get to the stretch called "The Drive." The Drive is a mix of the community of Little Italy and young grungy urbanites. The Drive has one of the strongest community identities in the city.
Hastings-Sunrise
Hastings-Sunrise is made up of primarily single family homes that are bisected by the Trans-Canada Highway. Some people tell me the air is not so good there because of the highway. Then, there's also Hastings Street which was a major road since the early days of Vancouver.
A variety of shops, hotels, restaurants, and even funeral homes can be found along Hastings. However, the most significant attraction in the neighbourhood is Hastings Park and the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). In late summer, the PNE and its amusement park, PlayLand, attract thousands of people. Hastings Park is also home to a horse-racing track and the Pacific Coliseum, a sports arena.