Vancouver - Vacation Planning

Historic Gastown, Chinatown and More

On another day, strolling around the corner just a few blocks from the Fairmont Waterfront, we find ourselves in historic Gastown, its red brick streets lined with gaslights, a hissing steam clock momentarily taking me back in time to when Vancouver began. The streets are a charming, eclectic mix of boutiques, restaurants, galleries (including one with enormous totem pole works of art) and souvenir shops. For a treat, stop in Gastown’s The Old Spaghetti Factory and ride out the hearty lunch on the on-site trolley car inside.

Not too far from Gastown is Vancouver’s Chinatown, the third largest in North America. There, while my youngest children are back napping at the hotel, my 8-year old and I find respite along the busy main boulevard at lovely Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens, the first such gardens built outside China, following the most ancient of horticultural traditions and worth a visit. It’s tranquil and exquisite, and my daughter becomes snapshot-happy trying to capture its beauty.

• Vancouver's Gastown District is a popular tourist spot.
• Squeaky Marmot

On our next days it’s a toss up between a floatplane ride—Vancouver has one of the world’s largest floatplane networks—whale watching or a walk across the Capilano Suspension Bridge. My family opts for the latter, 20 minutes outside of downtown Vancouver. We sway on the long suspended bridge high above a gorge over cascading river rapids, then wander its elevated walkways amidst the coastal rainforests until my children are out of breath but invigorated.

Vancouver most certainly does invigorate with a seemingly endless assortment of adventures in the city, and in its ‘cities within-a-city’. But when all good things come to an end on a visit to Vancouver, consider The Fairmont Vancouver Airport to ease travels back home. It’s a favorite of my kids and the only hotel inside Vancouver International Airport. As I pack up for a long trip home, my kids don binoculars provided in-room to watch the planes coming and going over milk and chocolate chip cookies. For some reason, all the action makes the ending of our trip not so anti-climatic. It’s just one more adventure in Vancouver, where adventures never seem to end.