First Impressions
Vancouver — what a beautiful location, with gleaming skyscrapers set against a dramatic backdrop, where mountains meet the Pacific Ocean.
After nearly 10 hours on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow, we landed at Vancouver International Airport. Feeling tired, we took a registered cab into the city, having agreed on the fare within the YVR to city taxi zone guidance. From the get-go, our taxi driver was friendly, offering tips and ideas for places to visit. That friendliness turned out to be a constant throughout our journey across Western Canada.
About 30 minutes later, we arrived at our hotel — the Coast Coal Harbour on West Hastings Street, in the heart of downtown. It’s in a great position, just a couple of blocks from the waterfront and the seaplane terminal near the Vancouver Convention Centre. It is very spacious and comfortable with very friendly and helpful staff. Check-in was quick, and we headed up to our room, which had a lovely view between two tower blocks across the harbour towards Stanley Park. By the time we had unpacked and got ourselves organised, it was past 9.30pm, so we decided to get some much needed sleep and try to reset our body clocks to Pacific Time — eight hours behind GMT.
As expected, we were up early at around 6.30am after a broken nights sleep, our bodies still adjusting to the time difference. We were showered and out the door before 8am, stepping into a warm and sunny September morning. The streets were quiet — unsurprising for that time on a Sunday, and the peacefulness suited us perfectly.
Getting outdoors, eating on schedule, and getting exercise, are good ways to help to beat jet lag, so we set out to walk around Coal Harbour. Not long after, we stopped at Café Villaggio for a much-needed coffee and savoury breakfast — the perfect refuel.
From there, we made our way to Stanley Park for a morning walk along the seawall. We had planned to take it fairly easy on our first full day, ensuring we spent plenty of time outside, with gentle exercise and eating at the typical times we do at home. It was interesting how our minds seemed to accept it was Sunday morning, but our bodies weren’t quite convinced yet! We paused at the Totem Poles, beautifully carved and painted monuments created by artists from several First Nations communities — each one telling a unique cultural story. They are very intricate, vibrant and hugely interesting, with information about each one provided, to translate their meanings.
We continued on to Brockton Point Lighthouse, stopping to sit on the benches and watch the Harbour Air seaplanes take off and land across the water. It’s such a busy air terminal flying passengers around the area, some going as far as Seattle. We then decided to head back and grab some lunch, further encouraging our circadian rhythm to adjust to Pacific time.
That afternoon we followed the waterfront promenade to Canada Place, with its striking white sails rising above the pier like a modern-day ship. The harbour was busy with activity, seaplanes taking off and landing, which we would sit and watch, marvelling at the incredible short take off distance. At Canada Place, a large cruise ship was docked at the cruise ship terminal, preparing for departure to Alaska. From here, the views stretched across the harbour to the North Shore Mountains, The glass towers of downtown reflected the sunlight, and cyclists, joggers and walkers made the most of this iconic waterfront.
Our afternoon concluded with a wander around Robson street for some retail therapy, before heading back to our hotel. We ended our first full day in Vancouver with dinner at The Nightingale Restaurant, just a short walk along West Hastings Street. It’s a fabulous restaurant with a great vibe, excellent food and service. It was a fantastic way to wrap up an unforgettable introduction to this amazing city.
Tips:
- Agree your cab fare beforehand in line with the city taxi zone guidance prices.
- Try and get outside into sunlight, exercise and eat at your typical mealtimes to assist getting over jet lag.
- Walk the Stanley Park seawall, stop off at the Totem Poles.
- The Coast Coal Harbour Hotel is worth considering- we really enjoyed our stay.
- We would recommend the Nightingale restaurant for dining.
We paused at the Totem Poles, beautifully carved and painted monuments created by artists from several First Nations communities — each one telling a unique cultural story. They were intricate, vibrant, and deeply moving to see in person. We continued on to Brockton Point Lighthouse, stopping now and then to rest on benches and watch the Harbour Air seaplanes take off and land across the water.
Western Canada Grand Tour 