Frommer's vancouver & victiria 2004

by Shawn Blore & Alexandra de Vries

Vancouver &

Victoria

2004

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1 Frommer’s Favorite

Vancouver Experiences . . . . . . . .4

The Best Websites for

Vancouver & Victoria . . . . . . . . . .5

A Short History of

First Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

2 Frommer’s Favorite

Victoria Experiences . . . . . . . . . . .9

3 Frommer’s Favorite Experiences

Beyond Vancouver & Victoria . . .10

4 Two Trips of a Lifetime . . . . . . . .10

5 Best Vancouver Hotel Bets . . . . .11

6 Best Victoria Hotel Bets . . . . . . .12

7 Best Vancouver Dining Bets . . . .14

8 Best Victoria Dining Bets . . . . . .16

2 Planning Your Trip to Vancouver & Victoria 18

Contents

List of Maps vi

What’s New in Vancouver & Victoria 1

1 The Best of Vancouver & Victoria 3

1 Visitor Information &

Entry Requirements . . . . . . . . . .18

2 Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

The Canadian Dollar &

the U.S. Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

3 When to Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Vancouver & Victoria

Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . .23

4 Insurance, Health & Safety . . . . .30

5 Specialized Travel Resources . . . .31

6 Getting to Vancouver . . . . . . . . .33

7 Getting to Victoria . . . . . . . . . . .37

8 Planning Your Trip Online . . . . . .38

Frommers.com: The

Complete Travel Resource . . . . .39

9 Tips on Accommodations . . . . . .40

3 Getting to Know Vancouver 42

1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Fast Facts: Vancouver . . . . . . . .51

1 Downtown & Yaletown . . . . . . .55

Bed & Breakfast Registries . . . . .56

2 The West End . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

3 The West Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

4 The North Shore (North

Vancouver & West Vancouver) . . .73

4 Where to Stay in Vancouver 55

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1 The Inner Harbour & Nearby . . .186

The Best Bed-and-Breakfast

Registries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

2 Downtown & Old Town . . . . . .194

3 Outside the Central Area . . . . .198

11 Where to Stay in Victoria 186

1 Restaurants by Cuisine . . . . . . . .74

2 Downtown & Yaletown . . . . . . .76

3 Gastown & Chinatown . . . . . . .84

4 The West End . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

5 The West Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

6 The East Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

7 The North Shore . . . . . . . . . . . .96

8 Coffee, Sweets & Ice Cream . . . .97

Caffeine Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

6 Exploring Vancouver 99

Sightseeing Suggestions . . . . . . .99

1 The Top Attractions . . . . . . . . .102

Granville’s Greatest Hits . . . . . .105

The Other Suspension Bridge . . .111

2 Architectural Highlights . . . . . .112

3 Neighborhoods to Explore . . . .115

4 Vancouver’s Plazas & Parks . . .118

5 Especially for Kids . . . . . . . . . .121

6 Organized Tours . . . . . . . . . . .124

7 Outdoor Activities . . . . . . . . . .127

8 Spectator Sports . . . . . . . . . . .136

7 Vancouver Strolls 137

5 Where to Dine in Vancouver 74

Walking Tour 1: Downtown

& the West End . . . . . . . . . . . .137

Walking Tour 2: Gastown

& Chinatown . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Walking Tour 3: Kitsilano,

Granville Island & Yaletown . . .146

8 Vancouver Shopping 152

1 The Shopping Scene . . . . . . . .152 2 Shopping A to Z . . . . . . . . . . .153

iv CONTENTS

1 The Performing Arts . . . . . . . . .164

2 Laughter & Music . . . . . . . . . .168

3 Bars, Pubs & Other

Watering Holes . . . . . . . . . . . .169

4 Dance Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173

5 Gay & Lesbian Bars . . . . . . . . .175

6 Other Diversions . . . . . . . . . . .176

9 Vancouver After Dark 164

1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179

Neighborhoods in Brief . . . . . .181

2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . .182

Fast Facts: Victoria . . . . . . . . .184

10 Getting to Know Victoria 178

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12 Where to Dine in Victoria 202

1 Restaurants by Cuisine . . . . . . .202

2 The Inner Harbour . . . . . . . . . .203

3 Downtown & Old Town . . . . . .205

Taking Afternoon Tea . . . . . . . .206

Finding High-Octane Coffee . . .210

4 Outside the Central Area . . . . .212

13 Exploring Victoria 214

Sightseeing Suggestions . . . . . .214

1 Seeing the Sights . . . . . . . . . . .215

On the Lookout: Victoria’s

Best Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219

Heading North to a

Provincial Park, a Native

Village & Some Wineries . . . . .222

2 Especially for Kids . . . . . . . . . .225

3 Organized Tours . . . . . . . . . . .226

4 Outdoor Activities . . . . . . . . . .228

14 Victoria Strolls & a Biking Tour 234

Walking Tour 1:

The Inner Harbour . . . . . . . . . .234

Walking Tour 2:

The Old Town & Chinatown . . .238

Biking Tour: Dallas Road . . . . .242

CONTENTS v

1 The Shopping Scene . . . . . . . .245 2 Shopping A to Z . . . . . . . . . . .245

15 Victoria Shopping 245

1 The Performing Arts . . . . . . . . .251

2 Music & Dance Clubs . . . . . . . .253

3 Lounges, Bars & Pubs . . . . . . .255

4 Gay & Lesbian Bars . . . . . . . . .256

16 Victoria After Dark 251

1 Whistler: One of North

America’s Premier

Ski Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257

2 Bamfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278

The West Coast Trail . . . . . . . .280

3 Ucluelet, Tofino &

Pacific Rim National Park

(Long Beach Section) . . . . . . . .281

B.C. Ranch Land . . . . . . . . . . .285

Two Trips of a Lifetime . . . . . .291

4 The Gulf Islands . . . . . . . . . . .292

17 Side Trips: The Best of British Columbia 257

Index 303

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List of Maps

Southern British Columbia 6

Greater Vancouver 46

Where to Stay in Downtown

Vancouver 58

Where to Dine in Downtown

Vancouver 78

Downtown Vancouver

Attractions 100

Stanley Park 103

Granville Island 107

Walking Tour 1: Downtown &

the West End 139

Walking Tour 2: Gastown &

Chinatown 143

Walking Tour 3: Kitsilano, Granville

Island & Yaletown 147

Where to Stay in Victoria 187

Where to Dine in Victoria 204

Victoria Attractions 217

Walking Tour 1: The Inner

Harbour 235

Walking Tour 2: The Old Town &

Chinatown 239

Southwestern British Columbia 259

Whistler Valley 261

Whistler Village 262

Pacific Rim National Park 283

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An Invitation to the Reader

In researching this book, we discovered many wonderful places—hotels, restaurants,

shops, and more. We’re sure you’ll find others. Please tell us about them, so we can share

the information with your fellow travelers in upcoming editions. If you were disappointed

with a recommendation, we’d love to know that, too. Please write to:

Frommer’s Vancouver & Victoria 2004

Wiley Publishing, Inc. • 111 River St. • Hoboken, NJ 07030-5744

An Additional Note

Please be advised that travel information is subject to change at any time—and this is

especially true of prices. We therefore suggest that you write or call ahead for confirma￾tion when making your travel plans. The authors, editors, and publisher cannot be held

responsible for the experiences of readers while traveling. Your safety is important to us,

however, so we encourage you to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. Keep a

close eye on cameras, purses, and wallets, all favorite targets of thieves and pickpockets.

About the Authors

A native of California and resident by turns of Ottawa, Amsterdam, Moscow, and (for

nearly the past decade) Vancouver, Shawn Blore is a newspaper journalist, award-winning

magazine writer, and author of the bestselling Vancouver: Secrets of the City. He is also a

co-author of Frommer’s Canada, Frommer’s Brazil, and Frommer’s Portable Rio de Janeiro.

Alexandra de Vries took her first intercontinental flight at 6 weeks and developed a taste

for travel early on. A resident by turns of Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro, she now lives in

Vancouver and reports on West Coast culture and places for Frommer’s readers. She is also

the co-author of Frommer’s Brazil and Frommer’s Portable Rio de Janeiro.

Other Great Guides for Your Trip:

Frommer’s Irreverent Guide to Vancouver

Frommer’s Vancouver with Kids

Frommer’s British Columbia & the Canadian Rockies

Frommer’s Canada

Vancouver & Victoria For Dummies

The Unofficial Guide to Bed & Breakfasts and Country Inns

in the Northwest

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Frommer’s Star Ratings, Icons & Abbreviations

Every hotel, restaurant, and attraction listing in this guide has been ranked for quality,

value, service, amenities, and special features using a star-rating system. In country, state,

and regional guides, we also rate towns and regions to help you narrow down your choices

and budget your time accordingly. Hotels and restaurants are rated on a scale of zero (rec￾ommended) to three stars (exceptional). Attractions, shopping, nightlife, towns, and

regions are rated according to the following scale: zero stars (recommended), one star

(highly recommended), two stars (very highly recommended), and three stars (must-see).

In addition to the star-rating system, we also use seven feature icons that point you

to the great deals, in-the-know advice, and unique experiences that separate travelers from

tourists. Throughout the book, look for:

Special finds—those places only insiders know about

Fun facts—details that make travelers more informed and their trips

more fun

Best bets for kids and advice for the whole family

Special moments—those experiences that memories are made of

Places or experiences not worth your time or money

Insider tips—great ways to save time and money

Great values—where to get the best deals

The following abbreviations are used for credit cards:

AE American Express DISC Discover V Visa

DC Diners Club MC MasterCard

Frommers.com

Now that you have the guidebook to a great trip, visit our website at www.frommers.com

for travel information on more than 3,000 destinations. With features updated regularly,

we give you instant access to the most current trip-planning information available. At

Frommers.com, you’ll also find the best prices on airfares, accommodations, and car

rentals—and you can even book travel online through our travel booking partners. At

Frommers.com, you’ll also find the following:

• Online updates to our most popular guidebooks

• Vacation sweepstakes and contest giveaways

• Newsletter highlighting the hottest travel trends

• Online travel message boards with featured travel discussions

Value

Tips

Overrated

Moments

Kids

Fun Fact

Finds

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What’s New in

Vancouver & Victoria

In the summer of 2003, Vancouver

was awarded hosting rights to the

2010 Olympic Winter Games. Still

6 years away, preparations are already

visible, and the excitement in the city

is palpable. Prices on real estate,

restaurants, and hotels are sure to go

up. Fortunately, at present, fabulous

restaurants and accommodations are

still a steal in Vancouver and Victoria,

compared to Toronto or Montreal.

VANCOUVER Accommodations

The Gallery Floor at the Listel Van￾couver (1300 Robson St.; & 800/

663-5491 or 604/684-8461) proved

such a hit with guests that a museum

floor was the next logical step. For

the past several years, guests on the

penultimate Gallery floor have been

able to enjoy original works of art

from Vancouver’s Buschlen Mowatt

Gallery, temporarily displayed in the

Listel’s ever-so-tasteful rooms. Guests

on the top floor now have the

same artistic privilege, but the objets

d’art on display in the rooms come

from the vast collection of the UBC

Museum of Anthropology. As with the

Gallery rooms, Museum rooms con￾tain detailed information on the artist

whose works are on display.

The Sunset Inn Travel Apartments

(1111 Burnaby St.; & 800/786-1997

or 604/688-2474) has always been a

steal, just a couple of blocks from Eng￾lish Bay on the edge of the residential

West End and offering apartment-size

accommodations (with full kitchens,

dining tables, and balconies) at a

more-than-reasonable price. For years

the only drawback was a kind of pastel

’80s decor, but the furnishings in the

top two floors have been fully reno￾vated. The owner intends to continue

renovating until the entire inn is fully

updated.

The newest, nicest B&B in Kitsi￾lano recently opened on a green and

leafy street just 10 minutes from the

beach. The Camelot Inn (2212 Larch

St.; & 604/739-6941) features rooms

lovingly restored to their early 1900s

condition, improved only with the

addition of Jacuzzi tubs, the perfect

prelude to the softest of sleigh beds.

Dining Vancouver’s dining scene

continues to churn, especially in Yale￾town. Elixir (350 Davie St.; & 604/

642-0577) is a traditional French

brasserie that serves classic, even sim￾ple, brasserie food prepared with

excellent local Vancouver ingredients.

Enjoying an appetizer at Elixir’s long

round brass bar has become the way to

begin an evening downtown.

Just a cobblestone or two up the

street lies Glowbal Grill and Satay

Bar (1079 Mainland St.; & 604/

602-0835), a beautiful room with

beautiful people, and a cuisine that

unashamedly cruises the world for

tastes and flavors that get fused

together into small-plate meals.

Over on Robson Street, the latest

thing in Japanese food is Hapa

Izakaya (1479 Robson St.; & 604/

689-4272), where the cuisine features

inventive, nontraditional dishes such

as bacon-wrapped asparagus or negit￾ori, fresh tuna belly chopped with

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spring onions served with munch-size

bits of garlic bread. It’s more bar and

grill than fussy sushi palace, and the

atmosphere is high-decibel quasi￾chaos wonderful.

On Granville Street, near the

gallery district, meat has made a

comeback. Memphis Blues Barbeque

House (1465 W. Broadway; & 604/

738-6806) serves up real southern

barbecue—meat smoked for hours

over a low-heat hardwood fire. The

ribs come out tender enough to pull

apart with your fingers (which is how

food is eaten here—the cutlery is

mostly only for show).

Nightlife Lounges are back with an

oh-so-laid-back vengeance. Two new

Yaletown sit and schmooze spots lead

the pack. Afterglow (350 Davie St.;

& 604/642-0577) features intimate

couches and a soft soundtrack that

makes either for candlelit foreplay to

a satay meal at next-door Glowbal or

a prelude to a long evening’s cuddle

in the low-slung loveseats. At Elixir

(50 Davie St.; & 604/642-0577), the

crowd stands upright and is more

uptight (just a tad), unless you catch

them late in the evening, after a full

night of nursing cocktails.

VICTORIA Accommodations

The owner of Spinnaker’s Pub has

gone into the B&B business, opening

Spinnaker’s Guest House (308

Catherine St.; & 877/838-2739 or

250/384-2739) in a heritage house just

up the street from his long-running

brewpub. Rooms here feature queen

beds, lovely furnishings, in-room

Jacuzzis, fireplaces, high ceilings, and

lots of natural light—all for an excel￾lent price.

The other big news in Victoria

accommodations is the ongoing

upgrade of Dashwood Manor

(1 Cook St.; & 800/667-5517 or

250/385-5517). Once more than a

little past its prime, this lovely old

mock-Tudor manor now features new

mattresses on the beds and new tile in

place of the old linoleum in the kitch￾enettes. Stodgy old British bathrooms

have been updated with new tile and

fixtures, including deep-jetted tubs.

Several of the rooms now also have

large luxurious Jacuzzis.

Dining The best new Victoria

dining option is, without doubt,

Brasserie L’Ecole (1715 Government

St.; & 250/475-6262), the brainchild

of long-time Victoria chef Sean Bren￾ner. Top-end French in the middle of

Chinatown may seem a bit of a stretch,

but it all seems to make sense when

you step inside this small and pleas￾antly French room and realize that

what’s on offer is not high-end Parisian

but simple country French cooking.

Nightlife The best nightspot to

arrive in Victoria in a few years is The

Upstairs Lounge (15 Bastion Sq.;

& 250/385-5483). Victoria’s new

hotspot for live music has space and

good sightlines and a selection of

pretty Victoria people who come for

touring bands.

SIDE TRIPS Whistler Open

under a year, the Alpine Chalet

Whistler (3012 Alpine Crescent;

& 800/736-9967 or 604/935-3003)

was built to the exacting specifications

of a Czech couple who have taken up a

second career as innkeepers. The com￾mon room is a dream, with comfy

chairs and a big fireplace. The adjoin￾ing dining area is flooded with natural

light from the skylights. Breakfasts are

top-quality feasts.

Ucluelet, Tofino & Pacific Rim

National Park Out on the Pacific

Coast, the The Wickaninnish Inn

(Osprey Lane at Chesterman Beach;

& 800/333-4604) has had such suc￾cess with its combination of summer

beach walks and winter storm watch￾ing that it’s virtually doubling in size.

Careful attention is being paid, how￾ever, to ensure the new complex

blends in as seamlessly with the wild

west coast as the old.

2 WHAT’S NEW

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The Best of Vancouver

& Victoria

Vancouverites aren’t much given to introspection—too much time spent

outdoors—so it’s perhaps a bit unfair to expect it of visitors. But if you really

want to understand Vancouver, stand at the edge of the Inner Harbour (the

Canada Place pavilion makes a good vantage point) and look up past the float￾planes taking off over Stanley Park, around the container terminals, over the

tony waterfront high-rises, and then up the steep green slopes of the North

Shore mountains to the twin snowy peaks of the Lions. What you’ve seen—90%

of it anyway—is the result of a collaboration, unique in history, between God

and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

It was the Almighty—or Mother Nature (depending on your point of

view)—who raised the Coast Range and then sent a glacier slicing along its foot,

simultaneously carving out a deep trench and piling up a tall moraine of rock

and sand. When the ice retreated, water from the Pacific flowed in and the

moraine became a peninsula, flanked on one side by a deep natural harbor and

on the other by a river of glacial meltwater.

Some 10,000 years later, a CPR surveyor came by, took in the peninsula, the

harbor, and the river, and decided he’d found the perfect spot for the railway’s

new Pacific terminus. He kept it quiet, as smart railway men tended to do, until

the company had bought up most of the land around town. Then the railway

moved in, set up shop, and the city of Vancouver was born.

Working indoors, Vancouverites have all fallen in love with the outside:

mountain biking, windsurfing, kayaking, rock climbing, parasailing, snow￾boarding, and back-country skiing, plus skiing-kayaking, mountain biking￾snowboarding, and snowshoeing-paragliding.

The rest of the world has taken notice of the blessed life people in these parts

lead. Outside magazine voted it one of the 10 best cities in the world to live in.

It’s also one of the 10 best to visit, according to Condé Nast Traveler. The World

Council of Cities ranked it second only to Geneva for quality of life. And in

2003, the IOC awarded Vancouver the right to host the 2010 Olympic Winter

Games. Heady stuff, particularly for a spot that less than 20 years ago was rou￾tinely derided as the world’s biggest mill town.

Eighty-some kilometers (50 miles) across the Strait of Georgia on Vancouver

Island, Victoria had for years marketed itself quite successfully as a little bit of

England on the North American continent. So successful was the sales job, Vic￾torians soon began to believe it themselves. They began growing elaborate rose

gardens, which flourished in the mild Pacific climate, and they cultivated a taste

for afternoon tea with jam and scones.

For decades, this continued, until soon it was discovered that not many

shared a taste for English cooking, so Victorian restaurants branched out into

seafood, ethnic, and fusion. And lately, as visitors have shown more interest in

1

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4 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF VANCOUVER & VICTORIA

exploring the natural world, Victoria has quietly added whale-watching and

mountain-biking trips to its traditional London-style double-decker bus tours.

The result, at the dawn of the new millennium, is that Victoria is the only city

in the world where you can zoom out on a Zodiac in the morning to see a pod

of killer whales, and make it back in time for a lovely afternoon tea.

1 Frommer’s Favorite Vancouver Experiences

• Watching the Fireworks Explode

over English Bay: Every August

during the July/August Celebra￾tion of Light, three international

fireworks companies compete by

launching their best displays over

English Bay. As many as 500,000

spectators cram the beaches around

English Bay, while those with

boats sail out to watch from the

water. See p. 26.

• Enjoying the F-F-F Festivals:

The Folk, the Fringe, and the

Film, to be precise. The Folkfest

brings folk and world-beat musi￾cians to a waterfront stage in Jeri￾cho Park. The setting’s gorgeous,

the music’s great, and the crowd is

something else. Far more urban is

the Fringe, a festival of new and

original plays that takes place on

artsy Granville Island. The plays

are wonderfully inventive. Better

yet, they’re short and cheap so you

can see a lot of them. In late Sep￾tember, the films of the world

come to Vancouver. Serious

filmies buy a pass and see all 500

flicks (or as many as they can

before their eyeballs fall out). See

chapter 2.

• Exploring Chinatown: Fishmon￾gers call out their wares before a

shop filled with crabs, eels, geo￾ducks, and bullfrogs, while farther

down the street elderly Chinese

women haggle over produce as

their husbands hunt for deer

antler or dried sea horse at a tradi￾tional Chinese apothecary. And

when you’re tired of looking and

listening, head inside to any one

of a dozen restaurants to sample

succulent Cantonese cooking. See

chapters 5 and 7.

• Strolling the Stanley Park

Seawall: Or jogging, running,

blading, biking, skating, riding—

whatever your favorite mode of

transport is, use it, but by all

means get out there. See p. 132.

• Visiting the Vancouver Aquar￾ium: It’s a Jacques Cousteau spe￾cial, live and right there in front

of you. The Vancouver Aquarium

does an extremely good job show￾ing whole ecosystems. Fittingly

enough, the aquarium has an

excellent display on the Pacific

Northwest, plus sea otters (cuter

than they have any right to be),

beluga whales, sea lions, and a

Pacific white-sided dolphin. See

p. 104.

• Kayaking on Indian Arm: Van￾couver is one of the few cities on

the edge of a great wilderness, and

one of the best ways to get there

quickly is kayaking on the gor￾geous Indian Arm. Rent a kayak

or go with a company—they may

even serve you a gourmet meal of

barbecued salmon. See p. 129.

• Strolling the Beach: It doesn’t

matter which beach, there’s one

for every taste. Wreck Beach

below UBC is for nudists, Spanish

Banks is for dog walkers, Jericho

Beach is for volleyballers, Kitsi￾lano Beach is for serious suntan￾ning, and English Bay Beach is

for serious people-watching. See

chapter 6.

• Picnicking at the Lighthouse:

Everyone has their favorite picnic

spot—one of the beaches or up on

03 542699 Ch01.qxd 11/14/03 9:40 AM Page 4

the mountains. Ours is Light￾house Park on the North Shore.

Not only do you get to look back

over at Vancouver, but also, the

walk down to the rocky waterline

runs through a pristine, old￾growth rainforest. See p. 120.

• Hiking the North Shore: The

forests of the North Shore are at

the edge of a great wilderness and

only 20 minutes from the city.

Step into a world of muted light

and soaring cathedral-like spaces

beneath the tree canopy. Great

North Shore trails include the

very busy Grouse Grind, Cypress

Falls Park, and the hike from

Grouse back to Goat Mountain.

(Whatever you do, go prepared.

People die on those trails every

year, cold and lost. A good local

guidebook can give you more

details on trails and tell you what

you need to bring.) See chapter 6.

• Exploring UBC’s Museum of

Anthropology: The building—by

native son Arthur Erickson—

would be worth a visit in itself,

but this is also one of the best

places in the world to see and

learn about West Coast Native art

and culture. See p. 106.

• Visiting the Library: We’re seri￾ous. Vancouver’s new main library

building isn’t so much a book

depository as an urban gathering

place. Outside, you’ll find a per￾manent crowd of folks hanging

out, playing music, or distributing

political pamphlets. Inside is a

huge glass atrium with little patio

tables and several coffee bars,

where folks sit and chat for hours.

Sometimes they even go and look

at books. See p. 114.

• Mountain Biking the Endow￾ment Lands: One of the best

places to give this sport a try is on

the trails running through the for￾est by the University of British

Columbia. (The area is officially

called Pacific Spirit Park, but

everyone calls it the Endowment

Lands.) On the east side of town,

the trails on Burnaby Mountain

are equally good, though steep

FROMMER’S FAVORITE VANCOUVER EXPERIENCES 5

The Best Websites for Vancouver & Victoria

• Entertainment Info (www.ticketstonight.ca): This site is a great

place to turn to for half price night-of tickets and general enter￾tainment information in the Vancouver area.

• Tourism B.C. (www.hellobc.com): The official site of the provincial

government tourism agency, this site provides good information on

attractions, as well as higher-end accommodations.

• Tourism Vancouver (www.tourismvancouver.com): The official city

tourism agency site provides a great overview of attractions, includ￾ing an excellent calendar of events, plus a few last minute deals on

accommodations.

• Tourism Victoria (www.tourismvictoria.com): Victoria’s official

tourism site functions much the same as Vancouver’s, with up-to￾date, comprehensive information about what to do and see around

the city.

• Whistler & Blackcomb Resorts (www.whistler.net): This site offers a

particularly helpful overview of activities and accommodations

options available at North America’s premier ski resort.

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6 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF VANCOUVER & VICTORIA

N

0 75 mi

0 75 km

Lund

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River

Comox

Port

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Fraser Lake

Houston

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Bella Coola

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Port Edward

Hazelton

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ALASKA

To Banff &

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VANCOUVER

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JASPER NATIONAL

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19

20

37

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101

British

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Vancouver

Victoria

Southern British Columbia

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