Stay in
North Vancouver. There's an excellent Travelodge on the intersection of
Marine Drive and
Capilano Road. I've stayed there and it was very nice. It's next door to a Denny's so you get discount food there. It's in a quiet area so you'll sleep soundly. Also, if you take Capilano Road north for a mile or so, you'll find the
Capilano Suspension Bridge, which, if you dare, you can cross to a nice forest and some tree-top walks (like the ewok village in Return of the Jedi). If you take Capilano Road even further up north, you'll reach
Grouse Mountain, which is stupendous. You can take a cable car up there and theres a bear enclosure to check out, as well as amazing views.
Once you're back down on Marine Drive, drive east and you'll get to Indian Arm, which is a park near the
Indian Arm river. It's nice and quiet and theres some pretty views from the beach there.
I did all of that, and I'm not the outdoorsy kind of person at all but it was very enjoyable.
Stanley Park is great for a day out. The best way to enjoy it is the bike trails that run around the park. There's a couple of bike hire stores on
Denman Street, which is right by Stanley Park- I reccomend going to the smaller one, no fuss. If you cycle around the bike lanes that go around the park you'll see a lot of the bay, the weather is lovely and you'll go under Lions Gate Bridge which is an amazing example of a bridge, sorta like the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco except smaller and green. Oh. and there's an aquarium in the middle of the park, with dolphins!
If you do that in the daytime, then in the evening go back to
Denman Street. Thats where all the cafes and bars are, and if you walk the length of it you're sure to find somewhere you want to chow down.
Further South in Vancouver is
Granville Island, which is hidden underneath a bridge. It's a nice marine-themed outdoor mall and there's lots of interesting shops to look around. Another cool shopping area is Belltown, which is a tiny bit east of the center of town. Theres some excellent restaurants and bars there, including a place that advertises 'nightly jazz', and a shop that sells old board games and puzzles.
One thing I have to stress about Vancouver, it's the only bad part of it: STAY AWAY FROM EAST VANCOUVER, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. There is nothing interesting there and the streets are full of junkies, hookers, and hobos. Write off anything east of Main Street.
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These are the bears at the top of Grouse Mountain, I took this picture
You can get that close- God bless whoever invented fences.