Insider’s guide: How to visit Vancouver like a local

Vickie Maye visits Vancouver and gets the inside track from a local. From the best bars to the top beaches, here’s the insider’s guide to the city  

An aerial view of Vancouver, Canada

It’s rare you get a chance to experience a city through a local’s eyes. I’ve wandered through countries following Lonely Planet recommendations, later booking restaurants as I scrolled through Instagram and TikTok. And always I had a niggling feeling that these were places locals would never dream of dining out at. I knew I was trapped in a tourist trail.

So when Air Canada extended their seasonal direct flights from Dublin to Vancouver, I saw an opportunity. A school friend had set up home there nearly two decades ago. This woman had always sussed out the newest, coolest restaurants when she lived in Cork, so I knew she’d have the edge on Vancouver. I asked her to create a 72-hour itinerary — and booked my ticket.

Waiting to board, a text pinged on my phone: I’d been upgraded to seat 2A — business class. My phone had intuitively labelled the sender ‘likely scam’ and so I sheepishly approached a member of the cabin crew, showing her my screen. She laughed at my disbelief as she handed me my new boarding card. I spent the first 10 minutes on a loop, lowering my seat to a bed, and raising it back to a seated position again. Dinner was served on a linen tablecloth, my screen was the size of a TV. With a bed to lie on, I emerged from the nine-hour flight after sleep, rested and without a hint of looming jet lag.

My friends collected me at the airport and en route to their beachside home in Kitsilano, we stopped at Queen Elizabeth Park. Alongside the conservatory with its tropical gardens, we walked to a vantage point that showed the breathtaking ocean views, and sweeping views of the city skyline. To the left were the soaring mountains: Cypress, Seymour, and Grouse. To the right, I saw the outline of Stanley Park — bigger than New York’s Central Park — and the skyscrapers alongside that led to Downtown, West End, and beyond.

Kitsilano. Picture: Destination Vancouver/Kitsilano Chamber of Commerce.

They explained the city as only locals can: North ‘Van’ is for outdoor enthusiasts; the east, with a more industrial aesthetic, is a haunt for artists and creatives; and to the west, there’s a laidback beach vibe.

A quick detour to Kitsilano, and we moved on to Main St in Mount Pleasant, a cool eclectic shopping street, full of thrift and consignment stores. Vancouver’s vintage shopping scene is almost as renowned as its great outdoors. Curated designer pieces sit alongside high street brands, and it’s refreshing to hold and touch potential purchases after years of haggling on Vinted. We head to Commercial Drive, recently named on Time Out’s “coolest streets in the world” list, with its independent shops, bars, and coffee shops. We eat at Violette, returning to the same area the next day for brunch at Lunch Lady, for some of the best Vietnamese food I’ve ever tried.

Earlier that morning, I saw the local beaches on a 5km run, and we made a stop at the local farmers market for fresh fruit and veg. We take our leave of the city and head to Capilano Suspension Bridge, 30 minutes from the Vancouver. A destination pass from the tourist board allows me entry to the city’s most popular landmarks.

Capilano Suspension Bridge is over 130 metres long

It was a balmy September day, but Vancouver was ready for autumn — the bridge’s entrance was already decorated with hanging pumpkins. And suddenly, beneath my feet, I noticed for the first time the falling leaves, and their deep reddening hue. A breath-taking destination for autumn, later my friends drive me past houses already decorated for Halloween. Their October 31 celebrations are bigger, they say, than Christmas.

At sunset, I notice fairy lights wound around trees, framing restaurants and stores, all of them casting magical glows. This is a city that celebrates the seasons, from outdoor beach vibes in summer, to the kaleidoscopic colours of the autumn landscape, and the cold ski winter season. The famed suspension bridge at Capilano is the drawcard with its sweeping

views of the canyon, but there’s so much more to see. The treetop walk leads you through the lush forest, a cliff top walk showcases the stunning views.

Ten minutes along the highway and we pull up to the cable car for Grouse Mountain. A ski destination at winter, outside of ski season there are outdoor activities on the summit, from biking right down to a rollercoaster that takes you on tracks to the mountain edge. The cable car climbs the steep incline, and as we crane up the mountain, its height greater than Ireland’s highest peak, I understand why they call the walk to the top the Grouse Grind. I see sweat-stained walkers all but crawl to the end of the steep 2.5km hike.

Grouse Mountain in Vancouver.

I emerge fresh from the cable car to see Coola the grizzly bear rescued from near death two decades ago. His companion, Grinder, died earlier this year. The park ranger tells us their story, and we watch the giant bear stretch and yawn through the trees.

Down the hill, there’s a lumberjack show. For locals, I expect this is akin to a Bunratty Castle-themed banquet, but it was lighthearted fun that managed to weave the history of the gold rush through the slapstick script.

We drive through beautiful Stanley Park, known as the green heart of the city, stopping at Prospect Park for another breathtaking city view, and watch cruise ships bound for Alaska. We drive along the shore through West End and I feel the sense of community. People gather to play volleyball on the beach, to sunbathe on the grassy parkland.

Totem Poles Stanley Park. Picture: Destination Vancouver/Kazutoshi Yoshimura

The city encourages this sense of connection — my friend tells me about the community centres that each neighbourhood has with affordable pools, tennis courts, pitches, and gyms. Outdoor benches and communal seating in urban areas, opened during covid lockdowns, have also endured, drawing communities even closer together.

We drive back to Kitsilano and stop at the beach. The local pool, right beside the ocean, stays open all summer and it’s buzzing with families and local swimmers. We make our way to Batch, a beachside bar with live music and sea views where we drink a gin cocktail from cans and lick our fingers as we nibble on spicy fries. It’s a last minute rush to the beach to catch one of the most magnificent sunsets I’ve ever seen, the clouds first a muted purple, later burning red. We wander back home giddy with exhilaration.

Batch at Kitsilano Picture: Ian Harland.

Next morning, we experience AetherHaus. Sea to saunas are already a mainstay on Irish beaches, but Vancouver offers a glimpse of what’s to come in the world of wellness. At AetherHaus, we follow a 90-minute guided relaxation class, moving from the large sauna to cold water plunge pools.

The saunas at AetherHaus. Picture: AetherHaus.

We take a break from the city again and take the road towards Whistler, stopping at the Sea to Sky Gondola. We reach the summit and breathe in the fresh mountain air, trying a few lighter hikes as we take in the astonishing views.

Back in the city, we stroll along the water’s edge, amid the yachts at Coal Harbour, and take in more traditional shopping options downtown before we eat sushi back in Temaki at Kitsilano.

The flight time home on my last day is 3pm, meaning there’s still a morning left for exploring. We stop en route to the airport at Granville Island. This is the English Market — if it were five times the size. Fish, fruit and veg, salads, breads, sweet treats are all housed under one roof with stores dotted across the sprawling outdoor complex.

First though, we order a coffee on 4th Street (Vancouver prides itself on its coffee house scene), have a wander through the shops, and take a final early morning run along the seawall. I turn to my friend and tell her how beautiful ‘Kits’ is looking this morning. She smirks. Three days and I’m even talking like a local.