Waterfront Station connects two Skytrain lines, the Millennium Line and the Canada Line. The station has several exits; one leads you to the waterfront on Cordova St. and the other is closer to the city centre. Your adventures can begin at either exit, but we recommend starting at the Waterfront. You can split the trip into two or three adventures if you don’t want to spend the whole day and night out. If you decide to really throw yourself into this Urban Exploration, you will get some exercise in the woods, learn about history, eat something amazing, and explore your creative side. Here we go.
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#1: The Marine Building, at 365 Burrard Street, is about a 4 minute walk from the station. The art-deco building was the tallest building in the British Empire when it opened in 1930 and played the home of The Daily Planet in Smallville and the Baxter Building in the Fantastic Four films. Make sure you look inside the lobby and walk towards the elevators. If you want a drink or a snack before you head to your the next stop, try Tractor Foods (healthy, delicious and reasonably priced), which connects to the lobby. They open at 11 am on weekends and 7 am during the week.
#2: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park You have to make a choice right now about whether you want to visit Capilano Suspension Bridge Park or Grouse Mountain for a few hours. Both destinations provide free shuttles from Canada Place ( a 4 minute walk from the Marine Building back towards the water). The Capilano Suspension Bridge shuttle leaves every fifteen minutes. BC residents pay admission once and then get free visits for a year with their guests discounted at 15%. And there are more activities in the park than the beautiful suspension bridge.
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OR #2:You could take the shuttle to Grouse Mountain shuttle leaves every hour until July and August, when it leaves every 30 minutes. Admission and a yearly pass to Grouse Mountain is more expensive than the Capilano Suspension bridge, but there is more to do at the top. We bought annual passes because we like to do the Grouse Grind, go snowshoeing and because we love the views from the top. The Grouse Mountain website has all the info you need on tickets and attractions.
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#3: Tea Wok. After the shuttle back to Canada Place, it’s time to explore some city sights and eats. Just a 9 minute walk from Canada Place, is the Taiwanese restaurant, Tea Wok, at 551 Seymour. Specialities include the Taiwanese Burger, Three Spice Chicken, Taiwanese fried chicken, and delicious, thick toasts for dessert.
Chicken Nuggets
#4: Commodore Lanes. To work off your meal, after a 7 minute walk, you can go bowl a few games at Commodore Lanes (at 838 Granville). Commodore Lanes was also built in 1930 (same year as the Marine Building) and along with 12 lanes of 5 pin bowling, pool tables, arcade games, foosball tables and darts, it’s filled with cool artifacts from its 86 years of continuous operation. Commodore Lanes is the perfect place for a quick bowl and a beer before the next stop.
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#5: Central Library. An 8 minute walk away from the bowling alley is the wonderful Vancouver Central Library and LIbrary Square, at 350 W Georgia. The building, which occupies an entire city block, with its kind-of coliseum style architecture appeared in Battlestar Galactica, Fringe and Caprica. Aside from having millions of books and periodicals and dozens of computers, the Central Library also has an Inspiration Lab. If you have a library card, you can use the Inspiration Lab to create and edit audio, video, photography and tech projects. If you want to learn, you can use Lynda.com for free while you are there and/or take a group class if you book in advance. They take reservations and walk-ins. There are plenty of places to grab a quick cup of coffee or snack in the atrium if you need something before you go home. From the library, it’s just a 7 minute walk to Granville, City Centre and Stadium Stations.
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#6: The Shipyards Night Market. If you happen to be doing this adventure on a Friday between May and September, don’t go home yet! Head back to Waterfront Station and take the seabus to Lonsdale Quay. On Friday nights from 5 - 10 pm you can visit the Shipyards Night Market. Just east of where the seabus drops you off, The Shipyards is a great place to listen to music, eat (we always have to eat), buy some locally made-products and have a drink in the beer garden. There is no price for admission so you can enjoy the views of downtown Vancouver from across the water before deciding what and where to eat and drink.
When you are ready to go home, take the seabus back. It departs every 15 - 30 minutes, depending on the date and time - check with Translink for details and then take the Skytrain home from Waterfront Station afterwards for the same price with your Compass Card.
The fact that you can do all this from one Skytrain stop is further proof that Vancouver is truly Awesome.
