Granville Island | One Of The Best Things To Do In Vancouver, Canada
Planning a trip to Vancouver? Granville Island Is A Must!
When friends or travellers ask me what to do in Vancouver, an attraction I always recommend is Granville Island. Yes, it is pretty touristy and very busy, but it somewhere I always return to when I go home. It doesn’t matter if you are a solo traveller, a couple, a family, young, old, a beer lover, or a self-proclaimed foodie, it has something for everyone.
Read more here: Vancouver Travel Tips
Getting There
Getting to Granville Island whether you have a car or not, is pretty easy. If you have a car, you can drive there and self-park. During peak seasons or even weekends, parking can be a bit challenging. My tip for parking is to wait for people who are coming back to their car and somewhat follow them. When I travel to Vancouver without a car, I’ll take a Car2Go and park in one of their designated parking spots.
Read more here: Car2Go: Using This Budget-Friendly Car-Sharing Service
One of my favourite ways to get to Granville Island is taking the Aquabus. If you’re coming from downtown or from Olympic Village, just head down to one of the Aquabus stands and take this cute little water taxi over. You can also take the #50 city bus over. Click here for directions and bus schedules.
Read more here: Million Dollar Water Views From This Vancouver Water Taxi
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Things To Do
- Public Market: I love it here! I snack my way through the whole place picking up pastries, bread, salmon candy, donuts, candy, and more. Don’t forget to get a donut at Lee’s, sausages from Oyama, Longliner Seafoods for salmon jerky.
- Farmers Market: On Thursdays usually from June through September
- Kids Market: I went here as a child and I totally recommend you come here with kids if you’re travelling with them.
- Granville Island Brewery Company: Love craft beer? Head here for a tasting.
- Railspur Alley: Visit the many artisans who have their own shops like the Artisan Sake Make, the Granville Island Broom Company, and Liberty Distillery. I’m a huge fan of the Artisan Sake Maker. Masa Shiroki makes his sake with rice that is grown in British Columbia! Very local!
- Eat At One Of The Many Restaurants: Bridges, Dockside, Cats Social House, Edible Canada, Go Fish, and The Keg. My recommendations would be Go Fish, Dockside or Edible Canada.
Granville Island Photo Album
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View of the Granville Street Bridge and the Aquabus stop
Loved by all and seagulls haha
Lots of choices for eateries, no stomach will be denied!
Visit my friend’s butcher shop
Granville Island is berry berry good!
BC made sake at Artisan Sake Market in Granville Island’s Railspur Alley
Sea Asparagus at South China Seas Trading Company
Lunch of Haida Gwaii caught halibut fish and chips at Dockside
Canadian products sold at Edible Canada
Farmers Markets on Thursdays
Check out this Os Gemeos art that was part of Vancouver’s Biennale
A First Nations totem carving
Markets are one of my favourite places to visit when I travel. How can you go wrong with eating local food and people watching? Granville Island is a definite must-do in Vancouver.
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HELPFUL GENERAL TRAVEL TIPS
- Flights: Find a cheap flight using Skyscanner or Momondo. I like these two booking sites because they both search all websites and airlines around the globe including budget airlines.
- Accommodations: I use Booking.com or Tripadvisor to find the best rates on hotels. Hotels.com offers a free night after booking 10 nights.
- Get up to $40 off your first Air Bnb stay by using this code!
- Travel Insurance: Since I have gotten sick on my travels in the past, I never travel without being insured. You never know when something may happen. For my round the world trip and extended long-term travel, I use World Nomads. For shorter trips, I have used Roam Right and they cover activities like extreme sports.
