Canadian Tour 2017: Day 12 – Vancouver

Or 12th day in Canada and 2nd day exploring Vancouver involved exploring the city by bike and in particular the sea wall and Stanley Park. First things first however, breakfast!

Breakfast at Medina

We kicked the day off by heading out of the hotel and literally next door for breakfast at Medina. This place was so popular people were queuing down the street but luckily as we were in the hotel next door we managed to get ourselves to the top of the reservation list and could walk straight in, perfect!


After breakfast we returned to the L’Hermitage hotel and picked up the hotel bikes that we had arranged to hire for the day – free with our booking which was fantastic!

Cycling the Sea Wall

With our bikes sorted we headed off in the direction of the sea wall from our hotel in Downtown. The roads in Vancouver have dedicated cycle lanes so it was really safe and easy to navigate our way across the city.


We cycled across to Coal Harbour and made our way out towards Stanley Park, passing the lost lagoon and the totem poles.


We then made our way right around the sea wall and Brockton Point Lighthouse which offered some fantastic views across the bay.


From here the cycling continued where we saw Siwash Rock and Third Beach before we stopped for a rest at English Bay Beach. The view across the bay was great but I was surprised at how many tankers were in the sea with anchors dropped!


Continuing around the bay we ended up at Morton Park where we had some fun with the humorous art on display…

Lunch at House Special

We cycled back to the hotel and returned the bikes before heading back out for some lunch with some Vietnamese dining at House Special on Hamilton Street.


From here we passed the Roundhouse Community Centre which housed C.P.R. 374 which was the first engine to pull passengers into Vancouver. Of course it would have been rude not to get over excited and climb up onto the engine!

Exploring Kitsilano

We then decided to explore South West Vancouver and so walked to Burrard Street where we the crossed Burrard Street Bridge.


Heading into Kitsilano we explored the area a little before finishing our walk at Kitsilano beach which offered some amazing views back across the bay.

An evening on Granville Street

Having headed back to the hotel (which was quite a walk from Kitsilano!) we went for dinner at Roxy Burger which was perfect for the evening – relaxed, casual, simple food.

We then wound the evening up with some drinks on the lively Granville Street.

And that was Day 12! 2 to go before flying back to Gatwick.

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