Join The Club
Vancouver is a city that loves to host. Don’t expect locals to be Air BNB’ing their homes and evacuating for the World Cup, they will be here to welcome visitors, join in the party and contribute to what could well be the vibiest of all 16 locations across Canada, USA and Mexico hosting World Cup games this summer.
The city hosted the Winter Olympics in 2010 and the Women’s World Cup final in 2015, so this isn’t their first rodeo by any means.
FourFourTwo visited two months out from the first of seven games taking place at their downtown stadium, BC Place, to recce this incredible city.
The Matches
In total, 13 of the 104 World Cup matches take place in Canada, six in Toronto and seven in Vancouver. Two of the Vancouver games will be Canada’s group games vs Qatar and Switzerland. If Canada wins their group (which features Bosnia and Herzegovina in addition to the two other nations just mentioned), they’ll stay in Vancouver for a historic knockout match.
That will be vs the 3rd-place finishers from groups that include heavyweights such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, or even Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Vancouver’s Round of 16 game on 7 July could see nations like Uzbekistan, Colombia, DR Congo, Croatia, Ghana, Panama, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and even England come to town. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
There is so, so much more to this city than the summer football; if you’re visiting, try to give yourself at least a week to get a proper sample of the offering. Here is our guide to help you get the biggest bite out of this tasty destination.
Food and Drink
It’s actually difficult to find bad food in Vancouver. Everywhere we ate hit. Sushi, BBQ, Mexican, Italian, veggie… Vancouver’s menu is vast. There’s also incredible coffee and a big brewing culture here, so you won’t go thirsty either.
Restaurants we can vouch for include Nook, a popular chain of Italian-inspired neighbourhood restaurants with at least five spots across the Metro area. Similarly, homegrown restaurant Tap and Barrel have a presence in the city, with half a dozen locations. This restaurant and pub chain is known for its massive waterfront patios, industrial-chic decor, and commitment to BC craft beer (most locations feature around 36 local craft beer taps) and wine.
To the east of the city, we had some incredible tacos and one of the best margaritas we’ve ever tasted (with guava slush) at Havana on Commercial Drive. While in the west, we enjoyed a legendary vegetarian restaurant called The Naam on West 4th Ave. It’s been in the city for almost 50 years and is the oldest vegetarian spot in Vancouver. Pre-pandemic, it operated 24 hours a day; now it generally opens 11am-11pm. There are no bookings, just show up and hope. Sometimes there are queues, but it’s worth the wait for their Dragon Bowls with miso gravy.
If you’re in town but ticketless, there are sports bars all over. The Pint, and Score, are two popular ones. But we enjoyed Shark Club at 180 West Georgia Street, which has been ‘Feng Shui’d’ for sports fans. It’s difficult to find a spot without an uninterrupted view of an HD screen. Granville Island is another must-visit food stop off, but we’ve dedicated a whole section to that further into this guide…
Shopping
Unleash your credit card in Vancouver, especially if you’re British, with £1 worth almost two Canadian dollars at the time of writing. Lululemon was founded here, and after dominating the luxury yoga pants market, they’ve branched out into active and lifestyle wear for men and women. We bought a few bits, it’s seriously comfy, not heavily branded, and people back home have already started asking where we got it.
We also got liberally contactless at Roots, the ultimate Canadian heritage brand. Chunky jumpers, thick plaid shirts, luxury leather and cosy sweats. A Roots hoodie is about the most ‘authentic’ souvenir you can leave here with.
While Lululemon is the king of Vancouver athleisure, Arc’teryx is the king of Vancouver high-performance technical gear. Founded in the city in 1989, the brand has become world-renowned for its obsessive focus on design and craftsmanship, and has brought the gold standard for ‘hard shell’ jackets. These are completely waterproof, windproof, yet breathable. They’re also pricey, expect to pay $800-$1,000. We demonstrated more restraint around these price tags, though it was tough to walk away. Vancouver is nicknamed ‘Raincouver’ for a reason, so it’s no surprise to see a lot of this label whilst navigating the area.
Granville Island
No trip to Vancouver is complete without a visit to Granville Island, the city’s vibrant peninsula, accessible via bridge from South Vancouver, or via an Aquabus (much more fun). The Aquabuses are tiny, colourful, electric tugboats that shuttle passengers from various points around the seawall. Once an industrial manufacturing hub (and there is still some evidence of that), Granville Island became the creative heart of the city 50 years ago. It’s one of the most visited spots in Canada. Here, gritty heritage meets world-class cuisine.
At the heart of this is the Public Market, a huge indoor hall crammed with over 50 permanent vendors. To qualify, you need to be locally owned and established, with a strict ‘no franchise’ policy. There are no Subway or Starbucks here. Instead, there are places like Lee’s Doughnuts, Oyama Sausage and A Bread Affair. FourFourTwo’s tip is to visit on a weekday morning or late afternoon on the weekend, to experience Granville without the massive crowds. Buy a coffee and ‘Nanaimo bar’, a decadent, no-bake square of semi-sweet chocolate, custard-flavoured buttercream and chocolate biscuit base. Beware the resident seagulls, some of the most fearless in North America.
Venture outside the Public Market to check out the non-foodie artisans operating here: glassblowing workshops, jewellers’ studios, hat makers, high-end paper boutiques, microbrewers and even theatres.
Whale Watching
Whales are a big part of Vancouver’s identity, so you should check them out while you’re here. They’re practically on the doorstep! We took a three-hour boat trip out of Granville Island with the Prince of Whales boat company.
FourFourTwo was slightly trepidatious as we were travelling with wife (with a tendency for seasickness) and an 11-month-old baby. For Indigenous peoples, the whale is seen as a spiritual relative, and we noticed whale symbolism all across the city during our stay.
Travelling out of the harbour on a comfortable, high-speed catamaran, with indoor heated cabins, floor-to-ceiling windows, and multiple viewing decks, we chilled, drank complimentary tea and coffee and watched. Prince of Whales is one of the most established operators in Vancouver, and offers a 95% success rate for sighting whales. Thankfully, we didn’t fall into the 5% on our outing.
What I liked most was their informative talks, which weren’t overbearing and gave enough time for us to sit quietly, chat and admire the scenery. They also bring a professional photographer on board, so you don’t have to fumble for your phone whenever a whale is spotted. Professional snaps from the day (like the ones above!) are emailed directly to you when you disembark the trip.
The cost was $229 per person (£124), with kids under two free, and trips can last 3-5 hours. To avoid obvious cliches, we had a very good time. We saw seven orcas in total, a grey whale and even a young bald eagle.
Grouse Mountain
Vancouver is a stunning city to look at, and there’s no better vantage point than Grouse Mountain, a 15-20 minute drive across the Lions Gate Bridge from Downtown to North Vancouver. The resort celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, and you have options when it comes to scaling the 1,231m peak: Skyride (gondola or cable car) or ‘grind’.
The latter is a legendary 2.9km hike up the face of the mountain. The paths and trails are properly marked and maintained, but are not for the faint-hearted or unfit. It’s a free journey up the mountain, though, whereas return adult tickets in the Skyride cost $84 (£46).
You scale an 850m vertical over a very short distance. For comparison, the Empire State Building is 381m, so you’re effectively tackling it more than twice. Vancouver is an active city though, so you won’t be alone with many hiking up, then taking a relaxing the Skyride down.
FourFourTwo opted for a return Skyride ticket (we’ll grind next time, promise). Though less sensibly, we left our hiking boots in the car and could’ve done with them at the peak, where it is 5-8 degrees cooler than the foot of the mountain and slush season with plenty of snow on top in mid April.
After lunch with a view in Altitudes Bistro (there’s also a five-star restaurant called ‘The Observatory’, plus a fast-service cafe called Lupins), we shuffled across the slush to see Grouse Mountain’s resident bears. Yes, there are two adult bears who live here. Our visit coincided with them waking from their annual hibernation. Grinder and Coola were rescued as orphaned male cubs 25 years ago and now live on the resort.
We observed them in their 5.5-acre habitat. If you want to check if they are actually active before you make the trip, Grouse Mountain’s website has a live ‘Bear Cam’.
Capilano Suspension Bridge
One of Vancouver's oldest, most famous and coolest landmarks. A lovely, chilled-out way to spend a morning or afternoon away from the buzz of the city.
This is essentially a high-altitude playground built into a 27-acre rainforest. It’s privately owned by a local BC legend, Nancy Stibbard, who worked at the park as a kid and took it over from her father in 1983.
It was a simple roadside attraction then, but today it is a full-blown tourist attraction that you can easily spend two to three hours at. There are three main things to check out.
The main bridge spans 137m, 70m above the Capilano River. Perfectly safe, but prepare for some ‘sway’. FourFourTwo isn’t great with heights, but we weren’t troubled striding across this sturdy structure.
On the opposite side from the main entrance is a ‘Treetops Adventure’, seven smaller suspension bridges attached to 250-year-old Douglas Firs about 30m above the forest floor. It’s a wooden village of climbs, ramps, steps, paths, lookout points and cute corners to explore.
Lastly, do the cliffwalk (again, perfectly safe and shouldn’t induce too much vertigo), a cantilevered walkway, jutting out from the granite cliff face. There are some glass-bottomed balconies if you’re feeling brave.
The name "Capilano" is a derivative of Kia’palano, a Squamish name meaning ‘beautiful river’. What struck was just how meticulously maintained the park is, Nancy is apparently a detail obsessive; everything from the handrails and floor treads to the uniforms of the staff were smart and well looked after.
There’s a restaurant on site, food and drink points and a large shop to peruse. A really fun spot. Adult tickets are $75 in advance or $78 (£42) at the window.
FIFA Fan Festival
The city’s cultural heartbeat during the tournament will be it’s FIFA Fan Festival at Hastings Park. Locals will refer to this park as PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) a household name in the city that refers to the organisation that runs the annual summer festival here.
The site is 172 acres and functions primarily as an indoor and outdoor cultural events space, so it’s perfect to host the Fan Fest, which will be in operation here from 11 June until 19 July.
FourFourTwo was given a guided tour of the location by staff and had to use our imagination to envision some of the activations, but what is clear is that a big party will be happening here over the six weeks.
The place will be packed with some of the city’s superb food vendors, there’s an interactive playground planned for kids with football-themed activations, and several art installations are being prepared too.
At the heart of the festival will be a new, partially covered 10,000-seat amphitheatre, a permanent, purpose-built freestanding wooden arch (possibly the largest in the world at the time of writing) with high-end acoustics designed to maximise the experience inside the structure and minimise it if you live in the surrounding neighbourhoods.
Though still very much under construction at the time of our visit, this will be special. A must-visit spot during the summer, with the scenic North Shore mountains as a backdrop and signature concerts booked featuring artists like Ziggy Marley (July 3), Flo Rida (July 9), Mötley Crüe (July 12) and Deadmau5 + Kaskade (July 17).
Located at the park, but not part of the Fan Fest, is Hastings Racecourse. Closed last year, the Vancouver Whitecaps have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore building a soccer-specific stadium here. It would be the first of its kind in Vancouver if the club were able to get it financed.
World Cup matches taking place within local curfew times will be shown on big screens here, and this will be a premium spot for ticketless fans during the big games. Entry is free, though a one-in-one out system will come into play if the park hits capacity, while there will be space for 2,600 people on the amphitheatre floor under the arch.
The Stadium
Ah, yes, the football. If you’re lucky enough to have tickets for one of the seven World Cup games happening inside this beautiful stadium, there are two things to say: 1. We’re jealous, 2. Wear comfortable shoes.
Not only could Vancouver be the most beautiful destination of the 16 host cities, it could also be the most accessible. Music to the ears of ticket holders, with fans attending games in New York and Boston facing potentially expensive, stressful transfers to their stadiums, which are in some cases several miles out of town.
BC Place is basically downtown, so there are plenty of travel options, though we advise against driving. Instead, seek out the Skytrain, ferry, or, even better, take a bike, e-scooter or walk. All should be cheap and straightforward.
The climate will be mild (usually lower 20s), and rain is likely to be a bigger enemy than the sun at this time of year. But you can realistically walk to this venue from any point downtown.
We took in a Vancouver Whitecaps game at BC Place, where 25,000 fans packed the lower bowl, and special awnings in use to help stoke the atmosphere. The club beat New York City FC 2-0 to go top of MLS' Western Conference, with Thomas Muller currently pulling the strings in the Whitecaps midfield.
At the time of FourFourTwo’s visit, finishing touches were being applied to special World Cup walkways to make things easier for fans getting to and from BC Place. Organisers are encouraging fans who are able to walk to BC Place from the south via a matchday fan experience called ‘The Last Mile’, which begins at the Main Street-Science World SkyTrain and winds along the False Creek Seawall, a beautiful, scenic walking path.
The route flanks the False Creek waterfront and promises to be an immersive experience for ticket holders, with a vibrant pre-match celebration planned featuring live music, activations and food and drink stops. You might be familiar with ‘tailgates’ in North American sport, and this will be a play on that, arguably one of the best pre-match fan experiences at the tournament.
It’s not an official competition, but if it were, Vancouver would be clear favourites for the most beautiful location, and the best fan experience, at this summer’s World Cup.
With thanks to purelytravel.co.uk. For more information on Vancouver, visit destinationvancouver.com
