Olympic Neighbourhoods – The West End

John Horn — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:08:38 +0000

As a key media outlet for the 2010 Olympics, the Daily Gumboot is excited to bring you our “Olympics Neighbourhoods” series. Here’s how it works: each week, Managing Editor, Kurt Heinrich, and Editor-in-Chief, John will profile a different Vancouver neighbourhood with a specific focus on things that might interest out-of-town visitors who arrive in The Couve for the Olympics. We will do this between now and the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and the story will be told be the Gumboot’s editors asking and answering the five questions below. These are the straight goods that you can’t get from VANOC, the Ministry of Tourism or the City of Vancouver. Let’s get to it!

1. Where is this neighbourhood exactly, and how do I get there?

JOHN: You know what? Lindsay McKeeman (see the video below) did such a great job that I think I’ll let her walk us all through the colourful journey that is the West End of Vancouver. Here is a map of the neighbourhood. Have fun with it!

LINDSAY: The West End of Vancouver is on the downtown peninsula neighbouring Stanley Park and the areas of Yaletown, Coal Harbour and the central downtown district. Encompassed within the West End is the vibrant Davie Village, or as I affectionately refer to it as the “gaybourhood”, which is home to the city’s gay community and annual Pride Parade held August 1st. The West End also serves as the corridor to Stanley park, and an entry point to the Seawall.

2. Why should a tourist/traveler be interested in it?

LINDSAY: The West End, while still downtown, offers a close-by residential refuge from the busy bustling downtown business core. In addition this neighbourhood is home to a multitude of restaurants, pubs, cafes and clubs along Davie and Denman streets. If you continue West down Davie Street, you’ll find yourself at the ocean in English Bay. Walk down towards the water and you’ll link up with the Seawall as it snakes along the water to Stanley Park. The Seawall, on a clear day, is one of the most beautiful places to run or stroll, in Vancouver.

JOHN: The laughing statues – created by Yue Minjun – are a must see and you can find them in the Morton Triangle at Davie and Denman. It’s called A-maze-ing Laughter and it will certainly make you chuckle.

3. What good and/or unique things are there to eat?

LINDSAY: Want just a baked potato for dinner? no problem. How about a baked potato with 40 different topping options? Mr Kumpir has you covered! What if you’re more of a sweet tooth? Again no problem, within the same block of Denman St there are cookie, cupcake, and cream puffs stores to satiate your search for sweets! One item restaurants aside, there are tonnes of cheap Sushi spots along Robson and Denman, including Akira Sushi. Akira Sushi, for what it lacks in esthetics makes up for in its cheap, good quality sushi. Highlights include the toro sashimi, gomae, and black rice rolls! Lolita’s south of the border Cantina, another favourite along Davie Street has super tasty soft taco’s, I recommend the halibut and “oceanwise” ceviche.

4. What can I do for fun in this neighbourhood.

LINDSAY: During the Olympics Vectoria Elevation will be lighting up the night skies over False Creek and English Bay in a myriad of patterns, that you can go online and control and create yourself! http://vectorialvancouver.net/

(I feel like I’ve talked about the seawall and restaurants, but those can be included too)

JOHN: English Bay is the home of the annual Polar Bear Swim (superfun and super cold), and, hey, let’s not forget the dancing. But that’s on New Year’s Day. If you just want to jump in the water when it’s cold, though, that’s cool too.

5. What are your three favourite things about the West End?

LINDSAY:

1) English Bay, and surrounding beaches, including sunset, second and third beach offer up some of the best spots in Vancouver to sit with some food, a bottle of fine wine and watch the sun set over the strait of georgia.

2) People watching. Oh yes, walking up Davie street or running along the Seawall offers some of the best people watching in the city. Whether it be drag queens in full costume or wide eyed tourists taking in the sites, there is never a dull moment in the West End.

Urban Density and the West End get along really, really well...

3) Going for a Run along the Seawall. Again, while I feel like I’ve harped on this spot a lot already, I’m still quite new to Vancouver and the West End, so going for a run along the Seawall still leaves me breathless, for two reasons; its beauty, and quite frankly the length of that damn thing! If you’re feeling ambitious, technically you could run all 22km of that beauty!

JOHN: my favourite thing is that the West End is located right next to my home town of Merville! I guess that’s why Kurt put it in…not because he made a mistake. But we’ll get to that next week. I also like the dancing and weaving through pedestrians who walk on the bike path – for shame, pedestrians…

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Olympic Neighbourhoods – The West End