20241011_100135Capilano Suspension Bridge (October 2024)

Our final destination on our 10-day Canada trip was to Vancouver, the largest city in the province of British Columbia. Home to 2.6 million people in its metropolitan area, this seaport city is home to an ethnically-diverse population (with over 42% being of Asian descent)! Vancouver is nothing short of culture and incredible eats from all around the world– my friend “A” and I definitely ate lots of good food during our three nights in town, all the while sightseeing and enjoying the bustling city.

Originally inhabited by the Squamish and Musqueam people for over 10,000 years, Vancouver saw a massive economic boom during the Fraser Gold Rush of 1858, which brought many miners from California up north to try their luck. Just a little over a decade later in 1870, the colonial government took up urban planning, creating the prototypical name “Granville.” By 1886, the city was changed to “Vancouver,” which sticks to this day.

Today, Vancouver is the most densely-populated city in Canada– it’s a blend of heavy urbanization and natural settings, the latter showcased in the massively beautiful Stanley Park. Weather is quite temperate all year-round, not too warm and not too cold compared to the rest of the country. Not a surprise, then, that Vancouver is one of the most-expensive cities to live in, with houses costing over $1.3 million CAD ($940,000 USD) and rent increasing year after year. Another pricey place to stay, and as much as I love Vancouver, I’m by no means ready to move there financially.

It’d been over 20 years since I’d last visited Vancouver: I first visited in 2001 when I was a kid, as I have some family who live there. I was so young that I have almost no recollection of what my family and I did there, so I was interested in returning as an adult to see it with fresh eyes. Our flight over from Calgary was a short 90 minutes: we left at 14h00 and got into Vancouver around 14h30 (time zone changes), soon touching down and grabbing an Uber to our hotel downtown.

Traffic into Vancouver was horrible, as it took us over an hour to make it to the city center. Eventually, we made it over, and “A” and I checked into our hotel, located right in Downtown. Our room was spacious, more of an apart-hotel with a whole kitchen and living room with couches. The views of downtown Vancouver were gorgeous, too, and we could even see the harbor! Given we’d booked six months prior, it wasn’t too pricey at $228 USD ($315 CAD) per night, and we were right in the center!

We arrived just a bit past 16h00; “A” needed to do laundry, and fortunately, the hotel had some laundry machines to use. I had plans to meet up with a friend (“D”), who lives in Vancouver, for dinner nearby. I’d invited “A” as well, but she wanted to rest and catch up on laundry, so I headed out at 18h30 on my own to meet up with “D” at a restaurant just a block away from the hotel. “D” and I were language assistantes in France seven years prior, and we spent two hours catching up on our lives over good food. I also grabbed dinner to-go for “A,” said goodbye to “D,” and headed back to the hotel, where I rested for the remainder of the evening.

“A” was still tired the next morning, so I ended up heading out on my own at 8h00 to first grab a quick breakfast (doughnuts and coffee) before making my way to Canada Place by the harbor where I saw the “Digital Orca” statue (which looked like Lego) and caught the first shuttle bus at 9h30 out to Capilano Suspension Bridge, located in North Vancouver. It took about 20 minutes to get there, and soon enough, the park opened at 10h00. I’d purchased my tickets online in advance, as it’s a highly-popular tourist attraction; in fact, there were already a lot of people waiting to enter. The queue moved quickly, however, and I was finally inside the park.

20241011_082339Doughnut and coffee for breakfast


20241011_090744Canada Place


20241011_091734Digital Orca


20241011_095327Waiting for the park to open…

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is, of course, a suspension bridge that spans 460 feet (140 meters) and over 230 feet (70 meters) above the coursing Capilano River in the middle of a verdant forest. I made my way over to the bridge to walk across it, and to be honest, it was a little scary! The bridge bounced and swayed with the wind and other visitors walking on it– I didn’t feel like I was in danger, but it definitely felt thrilling! I could finally breathe once I made it across.

20241011_111013Capilano Suspension Bridge

Besides the bridge, the park also has plenty of elevated walkways to traverse, above the trees, green and misty from the rain earlier that morning. It was all very beautiful, and I also checked out the Cliffwalk, another walkway alongside, of course, the rocky cliffs, before checking out the souvenir shop to purchase a few trinkets to bring home and taking the next shuttle back to Vancouver proper. I spent perhaps about two hours at the park, but I can see visitors easily spend a whole day exploring, especially with kids. Admission was steep at $55 USD ($76 CAD), but it’s still a beautiful, worthwhile place to check out while in town.

20241011_104103Art installation inside the park


20241011_111331Cliffwalk

Upon returning to Downtown, I grabbed a hot dog at one of the Japadog stands, a city favorite. Japadog blends the classic hot dog with Japanese flavors, even using wagyu beef for the sausage. I ordered a hot dog with fries and a drink– to be honest, it was just-okay. It didn’t blow me away, but it was nice trying out a staple of the Vancouver area!

20241011_121307Japadog for lunch

I met up with “A” back at the hotel. We decided to take an Uber over to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC (University of British Columbia), located west of Vancouver on a peninsula. “D” had recommended a visit, and I was interested in checking out the First Nations exhibit, filled with totem poles, canoes, baskets, and other artifacts from many of the tribes who were originally in Canada. There were also numerous exhibits dedicated to other people from Canada, including the Inuits and Métis people, as well as the world.

20241011_144420Totem poles and canoes


20241011_152019Masks


20241011_153615Baskets

It was a bit overwhelming with all of the stuff inside, but we spent a solid two-and-a-half hours seeing as much as we could before grabbing an Uber back to Downtown, where we got sushi for dinner. Considering that Vancouver is by the ocean and has a large Japanese population, the sushi is known to be good, so we ordered several to share. Even better was that it was really affordable at $30 USD ($41 CAD), all high-quality, too! Afterwards, we walked back to our hotel– tired, but happy from a great first day in town.

20241011_182820(1)Sushi for dinner

More of Vancouver to come soon. Until then! 🙂

— Rebecca

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Published by Rebecca

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40 thoughts on “Destination: Vancouver, Canada (Capilano Suspension Bridge, Anthropology Museum, & Sushi for Dinner– DAY 1)”

  3. Sounds like you had an amazing first day in Vancouver! From tackling the iconic Capilano Suspension Bridge Park (I love your photos from the bridge), to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, and ending with a sushi dinner – perfect! 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Marion! Sounds like you haven’t visited Vancouver in a long while, as long as I had before this trip! I’m sure a lot has changed since your visit, and I hope you can return to see the difference!

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  5. Going back to a place you had been to when you were little is always a good idea, as we often don’t remember much from that first trip many years ago. I’ve always been intrigued by Vancouver, and I think I would enjoy the Museum of Anthropology.

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    1. Indeed! I have fuzzy memories of my first time in Vancouver, as I was only eight years old, but I do remember the general fond memory of it all. The Museum of Anthropology is really fascinating, if overwhelming– you could easily dedicate an entire day just to see it!

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  6. I think Vancouver is a beautiful place. Your photos from the Capilano Suspension Bridge inspire me to walk across it again (the entrance fee does seem a bit pricey now, but I think the experience is worth it.) My dear friend and I have plans to visit the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, too, so it was nice to get a preview! Thanks for sharing, Rebecca. Looking forward to reading more about your visit!

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    1. Indeed! The Capilano Suspension Bridge was a lot of fun. I found the Museum of Anthropology very insightful, especially on the First Nations. Hope you can head over to Vancouver to check them out!

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    1. I was surprised, too! Good-quality sushi at decent prices (at least for Western standards). The Museum of Anthropology was huge, but very insightful; I learned a lot about the First Nation people and the history of Canada. More of Vancouver to come soon!

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  13. I’ve always wanted to go to Vancouver. Now that I’ve been to Toronto, I’ve seen some of the other main cities in Canada (Montreal, Quebec City, Banff) – Vancouver is the holdout. That is VERY steep for a park – whew! I think I’d enjoy that museum, though! How great that you got to catch up with an ami while you were there!

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    1. Nice! I hope you make it west to Vancouver some day. The Capilano Suspension Bridge is expensive, but it’s worth at least a day’s visit! I caught up with not one, but two amies while in town; more to come soon!

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  14. Glad you had some fun on the bridge! I remember how anxious I got when we visited Capilano, because a large group of young people coming onto the bridge created an unexpected swaying. I’m laughing now at the reaction I had, but it wasn’t so funny at that time😀

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    1. Nice! I’m glad you enjoyed your visit to Vancouver years ago– perhaps it’s time for a return trip! The Capilano Suspension Bridge was a bit scary to walk on, but thrilling at the same time!

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  19. I didn’t know Vancouver was the most populated city in Canada… hence the crowds in your photos. I would have gone for the sushi as well, knowing there is a great Asian community there, and always loving sushi since my time in Japan.

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    1. I think you’d have a wonderful time in Vancouver with all of the sushi and Asian food to have. Vancouver’s a highly-populated city, given its proximity to the ocean and its warmer climate compared to the rest of Canada.

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