Suspension Bridge is a stupid touristy waste of time, don't bother. Vancouvertrails has way more interesting stuff, much of it that you'd have to yourself.

Gastown's touristy but has lots of good eateries too. Six Acres and Alibi Room are great places to start your night/grab dinner. Nelson the Seagull is great too for lunch, though that's Downtown Eastside which is a grungy but gentrifying neighbourhood nearby.

Narrow Lounge is cool, as is Main Street generally. Also consider checking out Locus and, if you're into veg stuff, Acorn has high end stuff with no meat. Good even for non-veg folks (I love meat). Also check out Commercial Drive if you're into what Main Street has to offer.

Enjoy, OP.

>>1092965
Thank you so much!

>>1092874
What sort of food do you like and what's your budget? Vancouver has mediocre food for the most part except for Asian food. Having said that, I'd say Vancouver has some of the best cheap sushi (under $15) in the world. There are a lot of good Chinese restaurants, noodle shops and dim sum all over the place.

As for the bridge fee, yeah it's a tourist trap kind of place. I go there when someone visits me. But there's another suspension bridge not too far away from that one that's free. It's smaller but there are actual hiking trails beyond it if you're into that.

>>1092980
We're not picky, we like exploring local places primarily. Any signature dishes, things we can't get in the US
Work is paying. So we're up for anything, really. Just trying to find places to go at night as pretty much every night we end up going out and we stay out super late

>>1093118
Vancouver doesn't have any signature dishes but if you stick to the Asian theme you might find some places you won't see much of in the States.

Some restaurant recommendations in and around downtown:
-Guu - Japanese Izakaya (gastropub), if you've never been to one you must try it here in Vancouver. They serve somewhat unusual Japanese fare. 6 locations http://guu-izakaya.com/
-Hapa Izakaya - Same as above, some people prefer this one, 3 locations. http://hapaizakaya.com/
-Phnom Penh - If you go to Chinatown this is the best restaurant there imo. Serves Viet/Cambodian, there's often a lineup. Try the garlic frog legs.
-New Town Bakery - Also if you're in Chinatown and just feel like getting a small bite go for a steam bun at this place, they're the best in Vancouver. I usually go for a bbq pork bun and a pineapple-coconut bun.

Otherwise if you're looking for a lot of restaurants clustered together go to Yaletown or Gastown areas, or Davie, Denman, and Robson streets, you'll find something to eat in each location. Also, Granville Island is a tourist trap but there are good food options there. Afghan Horsemen is the best Middle Eastern restaurant in Vancouver, and a place called Go Fish which is right next to where fishermen bring in their catch has some good seafood but ungodly wait times.

>>1093120
Some people really like Gastown, it's not as bad as you say it is and in the last few years I'd say it improved a lot. I rarely go there however.

anyone have specific suggestions for someone with an 8 hour layover in vancouver? i don't want to go too far out and scramble to get back before my flight

>>1093243
depends what interests you.

takes 45mins by train to get into the downtown core. so

assuming you spend a comfortable 3 hours travelling back and forth. you got 5 hours to explore downtown.

>>1092874
You HAVE to walk down East Hastings street and buy NBA 2k5 from a homeless man for 5$.

My favorite beaches are in Kitsilano. They have awesome views of the ocean and downtown.

>>1092874
The Lynn Canyon suspension bridge is similar to the Capilano one but it's free so you might wanna check that out instead

>>1092874
STEAMWORKS PIZZA

Seriously, so good

>>1093890
It stopped being interesting 15 years ago when the Chinese bus tourists started rolling up. Also it'll take him 3 hours just to get there via transit.