The Vanmag Neighbourhood Guide: Mount Pleasant

If the legendary Dude Chilling Park is any indication of Mount Pleasant’s funky, laidback nature—and it is—this neighbourhood is easily in the running for one of Vancouver’s coolest. It’s an area full of eclectic vintage stores, vibey breweries and a whole lot of denim. Mount Pleasanters have an “I can bike there” mentality and are always game for a cheeky happy hour or to help you rationalize an out-there consignment purchase. It’s time to embrace your inner Type B. Go with the flow. Maybe impulse-commit to some kind of ironic tattoo. It’s all chill.

Go brewery hopping

It’s like running a marathon, except you’re walking and stopping for pints and you actually spend most of the time sitting. Oh, and you don’t have to go far… the following breweries are all less than 10-ish minutes apart on foot. Here’s the game plan: get a 33 Acres of Sunshine French blanche from 33 Acres (15 W 8th Ave., 33acresbrewing.com), a Lions Gate lager from Steamworks (2275 Main St., steamworks.com), a Quibbler fruit beer from Brassneck Brewery (2148 Main St., brassneck.ca) and a Kingpin Juicy hazy pale ale from Main Street Brewing (261 E 7th Ave., mainstreetbeer.ca).

Get design inspo

Bring some Vancouver design influence to your own space with the real-life Pinterest board that is Mount Pleasant’s home stores. Parliament Interiors (2703 Main St., parliamentinteriors.com) is located in a heritage building, but its furniture focus leans modern—find neutral, natural, goes-with- everything furnishings here. There’s Japanese tableware, teaware, ceramic art and more at Murata (15 E Broadway, murata.ca). Vancouver  Special (3612 Main St., vanspecial.com) is a bit further south, but worth the walk: revered global brands like Alessi meet local artisans like Tafui here.

READ MORE: The Best Design Stores in Gastown

Get your cabaret on

Think downtown has the only nightlife in the city? Think again. The Fox Cabaret (2321 Main St., foxcabaret.com) is a vibey venue for everything from live music to comedy to burlesque to throwback dance parties to horror-themed variety shows. A few blocks east, there’s the Biltmore Cabaret (2755 Prince Edward St., biltmorecabaret.com), an underground entertainment hub with equally diverse offerings—disco parties, DJs, stand-up and more.

READ MORE: These Vancouver Venues Pair Great Cocktails With Live Music

Play dress-up

Hardcore thrifters know that secondhand shopping is all about the thrill of the hunt, and this neighbourhood offers racks upon racks of treasures to sift through as you live out the afternoon of your rom-com montage dreams. Find cowboy chic leather duds at Mintage (245 E Broadway, mintagevintage.com), a full Canadian tuxedo at The Rag Machine (2425 Main St., @theragmachine), office-ready designer blazers at Gather the Shop (109 E Broadway, gathertheshop.com) and red-carpet-worthy luxury resale at Turnabout (2929 Main St., turnabout.com).

READ MORE: How to Vintage-Shop Like a Pro