The Vanmag Neighbourhood Guide: The West End

Take a stroll just a bit west from the skyscraper-ed downtown core of Vancouver and you’ll find the West End: a vibrant, welcoming neighbourhood with beautiful architecture—both modern and historic—at every turn. Davie Village is a hot spot for 2SLGBTQIA+ friendly nightlife, Alberni Street a high-end shopping destination and Robson a bustling strip of restaurants, retailers and the odd karaoke bar. Plus, this ’hood is surrounded by nature on three sides: there’s English Bay to the south, Stanley Park to the west and Coal Harbour to the north. West Enders love to live here and won’t shut up about it, but who can blame them?

Take in Stanley Park

It’s simply not possible to visit Vancouver without spending time in and around Stanley Park—sorry, we don’t make the rules. You can walk or run the 10-kilometre seawall loop, or take in the ocean and towering evergreens at a faster pace by renting a bike from Spokes (1798 W Georgia St., spokesbicyclerentals.com) or an e-bike from Bikes and Blades (718 Denman St., mybikesandblades.com). Talaysay Tours (talaysay.com) offers Indigenous-centred walking tours focused on totems, ethnobotany and more.

READ MORE: Artist Carson Ting’s Perfect Vancouver Day

Snack with statues

Yue Minjun’s A-maze-ing Laughter (1800 Morton Ave.) has been a photo-ready local landmark since 2009—the year before Instagram was founded, actually, so these bronze sculptures were posing for selfies ahead of their time. Grab some takeout from either Mediterranean Grill (1152 Denman St., mediterraneangrill.ca) or Beeryani (1184 Denman St., beeryanidenman.com) to enjoy among the hysterical figures, or go sweeter with gelato from Bella Gelateria (1752 Davie St., bellagelateria.com) or D’oro Gelato e Caffè (1094 Denman St., dorogc.com).

READ MORE: The Vanmag Guide to Gastown and Chinatown

Get sushi and souvenir shop

Since you can’t take a smoked dynamite roll from Tom Sushi (1175 Davie St., tomsushi.ca) home with you, wander up or down Davie Street post-lunch to browse the shops. Find funky secondhand clothes at The Only (1283 Davie St., theonlyvintage.com), a library of hot sauces at Lucifer’s House of Heat (1682 Davie St., lucifershouseofheat.com) and top-rated wines from B.C. and beyond over at Marquis Wine Cellars (1034 Davie St., marquis-wines.com).

DIY an architecture tour

The West End is home to lots of beautiful heritage homes—create your own walking tour and imagine what it would be like to live in a mansion. The Roedde House Museum (1415 Barclay St., roeddehouse.org) is a restored home that belonged to Vancouver’s first bookbinder (brag alert!) and is open to the public. There’s also the dreamy 1890s-era Barclay Manor (1447 Barclay St.), the rumoured-to-be-haunted Gabriola Mansion (1523 Davie St.) and the round-turreted Rand House (995 Bute St.).