The Most-Read Vancouver Magazine Stories of 2024

Every year, we compile a list of the most-read stories here on Vanmag.com, and every year, it’s basically all food content, with the good ol’ Restaurant Awards continuously at the top of the pile. This usually results in a nice year-end existential crisis where we question all of the other stories that we do—do they even care about the housing crisis? why did I spend so much time painfully handcrafting custom itineraries for the Best Vancouver Day ever if they only want to know where to find good Japanese food? am I the only one who noticed that Vancouver doesn’t have an official mascot?

But this year, while the list is still jam-packed with restaurant-forward coverage, there’s been a wild upset for the number one spot. Make your way down our countdown to read our most-popular story of 2024 for yourself—it may not help you satisfy your hunger, but it’ll feed your curiosity at least.

The Most Popular Stories on Vanmag.com in 2024

10. Ranking Everything We Ate at the Richmond Night Market in 2024

Contributing editor Alyssa Hirose is always game to eat too much on our behalf, so she was the perfect person to tackle this ultimate ranking of the best of the best of the best Richmond Night market offerings this summer.

And if “reading” isn’t your thing, she made a snappy Reel about the gluttonous experience, too.

 

 

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9. 10 Spots to get Spot Prawns in Vancouver in 2024

Okay, this is really not helpful information right now, in December 2024, but this summer, Vancouverites turned to us for timely details about where to get their hands on those sweet, sweet seasonal shrimp. And we were honoured to deliver this essential intel—it’s the most prawn-derful time of the year, after all.

8. Over 20 Restaurants Offering Thanksgiving Dinner 2024 in and Around Vancouver

We take a lot of pride in our editorial coverage of the city’s restaurant scene, with unbiased reviews and thoughtful recommendations going into every issue. And yet, you, dear reader, are happy simply with a comprehensive list of raw data. Maybe you’re interested in our hot take on Cambie Village’s new pasta hotspot, but you also just want the cold hard facts about where to get your hands on a good ol’ turkey dinner. Respect.

7. These Are the Best Swimming Holes Near Vancouver

We did a whole ‘Get Outside!’ package this summer, featuring recommended bike rides, cool secret climbing spots and tips for snagging a great camping spot, but one story stood out: our list of the best swimming holes in and around Vancouver. Sometimes an article just makes a splash, what can we say?

6. Where to Find The Best Happy Hour Downtown

You’re a thirsty bunch, but you’re also thrifty: our kind of people. Food editor Dani Wright pulled together this excellent list that has become a go-to reference for anyone who likes to slip out of work a little early to sip and yap with their office comrades. (For further reading—and drinking—may we recommend our new Best Happy Hours column by Nikki Bayley?)

5. 18 Vancouver Restaurants Make Canada’s 100 Best List 2024

We can only assume everyone who clicked on this story about Canada’s 100 Best list went away with the same reaction: “Only 18?!” Perhaps the judges of this high-falutin’ national competition didn’t properly review our Restaurant Awards to really understand just the calibre of rooms we have here.

4. Introducing Vanmag’s 2024 Power 50 List

This year’s Power 50 list was a dramatic change from yesteryear, primarily because of our Hall of Fame list that took some of our usual suspects out of contention. The result is a fresh collection of folks who are powering the city right now, whether in politics, sports, social activism or the arts.

Want to be the first to learn who’s going to make our 2025 Power 50 list? Get on the waitlist for tickets to our big awards event now, happening this February, or subscribe to get a free print edition delivered right to your door.

3. Eat the Suburbs: The Best Places to Eat in Langley, B.C.

Whether it was residents or just hungry visitors who pushed this round-up of great Langley spots to the top of the list, bravo: you helped Langley outranked all of the other cities we explored in March’s Eat the Suburbs issue. Better luck next time, Richmond, Port Moody, New West and Burnaby.

2. Announcing the Winners of Vancouver Magazine’s 2024 Restaurant Awards

No surprises here that our annual list of the best restaurants in Vancouver is one of the most-read stories of the year—it’s become a vital reference doc for Vancouver foodies, whether they’re seeking out great Thai food or want to try the hottest new room.

Want to have your say in next year’s Restaurant Awards issue? Voting will be open soon for the Reader’s Choice portion of the awards… sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss your chance to weigh in. (Democracy now!)

1. Why Is International Village Mall So Empty?

In a historic upset, the Restaurant Awards lost the top spot this year to… a humour column about why International Village Mall (known to most of us as ‘Tinseltown’) remains a spooky, empty hub in the centre of Crosstown.

Was it the spooooky illustration by Byron Eggenschwiler, or did the question just strike a chord with anyone who had ever taken the escalator to the third-floor movie theatre and wondered “How on earth does this place stay in business?” Maybe that’s the next mystery for editor-in-chief Stacey McLachlan to solve in her Know-It-All column.