I’m planning a “romantic” trip to Vancouver and Victoria BC this august. I’m looking for good quality reasonably priced hotels and restaurants.
We won’t have a car, we are taking the train up from Seattle. I would like to be centrally located to the touristy stuff, though taxis aren’t out of the question. I don’t have a problem with splurging on dinners and we will probably staying one night at the Empress in Victoria, but would appreciate any other hotel suggestions that would be nice but a little (a lot) cheaper.
Any other suggestions for romantic things to do would be great, we are pretty simple, our last weekend together we loaded a cooler with fruit, salami, and cheese and drove all over Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens.
I know Victoria better. Never stayed in the Hotel Grand Pacific but it’s on the harbor and looked pretty impressive. Have stayed in the Chateau Victoria and it us a great value. Plenty nice, but not especially “romantic” from what I remember. Guess it depends on how much you want to pay for that something extra.
A few months after we married the Ms and I took a trip to Victoria and spent an enchanted evening at a pub called Garrick’s Head. I think the name attracted me. Walked in and stumbled out. Always wanted to make it back. Haven’t yet. Been going on 15 years. These days we could use a bit of that back…
Very romantic… especially if you go during the evening. Actually, in the evening, even if you don’t do the horse drawn trolley, the walk around the seawall is very serene and you’ll see quite a few couples just holding hands and enjoying the scenery.
Depending on when in August you come to Vancouver, there are also going to be Celebration of Light, our summer fireworks display. It gets crowded at English Bay, where it’s officially held, but if you go to Kits beach that’s directly across the inlet, you can watch them while snuggling intimately on a blanket.
There is a superb restaurant at the top of Grouse Mountain. Great food and a stunning view. When I ate there the tram ride up the mountain was free with the dinner reservation.
If you’re interested in “Victorian life”, there’s a cool old mansion called Craigdarroch Castle that you can walk through on a tour, if you’re so inclined. I’m not sure exactly how romantic it is, but we spent a very interesting couple of hours there when I was in Victoria.
I’m recommending a stay at the Granville Island Hotel while in Vancouver. Nothing special, it cost us $129 winter rate for one night last year, but it puts you right in the middle of Granville Island, a retro earthy marine and market community (island connected by causeway). To add more flavour to your day, You can hop onto one of the small ferries and travel the length and breadth of False Creek with many destinations including B.C. Place and Science World.
In short plenty to see and do without getting in a car or bus.
Every time we visit Vancouver from Vancouver Island we just have to visit Granville Island.
Granville Island is pretty awesome… it’s very artisan.
But for the love of the deities, do not go to Science World! It’s a pathetic shell of an excuse for knowledge. Even the little cousin I brought there thought it was pathetic. It’s dilapidated and full of little brats running around, and unless there’s a really interesting exhibit (last time I went, it was for Body Worlds), it’s not worth your money or time. If you want to rest your feet and enjoy air conditioning in an Omnimax theatre, go to the one at Canada Place instead!
If you want to do something science-y and will be around the Granville Island area, go to the planetarium. It’s dinky too, but they have laser shows in the evening!
Spending an afternoon at the Buchardt gardens, punctuated with high tea, certainly fits my ideal of romantic! That restaurant on the spinning observatory in Van city was also pretty lah dee dah!
