Gassy Jack’s statue
overlooks Maple Tree
Square in Gastown,
where the city began
in his makeshift saloon
of the replica 1875 steam-powered clock, buy yourself a jazzy souvenir, and get acquainted with First
Nations art in one of the high-end galleries. Be
seduced by designer shoes, dresses or handmade
jewellery. Lunch on a smart patio and keep your
cell at the ready to broadcast possible celebrity
sightings. If you are the just-hanging-out type,
find a bench for some prime-time people watching, quaff a pint of local craft brew or a glass of
BC wine at one of the award-winning watering
holes, or sit in one of the independent coffee shops
and ponder the marvels of urban evolution that
Gastown epitomizes.
YALETOWN
From railyard and rag trade to dot-com central and
waterfront condo-land: downtown’s south end has
become a trend-setting urban community retaining fragments of its eclectic past. Shining glass
condo towers join converted warehouse lofts as
stylish des-res options. The face-lifted ex-industrial
setting is a popular movie location. Chic salons,
upscale groceries and stylish boutiques pamper,
clothe, feed and furnish local residents. Old loading
docks have been rejuvenated as trendy brewpubs
and swanky restaurants, where high-tech mavericks and hipsters meet. Dance and jazz festivals
and other arts and cultural events find a home at
the Roundhouse, a former locomotive hub turned
community centre, and on the lush expanse of
adjacent David Lam Park. See and be seen on the
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manicured waterfront where lavish yachts share
the False Creek waters with kayaks, dragon boats
and mini ferries to Granville Island.
KITSILANO
F