West End

Beaches, bars, bicycles, and bohemian living on English Bay
Noteworthy for: Some of the older buildings around Comox and Pendrell Street are reminders of West End's former upscale, genteel status.

Word to the wise: If downtown's Metrotown is too crowded for you, shop up a storm at the enormous Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver near Lions Gate Bridge.
Sandwiched between downtown to the east and Stanley Park to the west, this area, particularly around Davie Street, is mostly famous for being Vancouver's gay quarter. Burrard Street acts as the natural eastern border, and shoppers roaming west of Robson Street will find that the pace slows the further they get from downtown.

West of Robson, on Denman Street, there are lots of noodle bars and cute cafes, and a steady stream of cyclists headed for Stanley Park. At the bottom of Denman along Beach Avenue is English Bay Beach, always bustling with sun-worshippers, skaters and picnickers taking time out from the office.

Nightlife in West End is fantastic. On top of the dozens of gay (but not exclusively-so) bars and clubs in Davie Village, West End is home to some of Vancouver's best restaurants serving up Asian and South American cuisines. If Vancouver has anything resembling a 24-hour party culture, it's here.