West Side

Home to Vancouver's students, creative types and beach bums

Noteworthy for: West Side is home to Vancouver's 'Greektown', one of the few ethnic enclaves outside East Vancouver.
Talk of the town: Greenpeace was founded in Kitsilano in 1975. Yogawear behemoth Lululemon Athletica also had its humble origins here in 1998.

Across English Bay is the arty West Side, home to a huge university campus, a nudist colony and the Museum of Vancouver. Students, writers and artists populate this area (or the ones who can afford to, at least), which includes the neighborhoods of Kitsilano (or 'Kits') the quaint Point Grey, and the largely residential Kerrisdale and Shaughnessy. West Side is a chilled out place, with a distinct villagey feel.
Some of Vancouver's best beaches are in West Side, from the golden sands of Jericho and Locarno, over to the Spanish Banks and the nudist Wreck Beach. The most happening place, though, is definitely Kits. From cool Kits Point, down Arbutus Street, across 16th and back up Alma, you'll find dozens of leafy streets with pavement cafes, art galleries, cheap bars and vintage stores. If Downtown is disco, West End 80s pop, and East Vancouver grunge, then West Side is definitely indie.