Park & Shop: A Two-Wheeled Day in Gastown
Gastown is where history meets city buzz, cobblestone streets, cozy patios, street performers, and local shops. Explore what makes it a must-visit spot and how to get there easily with your bike and FREE Bike Valet!
The first thing I do in each of my travels is find my way to downtown, and when I first visited Vancouver, it was no exception. Downtown offers a glimpse of what daily life looks like for most people in a city. When going to Toronto, for example, I would walk around Bay Street and see how lunchtime brings out a corporate storm at full speed. That’s Toronto’s brand in the end, isn’t it? “The Canadian New York.” Vancouver, on the other hand, is an interesting case—or at least I think so. When looking for Vancouver’s identity, one thinks “The Beautiful City” or perhaps “The Greenest City on Earth.” Words like “nature” and “landscapes” seem essential to describe Vancouver. So what’s happening in downtown Vancouver?
The first time I visited, I went with my family to the famous Gastown Steam Clock, which is, in fact, one of the most popular tourist attractions in downtown Vancouver. When I moved into the city a few years later, I found myself in this area multiple times. It’s not rare to see me having dinner with friends at The Greek or having lunch on Local’s patio during the summer, enjoying the nicest moments of Vancouver weather. Nonetheless, I often find myself in Gastown mostly on Sundays, when my friends text me that they want to do something but we can’t seem to decide what the plan is.
The reason we end up going all the way to Gastown is quite simple. In downtown Vancouver, we either go to Vancouver City Centre, Yaletown, West End (where we usually end up in Stanley Park), or Gastown. While all of them are indeed beautiful, there’s a certain charm in the combination of old architecture and the modern, lively environment that Gastown offers. Last week, I went over, taking my bike and using BEST’s Bike Valet, which, thanks to our friends at the City of Vancouver, is free to use and located at the intersection of Water and Abbott Street. I went with one of my friends to do some window shopping, as it’s one of the nicest activities to do (even though everyone knows I’m usually not the biggest fan of shopping).
During the day, we found nice places to have a refreshing drink, browsed some of the touristy gift shops, and walked around enjoying the fact that some streets are closed so people can walk and/or bike between shops. I found it fascinating to see new small businesses setting up stands, a magic show, and an outdoor DJ who got some people -including myself- to dance for a moment. One place I wanted to check out was a vinyl shop I like. I don’t even own a record player, but it’s fun to look through the cool records. There’s also a piano in the store, and while I was a bit hesitant, my friend encouraged me to play the La La Land song. Some people even clapped once I was done. Needless to say, I was blushing when I noticed people were actively watching and filming me as I played.
I ended the day by buying a nice purple agenda for my mum at one of the many stores. I picked up my bike from the Bike Valet and headed home with a video of my piano skills and some more good times to add to my many memories in Gastown.
There are many more places to visit in Gastown that I didn’t have time to mention, so I’ll leave it to you to find them when you go -and hopefully you’ll use our Bike Valet, which is ending its season on August 31st and is available every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m… Read details
We’ll see you there :)
Bike Valet is people powered parking for your bike, or anything that rolls 🚲🛴 powered by BEST Mobility. Made possible thanks to the support of our partners: Gastown, City of Vancouver & Translink