5 Reasons You Should Stay in Downtown Vancouver

If You're Visiting Vancouver, You Should Stay Downtown

By Dana Lynch

Updated 05/17/17

If you're visiting Vancouver--for fun, travel or business--you should stay in Downtown Vancouver. Whether you stay at one of the Top 10 Hotels in Downtown Vancouver or the Cheapest Places to Stay (That Are Still Safe) or at an AirBnB, there are numerous advantages to a downtown location. 

These are the top five reasons to stay in the downtown core.

Downtown Vancouver is the peninsula that comprises the West End, Coal Harbour, Gastown, and Yaletown neighbourhoods. Google Map

  • 01 of 05

    It's Easy (and Cheap) to Get To and From the Vancouver Airport

    Yaletown in Vancouver, BC
    ••• Yaletown in Vancouver, BC. Photo © Ken Straiton / Getty Images

    If you're flying into the Vancouver International Airport (YVR), it's incredibly easy (and cheap) to get from the airport to Downtown Vancouver: just hop on the Canada Line (Vancouver's rapid transit / metro) and zip into the city for just a few dollars per person. 

    If you're staying close to Stanley Park (which is about a 30-minute walk to one of the Canada Line stations), you can always grab a taxi from the Canada Line to your accommodations for far less money (and time) than a taxi from the airport.

    Getting To and From the Vancouver Airport

  • 02 of 05

    Sightseeing is Easy and You Don't Need a Car

    Vancouver Trolley at Stanley Park
    ••• Vancouver Trolley at Stanley Park. Image Courtesy of Tourism Vancouver / Coast Mountain Photography

    If you stay in Downtown Vancouver, then you don't need a car. You can easily walk (or bike) to major attractions (including Stanley Park, English Bay Beach, Robson Square, the Vancouver Art Gallery), shopping, dining, and nightlife.

    If you want to see more of the city, there are hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus tours and sightseeing boat cruises.

    You can also use public transit to quickly and easily reach attractions outside the downtown core:

  • 03 of 05

    It Has the Best Nightlife (You Can Walk Home Drunk)

    Granville-Street-Vogue-and-Roxy.jpg
    ••• The Granville Strip in downtown Vancouver. Image Courtesy of Tourism Vancouver / Clayton Perry

    Generally speaking, the best nightlife in Vancouver is in the downtown core. There's the Granville Street nightlife district (home to many of the Top 10 Nightclubs in Vancouver), Yaletown nightlife, gay nightlife, and fabulously chic cocktail spots. If you stay in Downtown, you can walk home drunk.

    Is it safe? Yes. I'm a lady who has walked home from a night out in Downtown Vancouver many times, albeit usually with other lady friends. But if you do feel unsafe, just grab a(n inexpensive) taxi. 

  • 04 of 05

    Downtown Restaurants Are Among the Best in Vancouver

    coast restaurant
    ••• Coast Restaurant in Downtown Vancouver. Image Courtesy of Coast Restaurant / Glowbal Group

    Another great reason to stay in Downtown Vancouver: the food! Many of Vancouver's best restaurants are in the downtown peninsula, which means they're likely in walking distance.

    Continue to 5 of 5 below.
  • 05 of 05

    Shopping!

    exterior of Holt Renfrew in Vancouver, BC
    ••• Holt Renfrew in Vancouver, BC. Photo © George Pimentel / Getty Images

    Downtown Vancouver is home to several of the city's best places to shop, and if you exhaust those options you can take the Canada Line / Sky Train to Metropolis at Metrotown (the biggest mall in B.C.).