5 Reasons You Should Stay in Downtown Vancouver

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Updated on 06/26/19

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 neighborhoods. Google Map.

01 of 05

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

Yaletown in Vancouver, BC — 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.

02 of 05

Sightseeing is Easy and You Don't Need a Car

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:

There is free shuttle service to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park from Downtown Vancouver.
You can take the False Creek Ferry or Aquabus to Granville Island, Vanier Park museums, and Kitsilano Beach.
You can take the Canada Line / SkyTrain to Chinatown, Science World and Commercial Drive.

03 of 05

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

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. But if you do feel unsafe, just grab an inexpensive taxi.

04 of 05

Downtown Restaurants Are Among the Best in Vancouver

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

Holt Renfrew in Vancouver, BC — 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.).