Anyone who’s window-shopped along the cobblestone streets of Vancouver, BC’s Gastown already knows this is no ordinary ‘hood. Now it’s official: Canada’s Minister of the Environment, the Honourable Jim Prentice, has just designated the district on the edge of downtown Vancouver a National Historic Site. (video)
Block upon block of grand Victorian and Edwardian buildings (more or less lovingly preserved) hold in their cornices and cast iron memories of Gastown’s reign as Canada’s third-largest city and one of its most cosmopolitan. (video) Those Old World aesthetics still prove a glorious backdrop for New World adventure. Souvenir shops abound as so do stylish boutiques, cozy bistros and posh bars where the ghosts of Vancouver’s storied past rub shoulders with local scenesters.
Prepare yourself for an afternoon of shopping at Brioche, one of the city’s best-kept lunchtime secrets, and help yourself to the gossip of lawyers and video- game developers while you wait for your Cornish game hen. Belly full, load up on hot local designers at Dream and Block, conveniently located across the street from one another.
Dine with the beautiful people at Boneta, where west coast cuisine meets seen-and-be-seen with delicious results. Later, start a bar crawl at the corner of Carrall and Powell streets, the current centre of Gastown’s ever-evolving nightlife. Lift a few pints at The Irish Heather, then stumble down Blood Alley for wine and cheese samplers at Salt Tasting Room. Cap off the night with creative concoctions by award-winning mixologists at The Diamond.
Should things get a tad blurry after dark, informational plaques offering tidbits on historic buildings and landmarks are helpful reminders that you’re not just enjoying a rousing night in the back booth of a jaw-dropping restoration. You’re paying homage to the wild spirit of an early Western Canadian city that only gets better with age.
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