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| Official Vancouver Winter Games Site
About VancouverWhere better for the 2010 Olympics Winter Games to take place than the home of Winter Sports – CANADA! Vancouver is regarded as one the most popular cities in North America, while nearby Whistler counts itself among the world’s best ski resorts. Vancouver is the largest city in British Columbia and the third largest city in Canada. It's surrounded by water on three sides and is nestled alongside the Coast Mountain Range. Vancouver is home to spectacular natural scenery and a bustling metropolitan core, and boasts one of the mildest climates in Canada. The City of Vancouver supports a wide range of destination sites — from more than 190 parks to three different civic theatres — that are interesting places to visit for tourists and residents alike. Vancouver is also home to many other sights and is networked by a comprehensive transportation system. Fast Facts |
CurrencyYes, Canada has its own currency, people...and it's no longer a laughing matter! The US and Canadian Dollar are almost equal. You can check daily exchange rates here. Consulates
InternetFree Internet access is available at the Vancouver public library Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. Just across the street, Webster's Internet Cafe, 340 Robson St. charges for access but generally has a computer available. At the other end of Robson Street there's Cyber Space Internet Café. With the ever-growing cafe culture, there are sprouting up plenty of free wi-fi areas all around town. Laundry & Dry CleaningDavie Laundromat (1061 Davie Street) offers self-service, drop-off service, and dry cleaning. Laundry & Suntanning, (781 Denman) doesn't have dry-cleaning services, but you can work on your tan while you wait. Drinking in VancouverThe legal drinking age in British Columbia is 19. Spirits are sold only in government liquor stores, but beer and wine can be purchased from specially licensed, privately owned stores and pubs. Most LCBC (Liquor Control of British Columbia) stores are open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm, but some are open to 11pm. Luggage Storage and LockersMost downtown hotels will gladly hold your luggage before or after your stay. Just ask at the front desk. Lockers are available at the main Vancouver railway station (which is also the main bus depot), Pacific Central Station (1150 Station Street) for C$2 per day. Newspapers & MagazinesThe two local papers are the Vancouver Sun, published Monday through Saturday, and The Province, published Sunday through Friday mornings. The free weekly entertainment paper, The Georgia Straight, comes out on Thursday. Where Vancouver, a shopping/tourist guide, can be found in your hotel room or at Tourism Vancouver. PoliceFor emergencies, dial 911. This is a free call and the same as in the USA. Post Office & MailLetters and postcards up to 30 grams cost 85¢ to mail to the U.S. and C$1.45 for overseas airmail service; 50¢ within Canada. You can buy stamps and mail parcels at the main post office or at any of the postal outlets inside drugstores and convenience stores. Look for a POSTAL SERVICES sign. The main post office is at West Georgia and Homer streets (349 W. Georgia). It's open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5:30pm. You'll also find post office outlets in Shopper's Drug Mart and 7-Eleven stores with longer opening hours. RestroomsFast food restaurants and hotel lobbies are your best bet for downtown facilities. The shopping centers like Pacific Centre and Sinclair Centre also have restrooms. SafetyOverall, Vancouver is a safe city; violent-crime rates are quite low. However, property crimes and crimes of opportunity (such as items being stolen from unlocked cars) occur pretty frequently, particularly downtown. Vancouver's Downtown East Side, on Hastings between Gastown and Chinatown, is a troubled neighborhood and should be avoided at night. That being said, it's more eyesore than danger in this area. TaxesMost goods and services are subject to a 5% federal goods and services tax (GST). Save your receipts: You can get a refund. Each purchase must be greater than $50, and you must have a total of at least $200 to file a claim. (This refund doesn't apply to car rentals, parking, restaurant meals, room service, tobacco, or alcohol.) Hotels and the Info Centres can give you application forms, which you then mail to Revenue Canada on your return home. After processing, the government sends a check to your home address. For details on the GST, visit The Canadian Revenue website. Phones in VancouverPhones in British Columbia are identical to U.S. phones. The country code is the same as the U.S. code (1). Local calls normally cost C25¢. Many hotels charge up to C$1 per local call and much more for long-distance calls. You can save considerably by using your calling card or cellphone. |
By the Numbers
February 12-28, 2010
March 12-21, 2010
80+ 40+ the number of countries participating in the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games
1.8 million
3 billion
25,000
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City Layout
With four different bodies of water lapping at its edges and mile after mile of shoreline, Vancouver's geography can seem a bit complicated. That's part of the city's maritime charm, of course, and visitors usually don't find it too difficult to get their bearings.
Downtown Vancouver is on a peninsula: think of it as an upraised thumb on the mitten-shaped Vancouver mainland. Stanley Park, the West End, Yaletown, and Vancouver's business and financial center are located on this thumb of land bordered to the north by Burrard Inlet, the city's main deep-water harbor and port, to the west by English Bay, and to the south by False Creek.
Farther west beyond English Bay is the Pacific Ocean. Just south across False Creek is Granville Island, famous for its public market, and the beach community of Kitsilano. This part of the city, called the West Side, covers the mainland, or the hand of the mitten. Its western shoreline looks out on the Strait of Georgia with the Pacific beyond, and the North Arm of the Fraser River demarcates it to the south.
Pacific Spirit Park and the University of British Columbia (UBC), a locus for visitors because of its outstanding Museum of Anthropology, take up most of the western tip of the West Side; the rest is mostly residential, with a sprinkling of businesses along main arterial streets. Both mainland and peninsula are covered by a simple rectilinear street pattern.
North Vancouver is the mountain-backed area directly across Burrard Inlet from downtown Vancouver.
Let us be your solution for the 2010 Games in Vancouver. We offer a selection of different downtown properties to fit your needs. Contact us today!
