Christmas Shopping, Part 2: Granville Island

For this shopping trip, I went to the fabled Granville Island, just south of the waterfront area in Vancouver. I left the SkyTrain at the Olympic Village stop, and walked west to get to the island. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect as I approached the island.

Looking at the glowing neon sign at Granville Island

For sure, was no mistaking the glowing neon logo and colourful signs that welcomed me; I had definitely come to the right place.

In front of the sign

It turned out to be a fascinating opportunity for sightseeing. There were musicians freely playing their songs for all to hear. There were no traffic lights; people darted out across the streets in packs, while the cars slowly crawled along and waited to spring forward at the next opportunity. There were tiny boutiques and a huge, living public market. There was even a small vegetarian bakery, where I stopped for some hearty chili and one of my most favourite foods: corn bread! So good!

Thankfully there were also some souvenir shops mixed in with all of the other, more specialized stores. I managed to get just about everything on my list from this trip, though it was involved quite a lot of circling the island and checking the maps (which were very handy!) that were displayed on most of the streets.

Granville Island seems primarily to be a shopping- and food-oriented destination. I’m not much for shopping, but I’d definitely come back for more food! Overall, I have to say I’m glad I explored this well-known landmark in Vancouver.