Vanier Park blends seamlessly into Kits Beach, one of the trendiest and most popular stretches of sand in the city, with great views of English Bay, Downtown and the Coast Mountains. A short stroll further on, Kitsilano is one of the most interesting neighbourhoods in the city. From here, Fourth Avenue and the more scenic Point Grey Road lead west to the jutting nose of Point Grey, passing Hastings Mill Store, Vancouver’s oldest building, and some of the city’s best sand beaches, on their way to the University of British Columbia (UBC). It’s a long journey that is amply rewarded by the unmissable Museum of Anthropology. Nearby is the extensive UBC Botanical Garden and the serene Nitobe Memorial Garden. The peninsula also contains the extensive wide-open grounds of Pacific Spirit Regional Park, and a lovely trail runs all round the coast, passing through Wreck Beach, Vancouver’s official, very popular nude beach. SightsKitsilano Bus No 2 or 22 south on Burrard to Cornwall then walk to beach; 4th Av/Kitsilano: Bus No 4 or 7; West Broadway: Bus No 10 or 16. In the 1960s Kitsilano was the main focus of Vancouver’s sub- culture, the city’s answer to Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. By the 80s, many of those hippies had secured high-paying jobs, bought and restored their houses and helped turn Kits into Yuppie-ville. Reflecting this change, many of the old wooden town houses that used to grace the area have been torn down and replaced by condos. A lot of geniune character remains, however, with an atmosphere somewhere between alternative and affluent. The region’s most interesting strips, West 4th Avenue between Burrard and Macdonald, and West Broadway (9th Avenue) between Macdonald and Alma, are well worth exploring, containing many of the city’s best speciality stores and restaurants. Weekend brunch here is a Vancouver institution. Kitsilano Outdoor Pool, T 7310011, May 22-Sep 12, 1200- 2045, from 1000 weekends, $4, $2.50 seniors, $1 children, is the biggest and most popular in Vancouver. The adjacent Kitsilano Showboat is an outdoor theatre for summer productions. Kitsilano to UBC For Jericho Beach, bus No 4 or 44; for Spanish Banks, Locarno and Wreck beaches, No 4, 7 or 44 to Alma, then No 42. A wonderful trail runs right round the perimeter of Point Grey, linking an almost uninterrupted string of beaches. First of these is Jericho Beach, set in a large, very scenic park with a fine Youth Hostel, an art gallery/theatre, a sailing school and a bird sanctuary. Three unbroken kilometres connect it to Locarno Beach, a quiet area popular with families, and Spanish Banks, which has a beach café and warm, shallow water ideal for paddling. Beyond the museum (see below), roughly where Marine Drive meets University Blvd, about 100 steps lead down through the forest to the 6-km strip of Wreck Beach. On a hot day as many as 10,000 sun-worshippers take advantage of its clothing optional status, while wandering peddlars supply them with cold beers and food. Much of Point Grey’s interior is occupied by Pacific Spirit Regional Park, also known as the Endowment Lands, 35 sq km of wild forest criss-crossed with hiking, biking and horse riding trails. Hastings Mill Store 1575 Alma St, T 7341212. Mid-Jun-mid-Sep Tue-Sun 1100-1600, otherwise Sat and Sun 1300-1600. By donation. Bus No 9 Broadway or No 4, 7 or 44 to Alma and walk. On the way to UBC, situated on the water near where Alma Street meets Point Grey Road, is the Hastings Mill Store, Vancouver’s oldest building, transported from its original site in Gastown. Today it houses a modest museum displaying a small number of First Nations and pioneer artefacts. The building itself is the main event. Museum of Anthropology 6393 NW Marine Dr, T 8225950, http://www.moa.ubc.ca Summer daily 1000-1700, Tue until 2100. Winter Wed-Sun 1100-1700, Tue until 2100. $7, $5 seniors, $4 students, children under 6 free. Free entry Tue 1700-2100. Free tours daily at 1100 and 1400, plus 1800 on Tue. Bus No 4 or 10 south on Granville then walk, or change to No 42 at Alma. Parking is the most expensive in town and limited to 2 hrs (which is not enough). Founded in 1949 and situated on Native Musqueam land, this extraordinary museum is easily the best attraction in Vancouver. The building was designed by Arthur Erickson to echo the post-and-beam structures of Northwest Coast First Nations, and contains the world’s finest collection of carvings by master craftsmen from many of these Nations, most notably the Haida of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and the Gitxsan and Nisga’a from the Skeena River region of Northern BC. The tone is set before you even enter by a pair of traditional but modern Welcome Figures and a set of fine red cedar K’san doors. Be sure to pick up a Gallery Guide at the Admissions Desk ($1.50). As well as providing a commentary to the exhibits, it gives a brief but excellent introduction to First Nations cultures, the stylistic differences between them and an overview of their classic art forms. Carvings inside are grouped by general cultural area and informatively labelled. A ramp flanked by works mainly by the local Coast Salish groups quickly leads to the heart of the exhibition, the Great Hall. A 15-m-high wall of glass fills this vast space with ample natural light, whose constantly changing hues and shadows create a perfect atmosphere for the incredible collection of large carvings. Most of the pieces, such as the splendid house posts from Quattishe Village, date from the early- to mid-19th century, but a surprising and encouraging number are very recent. Look out for the painted panels by Lyle Wilson, Two Salmon, Beaver, and Killer Whale; or Wasco by Jim Hart. The most exceptional pieces are by the late master Bill Reid, such as Bear (1963), Sea Wolf with Killer Whales (1962) and a 7.5-m inshore cedar canoe (1985). Down the hall a natural-light-filled rotunda houses his most exquisite masterpiece The Raven and the First Men (1980), based, like so many of his works, on Haida mythology. Four adjacent cases contain many of his earlier, smaller works. The museum has such a large collection of smaller carvings in gold, silver, argillite and wood, that they are constantly rotated. Look out for the excellent late-19th-century silverwork of Charles Edenshaw and the wonderful modern bronze sculptures of Dempsey Bob. Outside, a path leads to a number of exterior exhibits that are visible through the Great Hall’s vast windows. This includes a large Haida family dwelling, a smaller mortuary house, and a collection of ten totem poles. There are fine views from here of the city, mountains and ocean below. Unbelievably, this is still only about half of what the museum has on display. The Koerner Ceramics Gallery features a collection of some 1,600 rare European ceramics. At least four galleries are devoted to excellent temporary exhibitions. Then there are the Visible Storage galleries: in a relatively small space the museum makes over 14,000 objects accessible to the public, about 40% of its permanent collection. Quality pieces from all over the world, copious enough to fill another large museum, are grouped according to location and huddled together in crammed display cases or pull-out drawers. Again, Canadian aboriginal groups are well represented, including a good collection of Inuit tools and carvings. The sheer quantity of items is overwhelming, so don’t dream of trying to take it all in. At least two visits are required to do the museum justice. Try to save a bit of energy for the small gift shop in the lobby which is packed with splendid books, carvings, jewellery and prints. Nitobe Memorial Garden and UBC Botanical Garden 6804 SW Marine Dr, T 8229666, http://www.hedgerows.com Daily 1000-1800. Nitobe closed weekends in winter. $6 for both, $4.75 for Botanical Garden alone, $2.75 for Nitobe. Students $2. Free tours Wed and Sat 1300. Bus No 4 or 10 south on Granville. A short stroll from the museum is the Nitobe Memorial Garden, an authentic Japanese tea garden. It is a subtle experience, with every rock, tree and pool playing its part in the delicate harmony to create an ambience that encourages reflection and meditation. There are cherry blossoms in spring, Japanese irises in summer, and Japanese maples in autumn. Moving anti-clockwise, the garden apparently represents the stages of a person’s life. A further 3 km south on Marine Drive is the much more extensive but equally delightful UBC Botanical Garden, the oldest of its kind in Canada. Spread over 28 ha are a number of expertly maintained theme gardens. The Physick Garden is devoted to traditional medicinal plants from 16th-century Europe. The Food Garden provides an instructive lesson from green-fingered experts, including a collection of fruit trees that have been cleverly twisted into various shapes, including a ‘UBC’. This is as much an educational as an aesthetic experience, with well-labelled exhibits and regular lectures. The gift shop has many fine gardening- related products and plants for sale.
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