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Shopping Walk: Gastown
Where is Gastown Walk?
Known for: Small boutiques stocking independent labels with a youthful edge, good restaurants and a few great contemporary furniture stores.
Starting point: Water Street at Richards, or West Cordova at Seymour
Nearby attraction: Gastown Steam Clock; Chinatown
Getting there by transit: Dozens of bus routes, as well as the SkyTrain rapid-transit line, SeaBus passenger ferry and Westcoast Express commuter train all converge at Waterfront Station, a massive red-brick building that was once the city’s main train station.
Parking: There’s precious little street parking in the area, particularly on Water Street, so you may have to use a parking garage — or better yet, take transit.
Overview: Gastown is Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood, dating back to the 1860s. As you’d expect, it’s seen some major transformations since then — from an 1886 fire that destroyed most of its buildings to an era of prosperity in the 1920s that gave way to decades of neglect. Even after the area was given heritage status in the 1970s, its retail identity was nothing special — tacky souvenir shops and bars were its dubious claim to fame.
Thankfully, Gastown has experienced a retail renaissance within the last half-dozen years. You’ll still find a few shops selling T-shirts emblazoned with maple leaves and Canadian moose, but you’ll find far more sophisticated restaurants and hip boutiques, many of which carry the work of Vancouver designers. And if you’re a fan of contemporary furniture and home decor, there’s more than one can’t-miss outlet in the area.
You should be aware that street addresses in Gastown can be a bit confusing, particularly where West Cordova Street and Water Street come together at a V-shaped intersection. So even though Waterfront Station and Steamworks share a parking lot, for example, the station is on West Cordova and Steamworks is on Water. You’ll also find that some stores at the beginning of the route have entrances on both these streets. And it’s strange but true — there is no 200 block on Water Street.
At the opposite end of the budget and the neighbourhood is Army & Navy, 36 West Cordova. The immediate area is not our idea of fashionable, but you can score some incredible designer-label bargains, and their legendary once-a-year shoe sale in April deservedly draws huge crowds.
Good to know: Be aware that east of Cambie Street and south of West Cordova, the neighbourhood goes rapidly downhill — you’re on the margins of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, which is unfortunately home to many drug addicts and people living on the street.
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