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Shopping Walk: West 4th Avenue
Shopping route: West 4th Avenue (Kitsilano), from Burrard to Balsam
Known for: Fashion stores, cafes and restaurants
Walk covers: West 4th Avenue at Burrard to West 4th at Balsam
Nearby attraction: Granville Island
Getting there by transit: Several buses run from downtown Vancouver down West 4th — the #4 (Phibbs Exchange/ Powell/Downtown/UBC), #7 (Nanaimo Station/Dunbar), #44 (UBC/Downtown), #84 (UBC/VCC Station) and #258 (UBC/West Vancouver) will all take you there.
Overview:
If a single shopping area encapsulates the essence of Vancouver’s laid-back lifestyle, it’s this strip of West 4th Avenue. It’s the heart and soul of Kitsilano — Kits for short — which in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s was the closest thing Vancouver had to San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury district.
Today, the neighbourhood’s hippie-chic atmosphere has grown up and gone upscale. Instead of peasant blouses and pukka shells, yoga wear and designer labels now set the retail tone for the area, but you’ll find just about everything here. A few major chains have a toehold here, but locally owned boutiques occupy the lion’s share of the storefronts.
And it’s impossible to go hungry or run low on caffeine on West 4th. Coffee shops and restaurants — ranging from casual bistros to some of the city’s top eateries — can be found on every block. On sunny weekends, the sidewalks are packed with people when local residents and others flock to the area to meet friends and tap into the pulse of the neighbourhood. Kits is cool, so if you are too, it’s the place to be.
Close by and worth the walk: We’ve guided you along West 4th Avenue west of Burrard, but if you’re into skiing, snowboarding, surfing or biking, immediately to the east are a number of stores that cater to all those pastimes, both with gear and sports-specific clothing.
Walk a couple of blocks further east on West Fourth and you’ll find yourself at the entrance to Granville Island, famed for its public farmer’s market and its collection of artisan’s shops and restaurants.
Good to know: Street parking is at a premium on West 4th and there are few parking lots to pick up the slack. There’s one under the Capers Community Market in the 2200 block (the entrance is on Vine, north of 4th) or you can try parking on one of the nearby residential streets — but watch out for the “residents only” parking signs or you’ll wind up with a pricey parking ticket, or worse, you’ll be towed. Transit or a taxi may be a better option.
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