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Quirky Vancouver: A Visit To Granville Island

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granville island
Photo via Jessie Festa

The city of Vancouver has much to offer the curious visitor. Trendy restaurants in Yaletown, rich history in Gastown, natural beauty in Stanley Park. If you’re looking for something truly quirky, however, one recommended stop is Granville Island.

Getting There

While Granville Island is called an island, it’s actually a peninsula as it’s attached to the downtown. You can walk over the Granville St. bridge from Yaletown to access. Your other option is the Aqua Ferry which can also be accessed from Yaletown at the marina. Tickets can be purchased on board. Prices are $4.50 one way or $7.50 round trip.

Quirky Options

granville island
Photo via Jessie Festa

Take In Public Art

Walking around Granville Island, you’ll see numerous works of public art. Sidewalks littered with colorful chalk drawings, enormous metal flowers, and abstract animals make for interesting photographs.

Have Your Fortune Told

Looking for clarity? The Tarot Room specializes in tarot and psychic readings, along with intuitive counseling, all within a welcoming and supportive atmosphere. A visit offers a chance for meaningful self-discovery and guidance, offering an interesting and introspective way to spend time on Granville Island.

Channel Your Inner Harry Potter

Granville Island Broom Company features an array of unusual, Harry Potter-style brooms with odd shapes and twisted handles. Much of the wood is made from naturally dead Manzanita wood from the Dragoon Mountains in southern Arizona. It’s great because of it’s rich color, weird streaks and quirky distortions.

Listen To Live Music At The Dock

Where you get off the Aqua Bus by the Public Market, there are often live performers. There’s no telling what kind of entertainment will be going on that day, but be prepared for some original creativity through singing, music, dancing and more.

graville island public market
Image via Tourism Vancouver

Eat Exotic Foods At The Public Market

Among the crafts, jewelry, and lunch items are some more unusual food fare worth trying. Exotic fruits from other countries, quirky jams, and fine chocolates in flavors like wasabi, ginger and hot pepper jelly can be found.

Get Sweet, 1885 Style

Rogers Chocolates is the oldest chocolate shop in Canada. The British Columbia chain has been in operation since 1885, and still sells their Victoria Creams in the same wrapping as they did over 100 years ago (shown above). I’d also suggest sampling their maple chocolates, which feature the rich sweetness of Canadian maple syrup.

Take In One-Of-A-Kind Pieces From Numerous Artisans

Granville Island is full of creative artisans, all of whom help create the culture of the island. Don’t expect only your standard landscape or portrait painting. There are about 50 galleries, some of which include metal-weaving works at the Boardwalk Gallery And Metal Weaving Studio, eyewear made by hand out of wood, horn, gold and silver at Granville Eyeland Opticians & Framemakers and sandblasted glassworks at Granville Island Glass John Nutter Studio. For more information, click here.

Sip Artisanal Sake

At the Artisan Sake Maker, you can taste handcrafted sakes. Their Osake is the first “fresh premium” Namazake of its kind produced in Canada. Made in small batches, it’s fermented from top quality Japanese sakami, then pressed and bottled by hand. For $5, you can learn about and sample three varieties. If you’d rather eat your sake, you can order infused dishes like Japanese dumplings with artisan SakeKasu sauce or slow cooked pork sliders with a SakeKasu base.

Tour Granville Island Brewing & Make Your Own 6-Pack

Visit Granville Island Brewing for a chance to learn about local beer, as well as create your own 6-pack. They brew their beer using high-quality, natural ingredients, not allowing any preservatives or chemicals into the product. Think natural honey, maple syrup, raspberries and other natural ingredients. Some of their best brews are the Cypress Honey Lager, a soft malt beer with flavors of honey, False Creek Raspberry Ale, refreshingly tart with pale malt and Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale, a caramel malt with a light hop bitterness and hints of maple.

Tours run daily at 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM, and cost $9.80 for students and seniors and $10.92 for adults. This includes three beer tastings, as well as in-depth knowledge of the beer production process. For a limited time, visitors can also create their own 6-pack for $13.25.

Make Stuff

Make is a quirky store on Granville Island that allows shoppers to create their own buttons, shirts, embroidery, laser engraving and more. You can color on the paper bag-covered art table or shop for repurposed items  and funky decor. Offbeat products like gloves made of underpants and super-hero dolls that also double as bottle opens can also be found.

What are your favorite things to do on Granville Island, Vancouver?

About Jessie Festa

Jessie Festa is a New York-based travel content creator who is passionate about empowering her audience to experience new places and live a life of adventure. She is the founder of the solo female travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and is editor-in-chief of Epicure & Culture, an online conscious tourism magazine. Along with writing, Jessie is a professional photographer and is the owner of NYC Photo Journeys, which offers New York photo tours, photo shoots, and wedding photography. Her work has appeared in publications like USA Today, CNN, Business Insider, Thrillist, and WestJet Magazine.