What is Granville Island?
Granville Island is a 40-acre parcel of land dedicated to leaving you with an impression that will last forever. Located along False Creek at the border of Vancouver's downtown, Granville Island has undoubtedly one of the BEST Public Markets the world has to offer. The astonishing thing about this place is that the markets are only a sliver of what the village provides.
By 1915, Granville Island was formed. 1,000,000,000 cubic yards of fill were used to create the foundation.
The island was first mapped out in 1858 and surprisingly still holds an accurate layout today to the plans of that time.
Neatly tucked on a peninsula underneath the south side of Granville Bridge, this gem immediately satisfies your curiosity upon driving in. Aside from the uniqueness of being underneath a large bridge, there is an instant feeling of creative energy that the brain cannot process in one single moment.
From the colours of the buildings, the local artwork abounds, and the plethora of unique shops, restaurants and markets, it is impossible to focus on a single spot that you could pinpoint as the best part of your day.
The entire day ends up being the best part. Granville Island is that great, plain and simple.
Perimeter Tour
It took some consideration in how to present this place to the readers. You can start anywhere as it is all remarkable. The best approach would be to start by touring the perimeter and then filling in the middle with shops and markets. On this day, this was how I captured it, so I will take you on the same tour!
The moment you walk to the edge of the parking lot toward the water, this is the first view you absorb. You glance over to your left and see the Burrard bridge with the mountains of West Vancouver back in the distance.
Water taxis, sailboats, yachts, rental watercraft, and kayakers are all abundant on most sunny days in this area. At times you can recognize the frustration on local mariner's faces trying to navigate the channel with the inevitable percentage of reckless people on rental boats.
On most days, you are treated to talented musicians busking all over Granville Island. Many people enjoy pulling up a bench, gazing towards the high rises of Yaletown to the serenading sounds of whichever instrument graces you that day. This moment that I describe is one of many specific vibes that the city of Vancouver provides. You can see the satisfaction in the faces of the people that sit and gaze.
Once you have realized that you have been sitting there for an hour and that you better keep moving in order to see everything, continue along the water to get to the "Shops Of The Creekhouse".
The Shops Of The Creekhouse are businesses such as:
- Art Galleries
- Tech & Consulting
- Doctors Office
- Esthetician
- Soap Gallery
- Gelato & Coffee Shop
This is one of my top spots on Granville Island. From this viewpoint, you are at the farthest point you can reach east on the island. The vessel "Relief" with a shot of the bridge, alongside these amazing shops to the left, in my opinion, this position truly captures what Granville Island is all about.
Before heading back into the market, there is a little lane one should take a trip down. At the end of it sits one of the Art galleries as well as this statue that sits out front called "The Family".
These sculptures were created in 1966 and weigh nearly 3000 pounds. Erected at the Pacific Press Building for many years, the building was demolished leaving the statues with a need for a new home.
These statues were created by a man named Jack Harmon. Jack received much flack over the boy having his midsection clearly visible, but after some nasty letters and time, the statues became a local landmark.
At one point, somebody attempted to dismember the member with a hacksaw, but to no avail.
Here lies its new home for people to share its interesting back story.
Check the Creekhouse off of your list. Let's make our way to the most abundant location of the island - The Public Market.
As was mentioned earlier, this is arguably one of the best markets of its kind on this planet. The volume of artisan goodness that surrounds your every move leaves you walking lost in a maze of satisfaction.
The smells, presentation and ambience of this place keep me coming back regularly for all of these years.
Here we have my personal favourite place to stop in the market. Longliner Seafoods serves a variety of tasty seafood. What I frequent this place for is the mouth-watering candy smoked salmon.
Smoked Salmon is a staple of the west coast of Canada. Many take great pride in their methods of preparing the fish. This is evident with Longliner as each flavour possesses a thrilling jolt of goodness. Stop here, you will be glad you did.
The market has some great Mediterranean options scattered throughout as well.
Of course, there are multiple market stands of fresh local produce for one to choose from. The fruit and vegetables are especially plump and juicy at Granville Public Market. You get the sense that this entire building hosts only the best of the best. Once you sink your teeth into what is sold here, those assumptions are validated.
As much as I would love to share photos of the entire place, we would be reading this article for days.
Here are some of what you can expect to purchase at the market:
- restaurants
- juice bars
- sausage cheese & deli
- macaroons
- coffee & tea
- florists
- soaps
- spreads & jams
- ice cream
- chocolates
- gadgets
- bakeries
- wine & liquor
- spices & dry goods
- oils, vinegar & condiments
The list goes on and on. Rest assured that all of the above are of the highest quality. Needless to say, come hungry!
Previously mentioned in this post, I touched on buskers entertaining you at every corner. Sure enough, as soon as you get back outside, you run into these talented musicians adding to the incredible ambience of this world-class environment.
Many people that visit will likely have their little ones with them. Do not fear, we did not forget about them little rugrats!
Granville Island has a TON for kids to do as well. Seen below is the rear entrance to the Kids Market. That is correct. There is a market building dedicated to children.
My daughter loves this place as it is filled with rides, toy & book stores. Granville Island has an abundance of children activities such as:
- adventure zone
- craft/art programs
- theatres
- pirate adventures
- music store
- clown and magic
- kids hair salon
- VR rides
Again, there are plenty more things and places to keep the little ones loving their experiences here at Granville Island.
Just a few steps outside of the Kids Market brings you to the playground/waterpark.
This is where we spend much of our time on the island as it is our daughters favourite place to visit here. It is easy to see why that is.
This brings us to the conclusion of this visit to Granville Island. Remember that there are dozens more boutiques, art shops and eateries all over the area. These photos covered only the most popular spots to see. In reality, not even a third of the entire area was shown in this post.
Which is why I love this place so much. It endlessly provides something new to experience so make sure when you visit that you give yourself an entire day at the very minimum.
Here is a quick list of some of what you can experience here:
- Restaurants, Pubs & Hotel
- Markets (everything imaginable)
- Performing Arts Theatres
- Breweries
- Kids Market, Spray Park, Toy Stores
- Artisan Shops of all kinds
- Entertainment
- Water Taxis
- Boat & Bicycle Rentals
- Guided Tours
- Trolley Tours
- Basketball Courts
- Community Center
- Theatres
- Salons
The Children's Festival, Fringe Festival and Writers Festival are all located here as well. The Island has been a location for many films including scenes from the blockbuster hit - Mission Impossible Movies.
The following statement seems to be something that I say with every Vancouver related post:
You need to make Granville Island a priority when visiting Vancouver. It is located a stones throw from downtown.
You will remember this visit forever.
Thanks for reading!