It’s spring break in BC’s Lower Mainland and that pretty much guarantees a gloomy weather forecast. (Old joke: how do you know what the weather’s doing in Vancouver? Easy: if you can’t see the mountains it means it’s raining and if you can see the mountains, it means it’s going to rain.)
You can’t let the wet stuff dampen your holiday spirit. Just grab the Gore-Tex and a sturdy brolly (the cheerful, wind-resistant offerings from Vancouver’s Cheeky Umbrellas are well worth the bucks) and make like a local with some of these recommended rainy-day pastimes:
Vancouver loves a Cheeky Umbrella
- Visit Hong Kong without a passport on a trip to Richmond’s Aberdeen Centre, where the city’s sizeable Asian population comes to shop, eat and be entertained.
- Cloudy skies only heighten the moody atmosphere of the Museum of Anthropology, a celebrated repository of Northwest Coast Aboriginal art at the University of British Columbia.
- Look up when it’s coming down: head for the snow on the nearby North Shore mountains. Look for specially priced ski-and-snowshoe packages here.
- Steamy and tropical, the domed Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park blooms with birds, butterflies and lush floral vistas. (It’s the best place for foolproof photos, too.)
- Indulge your inner culture-vulture at Tickets Tonight with last-minute, half-price tickets to Vancouver’s primo arts events and wait out the monsoon in a matinée.
- Rain or shine, the Whistler Mountaineer train between North Vancouver and Whistler is the best way to take in the coastal scenery along the Sea-to-Sky corridor. (The season runs May to October.)
- Drop your umbrella and your shoulders and say spaaaaaaah. My favourite sanctuary is still (and will likely ever be) the Absolute Spa chain, now with a new location at Park Royal in West Vancouver.
- When you’ve exhausted the indoor pleasures of Granville Island Public Market, pop your top and walk the False Creek seawall west to Kitsilano Beach or east to Science World.
- Like hockey but can’t afford tickets to a game? Head downtown to Vancity Theatre for the Hockey Nights in Film series during spring break.
Where do you like to pass a rainy day in the Lower Mainland? Please share your suggestions!
March 12, 2009 at 10:43 am
Rain + kids = libraries, community centres (and the swimming pools attached to them) or if I’m feeling flush, science world. I also like Lynn Canyon in the misty rain, it’s absolutely ethereal.
March 12, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Well, here are some ideas we love for really inclement weather: http://www.yoyomama.ca/2008/11/keeping-busy/. We’ve also just published a great spring break guide with events both outdoors and in, so you’re covered no matter what the weather: http://www.yoyomama.ca/2009/03/spring-break/, the circus sounds especially cool!
I love my cheeky umbrella too. Thanks for all these great ideas, I love the tickets tonight hint for getting cheap tix!
March 12, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Outside. Everyone heads indoors on rainy days, so you pretty much have all the great outdoor spots to yourself. Nothing like a walk around the seawall in a gale, or running from coffee shop to coffee shop on Denman or Main.
Or wandering through our forest on Bowen, or walking the trail at Terra Nova.