General Information

When you go Downtown to Vancuver city centre, not only will you be amazed at the variety and bustle that is the city life, you will also be greeted by clean streets and friendly locals. From Creole, Asian to North American cuisine, you are welcome to try everything. Getting to the core of Vancouver is easy and without much hassle.

See Transportation in Vancouver for more details.

In 1884, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) extended its railway system to Gastown as a favor to the city of Vancouver. In exchange, the government gave the CPR over 6000 acres of land which wasn’t considered very valuable at the time as it was beyond the city limit. The railway company had other ideas and has since then changed the history of Vancouver forever.

Starting in 1885, Lachland Hamilton, the then CPR Land Commssioner, decided to lay out the streets west of Cambie on a new and better grid system. You can find the street that was named after him. This was the first street that was ever built in Downtown. Two years later, the CPR began to build the first ever Hotel Vancouver on Georgia and Granville. In the year 1889, it even managed to attract the likes of famous writer like Rudyard Kipling.

Over the years, Vancouver’s business district continued to boom and rise even higher. It continued not only to the west along Hastings but also south past Georgia as well, making it one of the most diversified and busiest area in British Columbia.

To get an idea of Downtown Vancouver and what it is like, click any of the following choices below:

Places of Interest