<p>If you’re an active group I recommend that you rent bikes when you get to Vancouver. H and I take the train from Seattle to Vancouver once every summer (with our bikes) and spend two days just riding around Vancouver. There are paved biking paths that follow the perimeter of the city all along the waterfront, around Stanley Park (last summer parts of the trail were closed due to slide damage – I don’t know the status now) and over bridges to follow along other waterfront areas (Granville Island, and out toward to UBC which is a gorgeous ride with almost continuous waterfront parks). Aside from the approach to UBC (just the last part) the bike paths are quite flat. Be careful – there are separate lanes for walkers/runners and bikers, so you need to watch the signs! Scenery is gorgeous, and it’s a great way to explore this beautiful cosmopolitan city. You wouldn’t need to get in your car at all. We stay at the Westin Bayshore, which has good access to Stanley Park and the bike paths. </p>
<p>In Seattle, I would not personally recommend the Museum of Flight or the Nordstrom store (just a regular store). Yes to the Market, maybe to the EMP (you can take the Monorail from Westlake Center near Nortdstrom), yes to paying to take the elevator up to the top of the Space Needle but no way to the restaurant. UW campus is worth a visit if any of the sons might be interested. Lots of inexpensive casual restaurants of various ethnicities on “The Ave” near campus, all inexpensive. </p>
<p>An alternative to Palisade restaurant is Maggie Bluffs, a casual restaurant downstairs from Palisade, with outdoor dining --pretty marina views. </p>
<p>If you visit UW and want a Thai restaurant that’s a little nicer than those on the Ave try Marlai. Very nice but fine for jeans.</p>
<p>You know, if you want a really relaxing trip, delay your rental car until you head back toward Mt. Rainier. Instead, take Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver and use public transportation in Vancouver (very easy). The train ride is spectacular, hugs the shore for a good bit of the trip, and while, of course, you have to go through immigration & customs at the Vancouver train station, you won’t have a long wait – nothing like the hours you <em>might</em> spend at the Peace Arch/car entrance to Canada. (It could be a short wait, but likely not.) The train takes a little longer, but, boy, is it worth it!</p>
<p>In Vancouver, it’s easy to get to Stanley Park – a must. Public transportation – sky trains and buses – are a great way to get around and really see the city.</p>
<p>If you do drive across Fri night, do it late if you can, like after 9pm…or at least check the radio station- if it is a 2-3 hour wait and Lynden/Aldergrove is short, that is only 15 minutes east</p>
<p>The train would be a great idea, I have not done it, but I have seen it go by and it should be a great trip</p>
<p>Vote + train. Book NOW. Seattle train station is near Safeco, Uwajimaya, Pikes. Pier 99, Boeing Field, or you can catch train at other locations.</p>
<p>Funny, had to hurry off while composing my previous post (hence a sentence that recommended inexpensive restaurants, which are inexpensive – duh). Hurried back so I could say, “You should really take the train from Seattle to Vancouver and back again,” but others beat me to it. Parts of the ride are just beautiful – once we saw literally dozens of bald eagles sitting on the beach along the way. Seats are large and very comfortable, there’s a dining car and a snack bar with decent food (or pack your own) and it is a stress-free trip. Absolutely the way to go! It’s like the opposite of air travel nowadays. When you board heading north, take seats on the left side (the west side) so you’ll have window views of the water. On the return trip they assign seats --request window seats when checking in. </p>
<p>Another funny aside – our last trip to Vancouver, we passed 7 or 8 weddings, wedding photo shoots, or receptions on our bike ride from the Westin Bayshore to UBC. UBC is a very nice campus, by the way, and a good university – worth a look if there’s any interest in your household. The views of the water and across to the city from the drive (or bike ride) to UBC along the water are stunning, and it’s really fun to see all the various groups enjoying the waterfront parks – different ages, cultures, activities.</p>
<p>I always suggest the Underground Tour to out-of-town visitors, especially for those who want to get a sense of Seattle’s history. It’s in Pioneer Square near the baseball stadium.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I can post a commercial link here, but you can just search for it – the tour operator’s name is Bill Speidel.</p>
<p>In Seattle, you can look very messy and everyone will think you are cool. Old sandals, shorts, crumbled t-shirts, and a sweatshirt when it gets a bit chilly. Maybe a pair of jeans. Sure, some people there do the fancy thing, but most do not. You can go pretty much anywhere looking pretty grungy. No one will know if you are a hippie or a Microsoft millionaire.</p>
<p>Pack light.</p>
<p>^I have to add that the underground tour is extremely boring. Sorry, though, to the nice person who felt differently and recommended it. :)</p>
<p>For restaurants, I agree strongly with spideygirl’s recommendations of Wild Ginger and Campagne. Love Palisade, but tough to get to without a car. Maximilien inside Pike Place Market has nice views and tasty, reasonably priced French food–might be nice for brunch or lunch if you’re already touring the market.</p>
<p>If the boys (and you?) want to roam around the hip part of town at night, they should check out Belltown and the Pioneer Square areas. I personally love walking around new cities and soaking up the atmosphere and those areas should be pretty lively most nights. Pioneer Square can be a little seedy, but its an old, historic part of Seattle.</p>
<p>Well, spideygirl, I guess it depends what sorts of things interest you. I like history, geology, architecture, and learning about the lifestyles of lumberjacks and “seamstresses” </p>
<p>But I admit, it’s not for everybody (especially those who are claustrophobic).</p>
<p>Another thought for Seattle: Argosy Tours offer waterfront tours by boat. One boards in Lake Union (freshwater), goes past the “Sleepless in Seattle” houseboat, through the Hiram Chittenden Locks (pretty cool), and into Puget Sound (saltwater). You get off on the downtown piers. They have other routes, too. </p>
<p>If you like goofy tourist stuff you can “Ride the Ducks”. Board a bus-like amphibious vehicle near Seattle Center, get a narrated tour (I’ve seen them passing through Fremont, a funky hip neighborhood), and the vehicle goes into Lake Union for some sort of water tour (sketchy on the details since I’ve never done it, but the passengers look like they’re having fun).</p>
<p>Wild Ginger is a great restaurant recommendation (no view, though). Unless you want to eat at 5:00 or 9:00, book your table w-a-y in advance. Like now.</p>
<p>Another plug for biking, especially if you like seeing neighborhoods and views as much as organized tourist venues. If the UW Campus is of interest, you could rent bikes near Campus your first afternoon, start out on the Center for Urban Horticulture paths where you’d see nice views of lake Washington, get on the paved Burke Gilman Trail and go through or past the Campus, continue on the trail (along Lake Union – more good views, and probably blackberries to snack on in August) to Fremont. You could eat in any of Fremont’s casual restaurants then double back and return the bikes. It’s about a one-hour ride each direction.</p>
<p>Second the suggestion of Belltown and Pioneer Square for nightlife, and the allure of strolling around to soak up the atmosphere. Olympic Sculpture Park is just to the west of Belltown on the waterfront – a free outdoor modern sculpture park – but not for after dark.</p>
<p>We have enjoyed the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and can recommend the restaurant in the EMP for a quick lunch or dinner if that fits your schedule. Food has been good and not outrageously priced, considering the venue. Nice selection of draft beer at our last visit, too :)</p>
<p>I’m assuming you mean the Vancouver in Canada…You should really go visit Stanley Park, Downtown, asian restaurants like somebody said before, Gas Town… transportation should be really easy in Vancouver as they have a really good metro system.</p>
<p>I like the underground tour, I must have gone on it 10 times with Girl scouts, etc. Last time we went on it- some one had just gotten married the night before, so was set up with oriental rugs, candles and such.
Maybe the * underworld* tour would be more interesting.
[Underworld</a> Tour, Pioneer Square Underworld Tour, Underworld Tour Pioneer Square, Underworld Tour Seattle, Seattle Underworld Tour, Adults-only Underworld Tour, Historic Guided Tour of Sin and Flimflam in Seattle’s Infamous Old-Red-Light District, Sea](<a href=“Fun Things To Do, Tips and Ideas - Love to Eat and Travel”>Fun Things To Do, Tips and Ideas - Love to Eat and Travel)
</p>
<p>We stayed at the Sylvia Hotel, next to Stanley Park when I was last in Vancouver, quaint but fabulous location.
I love Vancouver ( we also took the train)</p>
<p>For those of you who have suggested the train ride from Seattle to Vancouver, BC, H and I thought it sounded like an intriguing idea, but upon looking at the Amtrak web site, it seems as if it is not train service which is available, but rather bus service that they run. That doesn’t particularly appeal to us. Is anyone familiar with this?</p>
<p>Edit: It’s referred to as “Thruway” service-buses</p>
<p>It looks like work is being done either on the tracks or on the cars- and so some routes are being taken by bus.
This is always at same station & you may not know ahead of time what you will have. For instance when H & I went on the train- we had slightly different time schedules, & he had to go by bus- but we both returned by train.
When D & I went to Vancouver- we both went up by bus & I agree not as nice- also because my D was a teenager on the bus she didn’t even want to sit with me & when we got off at customs, the hostility was so evident that the border agent- asked her if she wanted to talk to him away from me.
They gave me crap cause I didn’t have a signed letter from her dad saying I could take her to Vancouver.
I was really surprised
( and then- when we got back home- she told me what a good time she had!) :rolleyes:
On the train, you don’t even have to get up, just have your ticket and id.</p>
<p>Fun shops in Vancouver:
Tim Hortons for Canadian coffee, yes they have Starbucks, but the locals prefer a double double at Tim Hortons.
LuluLemon for the best over-priced yoga gear in the world
La Senza for the Canadian version of Victoria’s secret</p>
<p>Some one mentioned the Westin Bayshore, it is a great place to stay, pricey, but try one of the online bids and check the Seattle times for ad deals as with the lousy USD they are trying to entice US tourists up to BC</p>
<p>Drive along marine drive, check out the boardwalk in White Rock, check out Stanley Park, be warned there are almost no freeways/highways and there are lots of bridges</p>
<ul>
<li>Cross at Sumas (near Abbotsford on the Canadian side)</li>
<li>turn east on Washington 547 to Kendall</li>
<li>sidetrip opportunity: east on Mt. Baker Highway (Washington 542) to the Mt. Baker area. This gives you a great chance to see another of Washington’s big stratovolcanoes (can you name all five?)</li>
<li>After the side trip, return west to Highway 542 and head south</li>
<li>Highway 542 dumps onto Highway 9. Continue south.</li>
<li>Major side trip opportunity: the mountain loop highway:
<ul>
<li> Best way to look into this is through Wikipedia “Mountain Loop Highway”</li>
</ul></li>
<li>After the Loop (or if you skip it), you can take Highway 9 all the way to the town of Woodinville, where you pick up Highway 522 westbound to I-405. Take I-405 south to I-5, and you can then follow your maps to Mt. Rainier.</li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, if you want to see more of Washington, and less of Interstate, you can take Woodinville-Duvall Road out to Duvall, where you pick up Highway 203 south. At Highway 202, turn east. After you go through Fall City, stop at Snoqualmie Falls – five minutes from the parking lot you can see a cool waterfall.</p>
<p>COntinue out 202 until you get to SE Snoqualmie Parkway, turning right. This turns into Highway 18 which heads south quite a ways until you get to Maple Valley, where you will get on Highway 169 south to Enumclaw. At Enumclaw, you will take Highway 410 south and east, which takes you directly to the northeast entrance to Mt. Rainier Nat’l Park. This entrance is very close to the Sunrise area of the park. The drive up Highway 410 along the White River is gorgeous. You can always go back to the airport via the normal route to I-5.</p>
<p>This will take about 6-1/2 hours (to Paradise in Rainier) instead of 4-1/2 hours, but you will get to see a lot more of the interesting bits of Washington. Interstates are pretty boring no matter where they are. If you add either side trip, this will take longer, of course.</p>
</p>