Entertainment Options for Expatriates in Vancouver
Vancouver is a glittering city abounding in the arts, culture, sports, and all sorts of entertainment and nightlife. Take in world-class masterpiece paintings at the Vancouver Art Gallery, catch a play or musical from one of the many theatre companies, attend the ballet at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (Ballet BC), or experience an opera put on by the Vancouver Opera company. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is world-renowned and offers a diverse variety of concerts throughout the season. For cinema buffs, Tinseltown and Scotia Bank Theatre are the largest of the cinemas and offer movie watching in style. For the more daring, there are 6 casinos in the Vancouver area with plenty of glitz and entertainment, including one newly inaugurated casino.
Although not quite a city that never sleeps, still, Vancouver has plenty to offer in the way of nightlife. The downtown is full of classy nightclubs, offering different styles for all kinds of tastes. There are also a variety of hotel lounges, where one can take tea or coffee (these typically serve light snacks as well), and many pubs/bars sprinkled throughout the city where one can enjoy music and food along with a selection of alcoholic beverages.
For those wishing to try something out of the ordinary, have dinner at the Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant for an exciting culinary adventure at 553 feet. Or, spend a Saturday at the Vancouver Aquarium, watching beluga whales and over 20,000 different types of marine life. The Capilano Suspension Bridge is not for the faint of heart, but offers a rewarding outdoor adventure.
And last but not least, winter sports/activities are considered very nearly de rigour if one lives in Vancouver, as Grouse, Seymour, and Cypress Mountains are just minutes away from the heart of the city and have plenty to offer in the way of skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and other winter activities.
One of the best resources for keeping a finger on the pulse of the city is Vancouver’s leading urban print and online weekly, the Georgia Straight. The paper is free, and you can pick one up at numerous locations around the city including transit centres, SkyTrain stations, shopping centres, popular intersections, and the like: http://www.straight.com.
