Seeing 2010 Olympic sites in Vancouver?

[pagalandguy]

Does anyone know if there are any Vancouver tours of the 2010 Olympic sites? We will not have a car in Vancouver, but it would be exciting to see some of the venues up close. It's always fun to watch the coverage later and say "We were there"! We have 2 days pre-cruise in Vancouver and want to see as much as we can. We've heard this is a beautiful city!

[travelnsee]

we will be also planning same thing, 2 days in VC before cruise. You can see some of my post and replies I got here. whistler is the place where there will be 2020 winter olympics. But I guess you can take train to go there. But I plan to rent a acar and go there.

[ellbon]

i would check the canada board as loclas post answers there. some things are done in town but skiing is in Whistler.

[Putterdude]

In the downtown core there is BC Place Stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies will take place. Almost next door to it is GM Place where a lot of hockey will be played, out at UBC there is another hockey venue called the Thunderbird Arena and in east Vancouver yet another ice venue called the Pacific Coliseum. The Athletes Village is in the False Creek area and the media center will be at the new Trade and Convention Center which is immediately west of Canada Place. As you don't have a car you may just care to take in the downtown venues and not go out to UBC or the Pacific Coliseum and I won't suggest the ice oval out in Richmond nor the Free Style and Snowboard venues at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver. The alpine events will all be up at Whistler.

[Disneyworld]

In the downtown core there is BC Place Stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies will take place. Almost next door to it is GM Place where a lot of hockey will be played, out at UBC there is another hockey venue called the Thunderbird Arena and in east Vancouver yet another ice venue called the Pacific Coliseum. The Athletes Village is in the False Creek area and the media center will be at the new Trade and Convention Center which is immediately west of Canada Place. As you don't have a car you may just care to take in the downtown venues and not go out to UBC or the Pacific Coliseum and I won't suggest the ice oval out in Richmond nor the Free Style and Snowboard venues at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver. The alpine events will all be up at Whistler.

We arrive in Vancouver on July 7th in the evening, and our cruise leaves at 5:30pm on the 8th. Would we have time to see some of these places (which ones?) plus Stanley Park before we embark around 3 pm? We will be staying at the Fairmont Waterfront

[Putterdude]

From the Fairmont Waterfront, you can see the new trade & convention centre its about 1.5 mins away, both GM Place (or the "Garage" as we call it) and BC Place Stadium are a short 10 min walk from you hotel; you just walk up Granville to Georgia St. turn left and walk about 5 blocks east on Georgia....the two venues are pretty much next door to one another. The rest are some distance away if you are going to do Stanely Park. In this cam shot if you look to the extreme right you will see the domed BC Place Stadium then look a bit left of it the other side of the 2 highrise buildings and you will see GM Place. GM Place is also the home of our NHL team, the Canucks.

 

[pagalandguy]

Thanks for the information and advice. We're getting really excited as the trip approaches. If we were to rent a car for a day, how long does it take to drive to Whistler? Just a thought...

[Urban trekker]

Here's what I posted last night - basically the same info that PD posted

 

Right next door to Canada Place is the new Trade and Convention center which will be the media broadcast hub for the Games.

 

Both BC Place Stadium - opening and closing ceremonies and GM Place - hockey are next door to each other downtown.

 

On your way in from the Airport - you will pass near the Olympic speed skating oval.

 

If you are in the area of Queen Elizabeth Park - on the east side is the Little Mountain venue for the curling.

 

Across the water from Canada Place and to your left or west and north is Cypress Bowl - where the snow boarding is taking place.

 

Out at the University of British Columbia is another of the hockey venues.

 

Across from the CBC building in downtown is a parking lot - it will be transformed into an open air plaza where nightly entertainment is scheduled.

 

When you are at Science World - on most HOHO routes - you will see a condo project nearing completion - that is the Athlete's Village.

 

The Olympic countdown clock is located on the north side of the Art Gallery.

 

The remainder of the events are in the Whistler Corridor.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Urban trekker]

"If we were to rent a car for a day, how long does it take to drive to Whistler? Just a thought... "

 

Straight driving time - around two hours now that most of the construction is finished BUT there are so many things and sites to see on the way there - leave early - 7 or 8 AM - Sights to visit on the way up include Shannon Falls, Porteau Cove - BC Mining Museum in Britannia - Murrin Lake, Squamish, Alice Lake Park, Brandywine Falls, another hour for the side trip to the Olympic Winter Park - sight of the cross country, biathlon and ski jumping - suggest do it on the way up - it's about a 10 mile drive up a paved road to the site. You will need at least three or four hours for Whistler - a little walk to Lost Lake and another the Meadow Park and Rainbow Picnic area - three golf courses - check out http://www.whistler.com for more ideas. Have supper then start the trip back - depending on the time of year and weather conditions - the sunsets along Howe Sound can be spectacular and you can often see the ferries crossing to the Sunshine Coast and Bowen Island as well as to Nanaimo.

 

Here's a link to my blog - it describes in words and pictures the first part of the drive up the Sea to Sky Highway:

 

http://yvrcruiser.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-trip-along-sea-to-sky-highway-99.html

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis