Tourist Information

New Westminster

The city of Vancouver alone is not very large, but it has many suburbs. New Westminster is one of these suburbs and is located near the centre of Metro Vancouver. When you look at a map, you will see that most of New Westminster is north of the Fraser River. Vancouver and Burnaby are to the west and Coquitlam is to the east.

New Westminster is easily accessible by SkyTrain, which runs from downtown Vancouver through Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, and Surrey. Douglas College is located just a few minutes' walk from the New Westminster SkyTrain station. It typically takes less than 30 minutes to travel by SkyTrain between New Westminster and downtown Vancouver and trains run every 2-4 minutes.

Some of the streets are quite steep, so many homes have beautiful views. There are old-style boulevards and modern streets, heritage homes and newly-built high rises. New Westminster was the original capital city of British Columbia. Some of the homes date back to the 1860s, but many of the buildings were burnt in a huge fire in 1898.

Much of New Westminster is residential, but there are a few commercial areas, including a shopping centre, a street with many restaurants, small shops, a movie theatre, and a public market at the river. A 10 minute SkyTrain ride in any of three directions takes you to town centre areas in Burnaby (Metrotown), Burnaby (Lougheed), or Surrey.

See more information about New Westminster at Tourism New Westminster, City of New Westminster, and Downtown New Westminster.

Things to Do in Metro Vancouver

Nightclubs/Bars/Pubs
Restaurants
Hiking
Tourist Activities
Shopping
Beaches
Sports
Festivals

Nightclubs/Bars/Pubs

There are many nightclubs, bars, and pubs all around Metro Vancouver. Please ask your monitors for suggestions. They will be able to make recommendations based on safety, cost, atmosphere, and location. They will also tell you about those to avoid. Remember to phone your homestay family if you will be later than expected.

Restaurants

You can find restaurants that serve nearly any kind of cuisine while you're in Metro Vancouver. In addition to the cafeteria at the college, there are many places to eat near the college. Straight.com is a good resource if you're looking for restaurant recommendations. The monitors and your homestay family will also be able to suggest places to eat if you're not at your homestay for a meal. If you're eating in touristy or upscale areas in Vancouver, you will pay more. The prices at restaurants will vary as you would expect. You can buy 99 cent pizza in many locations and fast food is readily available at an affordable price, but most sit-down meals will cost you $15 or more once you have included a main dish, a drink, taxes, and a tip. Vegetarians should have no trouble finding meals in most restaurants. There are vegan restaurants, but many restaurants do not yet have vegan options on their menu. Remember to phone your homestay family early if you will not be home for a meal.

Hiking

There are many hiking locations in Metro Vancouver. Many of the best hikes are found on the North Shore mountains. Two hikes popular with students are the Grouse Grind and Lynn Canyon. A hike on the Baden-Powell Trail in Deep Cove takes you to a stunning view.

Hiking Metro Vancouver trails can be easy to very challenging. Even if you are an experienced hiker, please talk to the monitors and your homestay family before hiking. They can direct you to safety information and advise you where to hike, based on your experience, fitness level, safety training, weather, timing, and other factors. For safety information, also see North Shore Rescue.

Tourist Activities

Capilano Suspension Bridge
Grouse Mountain
Vancouver Aquarium
Gastown
Chinatown
Stanley Park
Playland
Science World at Telus World of Science

Shopping

You should be able to buy anything you need while you're here. If you can't find what you need, ask a monitor and they will recommend a place to look. Metro Vancouver has huge malls, streets that are shopping areas, specialty stores, thrift stores, drug stores, Chinese-style night markets, and grocery stores. Most of the major shopping areas are easily accessible by transit. By public transportation, it takes about 10 minutes to get from Douglas College to one of the largest malls in the area. If you want to shop at an organic food market or buy food not found in a typical supermarket, the monitors can help you find places to do so.

Beaches

The beaches around Metro Vancouver cater to different groups of people and different activities. If you're living in the Coquitlam area, you might consider going to a beach at a lake, such as Buntzen or White Pine. Many of the oceanside beaches are in Vancouver. These beaches include English Bay, Kits Beach, Second Beach at Stanley Park, and Sunset Beach. Wreck Beach is found on the grounds of the University of British Columbia. Ambleside beach is in West Vancouver.

Sports

Some sports you might want to do, play, or watch while you're in the Metro Vancouver include

beach volleyball - Kits Beach

in-line skating - Stanley Park, Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve

biking - Stanley Park, English Bay, UBC, SFU

professional sports - BC Lions football (CFL), lacrosse (WLA), Canadians baseball (Class A Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays), Vancouver Whitecaps mens (MLS) and womens (USL W-League)

swimming - Canada Games Pool

golf

See Centre for Campus Life for the sports and wellness activities at Douglas College.

Festivals

Festivals that are typically held in or near Vancouver during the Explore program include

Celebration of Light Fireworks Competition
Vancouver Shakespeare Festival, Bard on the Beach
Vancouver Lantern Festival
Caribbean Days Festival
Vancouver Early Music Festival
Vancouver Pride Festival
Powell Street Festival
Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival
The Fair at the PNE
Squamish Days