Day Trips

Thunderbird Arena

By Vancouver Magazine / January 2, 2010

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | MARVEL | GET THERE

Olympic hockey returns to campus a half-century after Canada’s national hockey team was created at UBC for the Innsbruck Games. (In March, the ice in UBC’s 6,800-seat arena will extend into the players’ boxes, and windows of transparent resin will be built into the walls to accommodate sledge hockey players moving from the bench to the ice, a first in Paralympic history.) Home to 45,000 students, nearly $500 million of research, and a six-kilometre nudist beach, UBC is buffered from the city by Pacific Spirit Park, a swath of second-growth evergreens harbouring 70 kilometres of running and walking trails. Exit the park into West Point Grey, one of Vancouver’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, served by a mix of upscale boutiques, mom-and-pops, and comfortable bistros.

Olympic Schedule

Olympic hockey Thunderbird Arena is home to non-medal Olympic hockey games. See a schedule of Olympic hockey events here.

Tenth & Proper stocks tailored clothing from local labels like Dace and Allison Wonderland, and Canadian-made Joeffer Caoc’s selections in lush Italian jersey. 4483 10th Ave., 604-222-1115. Tenthandproper.com

Enflux’s inventory suits its architectural surrounds: glassware by Iittala and spare home accents by Georg Jensen. 4385 W. 10th Ave., 604-222-9009. Enflux.ca

The Boulevard Coffee Roasting Co. eschews student thrift for iPod-white furnishings. Coffee is fairly traded and delicious. 5970 University Boulevard, 604-827-4488. Theboulevard.ca

The ovens at Mix the Bakery heat up the open-concept room, making it very hard to leave (or snag a table) on a drizzly day. The fruit-crammed breads are drive-across-town good. Pick up the cranberry-ginger-citrus loaf—perfect on its own or with a slice of aged white Cheddar. 4430 W. 10th Ave., 604-221-4145. Mixthebakery.com

Burgoo has mastered comfort food, ladling stick-to-your-ribs stews, fondues, and soups in a comfy lodge-like room. 4434 W. 10th Ave., 604-221-7839. Burgoo.ca

Stunning First Nations art, an intimate room, and a well-considered seasonal, mostly organic menu—for an introduction to West Coast cuisine look no further than Pair Bistro. 3763 W. 10th Ave., 604-224-7211. Pairbistro.ca

Museum of Anthropology has one of the world’s finest collections of First Nations art and artifacts, notably a stunning selection of carvings from Coast Salish peoples, and Haida artist Bill Reid’s most famous sculpture, The Raven and the First Men. The museum was designed by Arthur Erickson to evoke the post-and-beam architecture of the first peoples of the Northwest Coast. 6393 N.W. Marine Drive, 604-822-5087. Moa.ubc.ca.