Accommodation, travel and activities
Accommodation
We recommend that participants stay at the Sylvia Hotel, which is located on
English Bay in downtown Vancouver. The hotel is within walking distance of
Stanley Park, as well as many restaurants. It is easy to take the bus from
there to UBC (number 6 up Davie to Burrard, transfer to 44 express bus to UBC,
costs $2.95) or you can share taxis with other participants.
You should be able to get a discounted rate at the Sylvia (Can$99 for a
standard room) by simply calling them to book, and saying you are attending
an event at UBC Department of Physics & Astronomy and
requesting the university rate.
The Sylvia's web-site is here.
Alternatively, there are some places to stay that are on the UBC campus. This
means that you can walk to the meeting venue each day (but there's limited
dining options in the evening). Information can be found
here.
Travel
Vancouver Airport (YVR) has direct flights to most international hubs.
From the airport you can either take the Skytrain ($9, buy ticket in station)
or a taxi ($30-50, depending on traffic) to the downtown area. Either way
will take around 30 minutes.
The University of British Columbia is located on a peninsula north-west of
the airport and south-west of downtown Vancouver. Tens of thousands of
people take the bus there every day, and Vanocuver has an efficient and
well-used public transport system. UBC campus is big! So it is important
that you have access to a map (or map-giving device) when you go there, e.g.
from here.
Activities
For visitors who are staying over Friday evening or the weekend, there
are many things you can do in and around Vancouver, e.g. start at the
Tourism Vancouver site.
Other ideas (google for details):
- Carole suggests a trip to the Ballet on Friday evening (Nutcracker at the
Queen Elizabeth Theatre).
- Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has "Yefim Bronfman Plays Brahms" on
Saturday
- For plays in Vancouver, see the GVPTA "Vancouver Theatre Guide"
- It's Xmas lights season, with the best places in the city being Van Dusen
Gardens "Festival of Lights" and the Stanley Park "Bright Nights Christmas
Train" (with Capilano Suspension Bridge "Canyon Lights" in North Vancouver)
- Best museum is probably the Museum of Anthropology at UBC
- Vancouver Aquarium (in Stanley Park) is popular with visitors
- Vancouver Art Gallery has a number of exhitions right now
- There's also two science-related attractions: Science World and the
Space Centre
- Granville Island is "Vancouver's premier artistic and cultural hub,
located in an urban, waterfront location and steeped in a rich industrial
and maritime heritage"
- Vancouver Canucks (hockey in case you didn't know) are at home on 4th
and 6th, but not again for a week - but Vancouver Giants are at home on the
8th (and a lot cheaper)
- The 2018 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is at UBC 6-9th
Of course there are also lots of outdoor activities - weather permitting!