Escaping to Granville Island

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Whether arriving by the city’s whimsical Hop-on, Hop-off tour bus, by water taxi (Aquabus) across False Creek or by traditional taxi, the savvy traveler lands at the Granville Island Public Market with a hearty appetite and Canadian currency. Each day, 50 permanent food vendors and scores of day merchants fill the once-industrial site with more tempting offerings than even the most disciplined calorie-counter and/or penny-pincher can resist.

Since the late 1970s, the market — formerly the site of iron works, saw mills and slaughter houses — has been luring tourists and locals alike with a bounty of fresh produce, fresh seafood, fresh baked goods and more. On our third visit here in five years, we were no less enchanted than on our first.

In fact, as amateur chefs, we once again dreamed of having access to a private kitchen in order to cook the fresh Dungeness crab or coho salmon, to make salad from the mountains of veggies and choose dessert from one of the many bakeries. Instead, we picked up a sack of cherries from Fraser Valley and a handful of luscious peaches from Okanagan Valley.

Of course, my husband had to have his licorice fix and we both made a stop at the gelato stand for pistachio and mango scoops in waffle cones.

(Canadian currency is called for only if you don’t mind losing the beneficial exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and Canada’s. All merchants take American money. None acknowledge the value difference.)

On previous visits, we sampled the wares at Benton Brothers Fine Cheeses, salivated over Lee’s Donuts of Granville Island and loaded up on yummy apricots and plums from Sunlight Farms. In addition to the market regulars, the shopping mecca has 40 temporary vendor tables for day merchants, artists and craftsmen to display their wares.

The entire island, which is not really an island, is chock-a-block with art galleries, small retailers and intriguing shops such as Maiwa, which features up-scale products made by artisans from small towns, something akin to the Ten Thousand Villages concept. There are several theaters starring local talent and the Granville Island Brewery, which makes a tasty lager.

Street entertainers fill the open spaces around the market adding further to the Granville Island experience, where newbies should plan on devoting a full a day. On our Monday visit, we encountered a musician on a pan flute, a young lady on guitar, a juggler/acrobat, a young man on guitar and a fusion bamboo musician.

With seagulls swooping overhead, the romantic ferry horns and soft breezes from the creek, the entire island experience is on to be repeated on every visit to Vancouver.

The Granville Island Public Market is open seven days a week from 9 am to 7 pm with a farmer’s market — produce fresh from the fields — on Thursdays through September.