Vancouver Malls

In true late-20th century fashion, the Vancouver shopping mall is the centre of town and the easiest place to get to by car or transit. Vancouver shopping malls are one secret to survival for many Vancouverites in the long often-rainy winter.

It was a dark and stormy day... and we are headed for the mall.

Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby is actually two malls combined seamlessly into one.

It is now so big that several stores have opened up two stores within the same mall just to make sure you can find them!

Literally hundreds of stores and lots of people crowd Metrotown mall. And then there's the large movie theatre complex on the very top floor. If malls are your thing, you could spend all day and all evening at Metrotown Burnaby without ever leaving this behemoth.

In addition, the mall management specializes in organizing things to interest kids. Right now it's a display of “Grossology”, interactive exhibits and animations of gross things to help kids learn about science and biology.

Like any good shopping mall, there's an extensive food court. And there's your average huge discount grocery store (Superstore) as well as a huge Asian grocery store (T&T).

But if none of those quell your hunger, you will find many tasty and inexpensive ethnic restaurants for Indian and Asian food around the Metrotown area. (Saffron's lunch buffet is delicious and only 2 blocks away)

The biggest Vancouver shopping mall, Metropolis at Metrotown, is very easy to access. Conveniently located right next to one of the busiest Vancouver Skytrain stations, you can get here by public transit or drive and use the free parking. (The only time I ever have trouble finding parking is the week before Christmas.)

If there's one Vancouver shopping mall that says haute couture, it's Pacific Centre. As much as any mall can say haute couture anyway!

Most Vancouver malls have a Hudsons Bay department store. But the Vancouver headquarters is a cut above: 5 floors of more merchandise than is any other Bay in British Columbia. You will find every perfume known to Vancouverites here as well as many, many other things to purchase.

H&M - inexpensive, fashionable and oh so European.

As an extra bonus, only a one block north is The Vancouver shopping street - Robson Street with many more stores: Designer labels and discount shops, electronics, vintage clothing, jewelry and shoe stores. And chocolate shops (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory - yum!) Lots of good restaurants in this area too.

With Robson Street as a nearby Vancouver shopping add-on, Pacific Centre Mall really has an unfair advantage among the Vancouver malls.

Pacific Centre Mall is very easy to access via transit as well (use Granville station or Vancouver City Centre station). It's not quite as convenient for cars in downtown Vancouver, but you can always find some pay parking.

North Vancouver's mall, Park Royal, comes third in my personal rating of the Vancouver malls. The only one not next to a Vancouver skytrain station, it caters to the residents and visitors on the North Shore in the cities of West Vancouver and North Vancouver.

Branching out south of Vancouver on the new Vancouver Skytrain Canada Line to Richmond, you'll find more malls. Starting with Oakridge Mall and then the Richmond malls: Aberdeen Mall, Lansdowne Centre and Richmond Centre. Richmond's population is predominantly Asian, and the malls in the area have many Asian shops. I found some delicious jasmine tea on my last visit to Richmond Centre.

Other malls include Brentwood Mall in Burnaby, Lougheed Mall in Burnaby/Coquitlam and Central City Shopping Centre in Surrey. Each of these is also conveniently at a Vancouver Skytrain station for your shopping pleasure.

Phew - that's a lot of malls!

For your destination Vancouver malls shopping experience, I'd recommend my favourites: Metrotown in Burnaby and Pacific Centre Mall in downtown Vancouver.

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