Religious services
Publications
Georgia Straight
Free weekly paper that provides the best rundown on local bars and other entertainment listings. It also usually has a number of two for one coupons for local restaurants.
Other free weeklies include the Vancouver Courier, Westender, and Xtra West gay and lesbian bi-weekly newspaper.Free dailies include 24 Hours and Metro.
Consulates
Vancouver is a great place to visit if you use common sense like keeping an eye on your possessions, knowing where you are going and avoiding alleys and unfamiliar areas at night should keep you out of trouble. Unless involved in illegal activities such as the drug trade, it is highly unlikely you will fall victim to any sort of violent crime. If you need emergency help, dial 911.
Like any major metropolitan city, Vancouver has areas that should be travelled with caution. The most notable is the Downtown Eastside specifically Hastings Street between Abbott and Gore. This neighbourhood is infamous for homelessness, drug-use, and prostitution. As a result of these conditions, violence is quite a common problem. If you do accidentally stroll into the Downtown Eastside it is not difficult to find your way out, but if you get lost or feel uncomfortable the best thing to do is approach a police officer. Tourists exploring Gastown and Chinatown can easily wander into the Downtown Eastside unwittingly. Avoid looking like a tourist and you'll be fine.
It's also wise to exercise caution in the Granville Mall area downtown on Friday and Saturday nights. As Vancouverâs bar and nightclub district, the sheer volume of people combined with alcohol consumption make disorderly conduct and rowdy behaviour fairly common. But this shouldn't act as a deterrent - if you're not looking for trouble, you probably won't find it, and there is a strong police presence. The streets at night in the Granville Mall area are usually and quite literally clogged with people at night time. Such an enormous mix of people and alcohol can be a dangerous mix if you are not cautious.
Some parts of the city have high rates of property crime. Theft from vehicles is especially problematic and parked cars with foreign or out-of-province plates are frequently targeted. The best thing is to not leave any money and valuables in plain view. Many of the locals use steering wheel locks to prevent vehicle theft.
Panhandling is common in some parts of downtown, but is unlikely to pose a problem. Don't be rude, as there may be negative consequences.
healthcare centres
Vancouver General
Located at the corner of Oak St and West 12th Ave, VGH serves as the main hospital and emergency ward for VancouverChildren's Hospital
If taking a child under the age of 18 to the E.R., you will be directed to Children's Hospital. It is located at Oak St near King Edward Avenue.St. Paul's
Located downtown, or in the City Centre, St. Paul's Hospital also has an emergency ward for adults but is smaller and therefore less equipped to handle many patients. Every winter, St. Paul's decorates the front of the Hospital with lights to encourage charitable donations.Mount Saint Joseph Hospital
3080 Prince Edward St. The only hospital on the city's East Side with an emergency room 8:30AM-8PM. Outside of these hours, people are asked to go to either Vancouver General or St. Paul's for emergency care.UBC Urgent Care Centre
Not quite a walk-in clinic but not quite an emergency room, the UBC UCC has limited hours (closed at 10PM, but is a good choice if your problem isn't an emergency -- it is basically a faster-paced walk-in clinics with longer hours.There are also a number of walk-in clinics around Vancouver. Unfortunately waits are usually around 30-45 min for an appointment.
wireless
There are a number of wireless network providers in BC's lower mainland, all with store locations throughout Vancouver, including Telus, Rogers, Fido, Bell, Koodo, Wind Mobile, Moblicity, and Virgin.
contact
In case of an Emergency, dial 9-1-1 from any public phone for free. Be advised, however, that with the rise of cell phone use, many public phones have been removed, and can therefore be hard to come by especially in the suburbs.
A good travel tip to remember: Dialing 1-1-2 from a cell phone automatically connects you to the nearest cellular network and calls the emergency number, regardless of its combination ex. 9-1-1, 1-1-2 etc. Please note that 1-1-2 will work only on GSM cellphones in Vancouver. While GSM cellphones are very common worldwide, PCS/CDMA cellular phones through Telus Mobility are more common in Vancouver, and Telus doesn't support 1-1-2 on its cellular network. To be safe, dial 9-1-1 for emergencies if you are anywhere in North America.
The area codes for phone calls in Vancouver and the surrounding area known locally as the Lower Mainland are 604 and 778 these area codes overlap. Vancouver has ten-digit calling, so when making a local call you must include the area code. Calls outside the Greater Vancouver region i.e. east of Langley or north of Squamish, including to Whistler are toll calls from Vancouver. To call these numbers you need to add a "1" before the area code, i.e. "1-604" or "1-778".
Local calls at pay phones costs 50 cents per call. They are not metered, so you can talk as long as you want. Note that downtown pay phones are often broken. Working pay phones are almost always available at all of the downtown SkyTrain stations.
Internet cafes are not as popular as they once where, having been replaced by free wireless found in many hotels, cafes and restaurants; However, there are still many around the Vancouver area and are generally quite reasonably priced; typically $2-5 per hour with all-day passes common.
In addition, there is free internet available at Canada Place. Bell has some free standing room stations set up in the main concourse of the convention centre. Also, the Apple Store in the Pacific Centre Mall has free wifi.
For those who have brought a laptop, free wireless points are abundant in the downtown area including every branch of Blenz Coffee (http://www.blenz.com/), and reasonable paid service is also available in a pinch.
cannabis
A common belief is that marijuana is legal in British Columbia. That is a myth. Although Vancouver's police and the justice system tend to turn a blind eye to marijuana use, tourists should be advised that possessing any amount of marijuana is illegal in all of Canada without a government-issued medical exemption the legality of possession is, however, currently under dispute by the Supreme Court. However, if you are caught with a small amount of cannabis 7 grams or less in Vancouver it is extremely unlikely that you will be charged, in the vast majority of cases the police will arrest and search you; seize the marijuana, and then allow you to procced. If you have a rental car, please note there are serious penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana which include significant fines and vehicle seizure.