The sleek new Canada Line whisks you there in no more than 26 minutes. The fare? A wallet-warming $3.75 -- only $2.50 if you're a senior. (A $5 surcharge has just been imposed for trips from the airport downtown. That's still a bargain, but you can avoid paying it by buying FareSaver tickets, which come in books of 10. Try the 7-Eleven in the airport's arrivals area).
The Canada Line is the third in the SkyTrain rapid transit network. It opened last August on budget and more than three months ahead of schedule.
"Business travellers love it,'' a doorman at the Opus Hotel told me last month. "They don't take cabs any more.''
No wonder. There's a Canada Line station (Yaletown-Roundhouse) across from the hotel and my last cab trip to the airport cost about $35.
SkyTrains run, for the most part, on above-ground tracks, but some of the Canada Line is underground.
At Yaletown-Roundhouse, elevators take you to the concourse level, where machines dispense tickets (cash or credit card), then to track level.
At the airport station, a covered walkway leads to the terminal. Check the departure board to see where to go and follow the signs for checkin.
The Canada Line's other benefit is making certain neighbourhoods more accessible. Yaletown, in the south of downtown, is a good example. It was once the site of a CPR roundhouse there. Reminders are still visible, including an old steam engine displayed at a community centre.
Until a few decades ago, the eight-block area was known for its warehouses. Now it's a mix of art galleries, retail stores, restaurants, offices condos and apartments.
From the Opus, it's an easy walk to the centre of downtown. False Creek is even closer.
The False Creek Seawall is a favourite for walkers, runners and cyclists. There's also a Yaletown stop for the AquaBus, a comical little ferry that bobs its way to and from the markets and boutiques of Granville Island.
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