Maybe you’ve heard of it, or maybe you have absolutely no idea it even exists, but today I’m here to tell you why one of Vancouver’s oldest bars might be exactly where you should go next time you want to have fun with your friends.

Vancouver is a city that changes constantly. Everything moves fast: shops open, close, fashion trends come and go, and everyone seems obsessed with keeping up with it all.
But almost no one remembers the places that have been here long before any of us, the places with stories older than we have been alive.

The Cambie is one of those places. It’s one of Vancouver’s oldest bars, right in the centre of Gastown. You’ve probably walked past it hundreds of times without even noticing or without caring, but I remember the first time I walked in perfectly, actually, fun fact: The Cambie was my first job in Canada.

I’ll be honest, ok? It’s a different kind of place. It’s charming, rustic, a little rough around the edges, but full of character. Half bar, half hostel, it brings in people from literally all over the world. During the day, it’s quiet, more of a casual restaurant vibe, with just a handful of regulars scattered around (always the same people). But at night? The energy changes completely. The DJ starts, the music is loud, and the place fills up quickly. People are dancing, shouting, laughing and I can guarantee you one thing: it’s impossible not to have fun.

And when I say this bar is old, don’t think “early 2000s old.” No, no. The Cambie showed up in 1897. Here’s some context: On June 13th, 1886, just months after Vancouver officially became a city, a massive fire destroyed almost the entire city in less than an hour. They called it “The Great Vancouver Fire”. When Vancouver started rebuilding itself, The Cambie was born and it has been part of Vancouver ever since. 

Now, from the perspective of someone who didn’t grow up in Canada, this bar feels oddly like home. It’s loud, chaotic, messy, multicultural, but full of history and personality. It feels like the real Vancouver. A little messy not the perfect, tall buildings, modern architecture people talk about.

The Cambie is one of those rare places that has survived time. It has never tried to change its identity, it simply stayed true to what it is and that’s one of the biggest reasons it has survived so long. 

The aesthetic of Vancouver might be the shiny buildings.

But the soul of Vancouver is places like Cambie, tucked away in a corner somewhere, waiting to be explored.