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City of Nanaimo: Explore Old and New in the "Harbour City"
Welcome to the city of Nanaimo. Vancouver Island's second largest city. With a population of about 73,000 (and growing), the city of Nanaimo is located in the central Island region about 113 km (70 miles) north of Victoria. It's about a 1.5 hour drive by car on an excellent paved highway. We like Nanaimo for these reasons: it's a city with all the amenities you need (good shopping malls), and yet you're unbelievably close to outdoor adventures like hiking, caving, camping and water sports. It's also easily accessible from mainland Vancouver by air or ferry service. The city of Nanaimo is also home to the world-famous (and extremely popular) Bathtub Race, held every July during the Nanaimo Marine Festival. The Bathtub race sounds a bit strange, but it gets huge attendance, and admittedly, is a lot of fun to watch. Basically, it's a gruelling 58 kilometre race for bathtub-styled craft. The races starts in the Nanaimo harbour, circles Entrance Island, then up to and around Winchelsea Island, and then finishes back to Departure Bay in Nanaimo. Click Here to find out the dates of the annual Bathtub Race. You Must See Historic Nanaimo On Foot!Thankfully, the city of Nanaimo has preserved some of its downtown historic buildings which makes for a nice walking tour. One of our favourites areas is Nanaimo's historic Old City Quarter, right off Bastion Street, in the heart of downtown Nanaimo. Put on some good walking shoes and have your camera ready because this is where you'll see most of the historic buildings, dating from about 1886-1914. You can easily see most, if not all, on foot. (No need for a guided tour). One of the streets not to miss is Fitzwilliam Street. There, take a walk past the Occidental Hotel. The hotel was opened in 1887 and is the oldest building in the area.
We'd say that one of the most beautiful heritage buildings in the city of Nanaimo, is The Great National Land Building, situated at the 3-way intersection of Church, Chapel and Commercial Streets.
The present building was built in 1914 and replaces a 1901 structure. The Canadian Bank of Commerce operated at this location until 1960. Today, a Vancouver Island real estate company operates from this building. Step inside if you have time. Right in the heart of downtown Nanaimo, you'll find some really neat shops and antique stores. As you walk, you'll also see an interesting blend of architecture, both old and new. We'd also highly recommend a walk down to Pioneer Waterfront Plaza. Just walk east, following Bastion Street right from downtown. This is a really nice pedestrian walkway that overlooks the harbour, with an array of great little shops and cafes.
Want A Good Restaurant?If you're hungry, you must try one of our favorite restaurants, the Acme Food Company, located downtown at 14 Commercial Street. The food here is fantastic, and so is the atmosphere. Spend a little extra - the menu's worth it!If Acme is full and you can't wait, you'll find plenty of other good eating places close by. Just stay on Commercial and Fitzwilliam streets. Speaking of food... we can't forget the NANAIMO BAR! The Scotch Bakery on Commercial Street is the home of the world famous Nanaimo Bar! Go there and taste the original - unbelievable! 
WAIT! If you can't quite make it to Nanaimo yet to have this decadently rich, world-famous dessert bar, then I have what you want... the Nanaimo Bar Recipe. And this IS the real thing!
Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8x8 pan. Second Layer Cream the butter, cream, custard powder and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer. Third Layer Where To Stay In the City of NanaimoHere's a couple of good places we recommend for lodging in the City of Nanaimo:
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