Fast Facts

Business Hours -- Vancouver banks are open Monday through Thursday from 10am to 5pm and Friday from 10am to 6pm. Some banks, like Canadian Trust, are also open on Saturday. Stores are generally open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm. Last call at restaurant bars and cocktail lounges is 2am.

Child Care -- If you need to rent cribs, car seats, play pens, or other baby accessories, Cribs and Carriages (tel. 604/988-2742; www.cribsandcarriages.com) delivers them right to your hotel.

Dentists -- Most major hotels have a dentist on call. Vancouver Centre Dental Clinic, Vancouver Centre Mall, 11-650 W. Georgia St. (tel. 604/682-1601), is another option. You must make an appointment. The clinic is open Monday and Friday 9am to 6pm, Tuesday and Wednesday 8:30am to 6pm, and Thursday 8:30am to 5pm.

Doctors -- Hotels usually have a doctor on call. Vancouver Medic Centre, Bentall Centre, 1055 Dunsmuir St. (tel. 604/683-8138), is a drop-in clinic open Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm. Another drop-in medical center, Carepoint Clinic, 1175 Denman St. (tel. 604/681-5338), is open daily from 9am to 9pm. See also "Hotlines," below.

Hospitals -- St. Paul's Hospital, 1081 Burrard St. (tel. 604/682-2344), is the closest facility to downtown and the West End. West Side Vancouver hospitals include Vancouver General Hospital Health and Sciences Centre, 855 W. 12th Ave. (tel. 604/875-4111), and British Columbia's Children's Hospital, 4480 Oak St. (tel. 604/875-3163). In North Vancouver, there's Lions Gate Hospital, 231 E. 15th St. (tel. 604/988-3131).

Hotlines -- Emergency numbers include Crisis Centre (tel. 604/872-3311), Rape Crisis Centre (tel. 604/255-6228), Rape Relief (tel. 604/872-8212), Poison Control Centre (tel. 604/682-2344), Crime Stoppers (tel. 800/222-8477), and SPCA animal emergency (tel. 604/879-3571). Or dial 911 for any emergency police, fire, or ambulance service.

Internet Access -- Free Internet access is available at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St. (tel. 604/331-3600). Cyber Space Internet Café, 1701 Robson St. (tel. 604/684-6004), and Internet Coffee, 1104 Davie St. (tel. 604/682-6668), are both open until at least midnight.

Laundry & Dry Cleaning -- Davie Laundromat, 1061 Davie St. (tel. 604/682-2717), offers self-service, drop-off service, and dry cleaning. Laundry & Suntanning, 781 Denman St. (tel. 604/689-9598), doesn't have dry-cleaning services, but you can work on your tan while you wait. Also, almost all hotels have laundry service.

Luggage Storage & Lockers -- Lockers are available at the main Vancouver railway station (which is also the main bus depot), Pacific Central Station, 1150 Station St., near Main Street and Terminal Avenue south of Chinatown (tel. 604/661-0328).

Newspapers & Magazines -- The two local papers are the Vancouver Sun (www.vancouversun.com), published Monday through Saturday, and the Province (www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince), published Sunday through Friday mornings. The free weekly entertainment paper, the Georgia Straight, comes out on Thursday.

Pharmacies -- Shopper's Drug Mart, 1125 Davie St. (tel. 604/669-2424), is open 24 hours. Several Safeway supermarket pharmacies are open late; the one on Robson and Denman is open until midnight.

Police -- For emergencies, dial tel. 911. This is a free call. Otherwise, the Vancouver City Police can be reached at tel. 604/717-3535.

Post Office -- The main post office, 349 W. Georgia St. at Homer Street (tel. 800/267-1177), is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5:30pm. You'll also find post office outlets in Shopper's Drug Mart and 7-Eleven stores with longer opening hours.

Weather -- Call tel. 604/664-9010 for weather updates. Each local ski resort has its own snow report line: Cypress Ski area tel. 604/419-7669; Whistler/Blackcomb tel. 604/687-7507.