Exterior of Six Acres bar

©John Lee/Lonely Planet


Gastown's coziest tavern, you can cover all the necessary food groups via the carefully chosen draft- and bottled-beer list here. There's a small, animated summer patio out front but inside (especially upstairs) is great for hiding in a chatty, candlelit corner and working your way through the brews – plus a shared small plate or three (we like the sausage board).

It seems right and proper to also have a whiskey here; that's Gassy Jack's statue outside, perched atop a barrel, and he started the city with his first bar just a few steps from where you are now. The history doesn't end there, though. Six Acres is located in the Alhambra Building, one of the city's oldest structures.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Maple Tree Square

0.01 MILES

The intersection where Vancouver began was the site of John 'Gassy Jack' Deighton's first pub, and the spot where the inaugural city-council meeting was…

2. Woodward's

0.17 MILES

The project that catalyzed latter-day Downtown Eastside redevelopment, this former iconic department store was a derelict shell after closing in the early…

3. Chinatown Millennium Gate

0.19 MILES

Inaugurated in 2002, Chinatown's towering entrance is the landmark most visitors look for. Stand well back, since the decoration is mostly on its lofty…

4. Jack Chow Building

0.2 MILES

This unusual spot was known for decades as the Sam Kee Building until Jack Chow Insurance changed the name and spruced it up. Listed in the Guinness Book…

5. Steam Clock

0.21 MILES

Halfway along Water St, this oddly popular tourist magnet lures the cameras with its tooting steam whistle. Built in 1977, the clock's mechanism is…

6. Flack Block

0.22 MILES

Restored to its former glory in 2014, this dramatic corner landmark across from Victory Sq is chiefly noted for its hulking, elaborately-carved stone…

7. Dominion Building

0.25 MILES

A handsome architectural vestige of yesteryear Vancouver, this copper-hued, French-style vintage skyscraper across from Victory Square is well worth a…

8. Vancouver Police Museum & Archives

0.25 MILES

Illuminating Vancouver's crime-and-vice-addled history, this quirky museum has had a recent makeover, uncovering the former coroner's courtroom (spot the…