The Vancouver metropolitan area is a major urban center in British Columbia, with stunning natural beauty, towering mountains, and a distinctive mix of cultures. Visitors find surprises around every corner in its neighborhoods. And Surrey, one of the 21 cities and smaller communities that comprise greater Vancouver, is a rising star in its crown.
The tagline for Surrey, British Columbia, is “The future lives here,” and that certainly seems appropriate. Experts predict that Surrey’s population, just over 659,000 in 2023, will overtake Vancouver’s within the next several years. A thousand new residents arrive each month. Surrey has more land area than its larger neighbor, so there’s plenty of room for growth.
Already Surrey serves up a delectable mix of culture and food, green space and parks, history, art, and the energy that comes with rapid growth.
It also offers a rare opportunity for inter-national visitation. The city extends south to the U.S. border, where visitors from both sides can walk freely between nations, sans passport, at International Peace Arch Park, a tradition that has been upheld for the past 100 years.
A Taste of Surrey
Six distinctive, culturally diverse neighborhoods of Surrey — Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey, and Whalley/City Centre — showcase a wide variety of traditions, from residential neighborhoods to business districts, parks, and shopping centers.
They have not gone unnoticed, particularly the growing number of ethnic restaurants and food malls.
In May 2023, the editors of Food and Wine Magazine named Surrey one of seven “next great food cities,” along with the likes of Venice; Marseille, France; La Paz, Bolivia; and others. That’s what brought our group of food and travel writers to Surrey in the fall of 2023.
Surrey’s Public Spaces
Much like Vancouver, Surrey celebrates its heritage and distinctive cultural mix with parks and green space, public art, and innovative architecture. Its growth profile is upward rather than ground-level. Its skyline changes almost weekly. The construction crane might be termed the city’s “native bird.”
Surrey recently overhauled the downtown core, with a contemporary city hall and public library, a heart-of-the-city Skytrain, and a public transport hub. All are near the ultra-modern Civic Hotel and Conference Center, on-site with Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The people-friendly downtown space boasts art installations both indoors and outside. Vehicle parking is underground, adding to the pedestrian-friendly ambiance.
Our visit was on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in British Columbia, also known as Orange Shirt Day. Government buildings were closed, but we peered through windows at the stunning art installations inside, including the library’s small army of Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors. A mesmerizing “Together” sculpture adorns the ceiling of Surrey’s City Hall. The theme of democracy inspired the installation. More than 700 birds flock together at the peak of the building’s six-story atrium, symbolizing how animals work together “to ensure their survival.”
Exploring North Surrey
There is a trove of public art in North Surrey, but many of the futuristic buildings qualify as artistic treasures themselves. We visited the civic center, where an open-air “staircase” invites lounging, lunching, and conversation. It’s a meeting place as well as a convenient way to move between levels in this vast downtown complex.
It’s also easy to understand why locals love their public transportation. It’s quick, efficient, inexpensive, and a great way to get around a sprawling metropolis. It is as architecturally impressive as it is “user-friendly.”
We ascended the escalator to the Skytrain platform and marveled at a suspended Sea Captain sculpture, a reminder that someone must stand watch to guide ships at sea and ships of state.
A brief ride to the next stop brought us to the North Surrey Public Art Walk and the manicured grounds of Surrey’s Holland Park.
Amid the oversize sculptures and vibrant plantings, there is also room for individual expression. On this public holiday, a simple arrangement of wildflowers and grasses surrounded a painted orange stone atop a wall column. It proclaimed: “We are all equal #Be proud.” The artist was unknown.
Our trip was sponsored by Discover Surrey BC.
You might also like:
- Sample the flavors of South Asia on Surrey’s Spice Trail
- More exotic food on the Surrey Spice Trail
- Read other travel stories by Adrienne Cohen at Right Off Main.
