🇨🇦 Vancouver

Overview

Vancouver sits on Canada's Pacific coast with about 660,000 people in the city and 2.6 million across the region, wedged between the ocean and the Coast Mountains. That geography is the whole point: you can ski in the morning and be on a beach in the afternoon, and the mountains are visible from most downtown streets. It is one of North America's most Asian-influenced cities — over 40% of residents have Asian heritage — and consistently ranks among the world's most liveable.

Landmarks & culture

• Stanley Park — A 400-hectare rainforest peninsula bordered by a ten-kilometre seawall, larger than Central Park and mostly left wild. The First Nations totem poles at Brockton Point are the most visited landmark in the province.
• Museum of Anthropology — An Arthur Erickson building on the university campus holding one of the world's great collections of Northwest Coast First Nations art, including monumental carved poles in a glass hall.
• Granville Island — A former industrial peninsula under a bridge, now a public market, artist studios and theatres. Reach it on the tiny rainbow-coloured ferries that cross False Creek in five minutes.

Things to do

• The North Shore mountains — Grouse Mountain and Cypress are twenty-five minutes from downtown for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. The Grouse Grind is a punishing stair climb locals treat as a fitness test.
• Seawall by bike — The world's longest uninterrupted waterfront path runs 28 kilometres past beaches, marinas and the park. Flat, separated from traffic and the best introduction to the city.
• Day trips — Whistler is under two hours up the Sea to Sky Highway. Victoria and the Gulf Islands are a scenic ferry ride away through the strait, often with orcas visible from the deck.

Gastronomy