Overview

Vancouver is a green city that eats local. It’s one of the world’s best places to live and, naturally, visit as well. Try to let its snowcapped peaks, collection of skyscrapers, blue blue waters, and pine-wooded forests convince you otherwise. Its newness somehow makes it that much more inviting, too. After all, how presumptuous can a place be when it grew up from a makeshift pub less than 150 years ago?

Don’t let the word “new” fool you. This city emanates culture. It’s a “Hollywood talent factory,” and 1,500 authors live in the region. Its global proximity to China and Japan means traditional dance performances and the best Asian cuisine outside of Asia. With an abundance of fresh fish, it’s also the destination for sushi in North America. Its Aboriginal heritage blesses the city with cedar canoes, totem poles and native art, and Vancouver’s festivals highlight its Greek, Caribbean, Portuguese, Indian, Irish and Taiwanese influences. Perhaps it is its diversity, instead of its age, that sets Vancouver apart as a modern city.

When you’re not drinking icewine or cocktails with maple syrup, you’ll find plenty of local entertainment. Ski Grouse Mountain, skimboard along Kitsilano Beach, or hike up Grouse Grind and then zipline down it. Your kids will love the free waterpark at Granville Island and gold panning at Fort Langley National Historic Site. Eat lunch from a food truck and then go underground on a train at the Britannia Mine Museum. Catch a game of roller derby or Canadian football, or find a spa full of healthy locals waiting to be wrapped in seaweed. If you consider food an attraction, then the city offers food tours. And if you just want to stop and smell the roses, the Stanley Park Rose Gardens are waiting for you.