Welcome to Vancouver

Why would anyone want to visit Canada's third largest city? Well, we could go on about:

Vancouverites spend more money on sports equipment than any other city in Canada. There are more tennis players in Vancouver, more boats, more fitness classes, more vertical feet of skiing and more Nike running shoes sold. It's tough to name an outdoor sport you can't do within an hour's drive of the Vancouver International Airport from board sailing, rock climbing and ocean kayaking to golf, scuba diving and tennis. The home of Greenpeace, Vancouver -- once a rainforest -- and her citizens live on the edge of wildness!

Vancouverites come from more than 60 cultural groups. So no matter where you're from, hide your camera and you'll look like a local. We've been described as "conservative Californians" -- friendly, but polite. We're proud of our neighbourhoods, from Japantown and Little Italy to laid-back Kits, hip Yaletown and the urban, urbane West End.

We're scenic

Vancouver is now third only to Los Angeles and New York as a North American film and TV production centre. Chances are you've already seen Vancouver even if you've never been here before. Our terrain is so varied, TV and movie companies here are able to "film" in China, Africa, Hong Kong, Turkey, Vietnam and the vineyards of France. You might recognize the city as the setting of the renowned TV series the X-Files (for 5 seasons). Vancouver has also doubled as Seattle in "Stakeout," and New York in "Look Who's Talking", Detroit in "Bird on a Wire" and Beverly Hills in "Harry Crumb". For a visitor, a change of scene is literally only an hour away in any direction.

You can get there from here
Vancouver is equidistant from Europe and Asia. Thanks to an expanded international airport terminal, visitors can travel in even greater comfort and more conveniently.

Closer to home, within a day, you can travel by bike, boat, ferry, helicopter, float plane, monorail or train to dozens of places: a laid-back Gulf Island, North America's premier ski resort, BC's sunniest peninsula, near-desert cowboy country, Canada's rhododendron capital, an abbey retreat or a First Nations sweat lodge, the tea lobby where New York tycoons once summered or the marshes where 20,000 Snow Geese still winter.

We like to eat, drink and be merry
We boast the largest per capita consumption of wine in any city in North America. To go with it, we're developing a restaurant (and coffee bar) scene as exciting as any world capital, with chefs from Austria to Vietnam. As a music mecca, we've spawned Bryan Adams, BTO, Sarah McLachlan and Loverboy.

We like to party

Vancouver and environs host the four-night-long Benson and Hedges' Symphony of Fire international fireworks competition, an international Children's Festival, du Maurier International Jazz Festival, La Quena Latin America Fiesta. We revel in the World Championship Sand Sculpture Competition and the Great Garbage Can Art Competition.

We celebrate everything from dogfish to ducks, from wooden boats to writers. We like our jazz on a raft and symphony on mountain peaks a mile-high. We make bellies laugh at the Vancouver International Comedy Festival. We race rubber duckies and dragon boats. We love a parade, every August.

Sightseeing

Nestled between the sparkling blue Pacific and the lofty heights of the Coastal Mountains, bordered by lush emerald forests and wide, sandy beaches - how could Vancouver be anything but spectacular?  There are many ways to see the city and all it has to offer.

By coach or minibus, horse-drawn carriage or helicopter, bicycle or on foot, local guides will show you our spectacular surroundings.

Walkabouts

Stanley Park, in downtown Vancouver

The city is a walker's paradise and mecca can certainly be found at the end of Beach Avenue in the form of Stanley Park, 400 hectares (1000 acres) of woodlands, gardens, trails and lakes, benches and cricket pitches. One of the largest urban parks in North America, it is criss-crossed with paths, so exploring it is filled with a sense of adventure. Circumnavigate the park via the Seawall, a brisk two- hour jaunt, or take a more leisurely stroll around either Lost Lagoon or Beaver Lake, more off the beaten track and a haven for wildlife.

False Creek, in downtown Vancouver
Vancouver's past, present and future are all in startling proximity when you walk along this "false creek" (actually a tidal inlet). Once five times larger than it is today, much of False Creek's development is built on landfill, positive proof that waterfront property is worth its weight in dirt and stones. Begin at the Main Street Skytrain station to take a look at the area's last remaining industrial waterfront on a three-block strip along First Avenue. Once you pass under the Cambie Street Bridge you're in another world: parkland, seawall footpaths, marinas and enclaves of charming, human- scale housing, much of it in the characteristic style of the 1970s -- Northwest Regional. Here's an example of ideal city living: across the water the city's gold and silver spires look almost like a mirage, so close and yet so far from the quiet green parks with their duck ponds and frolicking children. End your walk at Granville Island, or take a ferry across the creek and continue to discover False Creek's unique industrial history on the downtown side, now a modern boom area -- Yaletown.

To the world, Vancouver is a modern Pacific Rim city with exceptional hotels, fine dining, and the best in international music, theatre, and dance. But we also know and love it as a rugged frontier town, with a forest in the city and wilderness on its outskirts.

The mix is heady and delightful. Yet our people, rooted in the natural beauty of the place, and inspired by newcomers from all over the world, are relaxed, friendly and welcoming.
 
 

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