Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Stanley Park is Vancouver's defining asset and the most remarkable urban park in North America — 1,000 acres of old-growth coastal temperate rainforest on a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides, approximately 16 percent larger than Central Park in New York. The park contains ancient Douglas fir and western red cedar trees, a network of hiking trails through the forest interior, the 8.8-kilometer Seawall path around the perimeter offering views of the harbor, mountains, and North Shore, a collection of First Nations totem poles at Brockton Point, the Vancouver Aquarium (Canada's largest), and swimming beaches along the western shore. It is free to enter and open all year — walking, cycling, or rollerblading the Seawall is one of Vancouver's essential experiences.

Granville Island is Vancouver's most vibrant and authentically local destination — a former industrial peninsula under the Granville Bridge converted in the 1970s into a public market, arts complex, brewery, theatre district, and community hub. The Granville Island Public Market is the anchor — a covered farmers' market of extraordinary quality, where local producers of artisan cheese, charcuterie, seafood, bread, and prepared foods sell daily to a mix of locals and visitors. Lee's Donuts is famous enough to have its own legend. The surrounding area contains working studios of potters, glassblowers, woodworkers, and other craftspeople open to visitors. The False Creek Ferry provides the most pleasurable approach — a tiny passenger ferry that skips between Granville Island, Science World, and downtown.

Gastown is Vancouver's oldest neighborhood and historic birthplace — the area around Water Street and Maple Tree Square where 'Gassy Jack' Deighton opened a saloon in 1867 and attracted the settlers that became Vancouver. The cobblestone streets, Victorian brick buildings, and the famous steam-powered clock (which sounds every 15 minutes from steam pipes beneath the street) make it the most atmospheric of Vancouver's neighborhoods for walking. The neighborhood has evolved from its rough beginnings through a tourist souvenir phase into a destination of independent restaurants, design studios, boutique hotels, and creative businesses.

Whistler Blackcomb, 120 kilometers north of Vancouver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, is North America's largest ski resort — two mountains connected by the record-breaking PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola (highest and longest gondola in the world when it opened), with 8,171 acres of skiable terrain, 200+ marked runs, and a mountain village that is as fine as any in the Alps. The Sea-to-Sky Highway drive itself — past Howe Sound fjord, Squamish's Chief rock face, and through coastal mountain scenery — is one of Canada's most scenic drives. Whistler is a genuine year-round destination: in summer the mountain offers world-class mountain biking, hiking to alpine meadows, and the Grouse Bike Park opened in summer 2025 adding 11 trails on Grouse Mountain.

The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is the finest museum in western Canada — a remarkable building designed by Arthur Erickson on the UBC peninsula overlooking the Strait of Georgia, housing the world's most comprehensive collection of Northwest Coast Indigenous art. The Great Hall contains monumental totem poles, sculptures, and feast dishes from the cultures of the Pacific Northwest. The Haida Gwaii community's input into the collection's presentation and interpretation makes this one of the most respectfully curated Indigenous art museums on earth. The Koerner European Ceramics Gallery and the Multiversity Galleries add significant depth. Entry is approximately CAD 23.