Vancouver

Vancouver occupies a peninsula and the land around Burrard Inlet in the south-west corner of British Columbia, with the North Shore mountains rising immediately across the water. The downtown core is compact and surrounded on three sides by water, and Stanley Park — one of the largest urban parks in North America — occupies its northern tip.

The city is young by European standards and shaped by immigration from across the Pacific, which is most visible in its food. The defining local habit is treating the outdoors as an everyday amenity: the seawall, the beaches and the mountain trails are used year-round, in the rain.

Vancouver is one of the few major cities where you can be on a beach, in old-growth rainforest and on a mountain ridge in a single day, without leaving the metropolitan area.

It is also the best city in Canada for Asian food, with Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Filipino cooking that draws people across the region, and the departure point for Vancouver Island, Whistler and the Sea-to-Sky corridor.

• The Stanley Park seawall. A flat waterfront loop of about nine kilometres around the park, on foot or by bike, with the mountains on one side and the city on the other.
• Granville Island. A former industrial peninsula under the bridge, with a public market, artist studios and a small ferry hop across False Creek.
• The Museum of Anthropology at UBC. The strongest collection of Northwest Coast First Nations art and carving, in a building designed around it.
• Grouse Mountain or Cypress. On the North Shore, reachable by bus and gondola, for skiing in winter and views and trails in summer.
• Capilano or Lynn Canyon. Suspension bridges over forested canyons; Lynn Canyon is free and less crowded, Capilano larger and commercial.
• Kitsilano and English Bay beaches. City beaches with mountain views, busy from June onwards.
• Gastown and Chinatown. The oldest parts of the city, with the steam clock, brick warehouses and one of the largest historic Chinatowns in North America.

June to September is the dry, warm season and by far the most reliable: long evenings, beaches, patios and every trail open.

May and early October are quieter, generally pleasant and cheaper, with cherry blossom across the city in late March and April.

November to February is mild but persistently wet at sea level, and snowy on the North Shore mountains, which makes it the ski season. The city does not freeze, but it does rain for weeks.

Downtown and the West End put you within walking distance of Stanley Park, the beaches and the seawall; the West End is quieter and generally better value.

Yaletown, on False Creek, is converted warehouses, restaurants and marina views.

Gastown is central and characterful, though the streets immediately east of it form the Downtown Eastside, which has visible poverty and drug use.

Kitsilano, across the bridge, is a beach neighbourhood with independent shops and a fifteen-minute bus ride to the centre. Mount Pleasant, on Main Street, is the best base for food and breweries.

Downtown and the West End: the towers, Robson Street, English Bay and the approach to Stanley Park.

Gastown: the original settlement, cobbled streets, brick warehouses and design shops.

Chinatown: historic and partly in transition, with the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.

Yaletown: warehouse conversions, restaurants and the False Creek waterfront.

Kitsilano: beaches, West 4th Avenue shops and a short hop to the university.

Mount Pleasant and Main Street: independent restaurants, breweries and the best neighbourhood eating.

Commercial Drive: the old Italian quarter, now mixed and informal.

TransLink runs SkyTrain, buses and the SeaBus ferry to North Vancouver on one fare system, paid by Compass card or contactless. SkyTrain's Canada Line links the airport directly to downtown in about half an hour.

The SeaBus is public transport and one of the best cheap views in the city. Small private ferries cross False Creek to Granville Island.

Cycling is well provided for, with separated lanes downtown and a public bike-share scheme. A car is only really needed for Whistler, the Sea-to-Sky highway or trailheads without transit.

Vancouver's Asian food is the reason many people eat their way through the city. Cantonese, Sichuan, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese restaurants are everywhere, with the densest concentrations in Richmond, south of the city, and along Kingsway and Main Street.

Sushi is unusually good and unusually cheap by North American standards. The Japadog street stands and salmon in its Pacific varieties are both local signatures.

Seafood generally — spot prawns in their short spring season, Dungeness crab, oysters — is the regional strength, and the Granville Island market is where to see it.

Whistler is about two hours north along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, a world-class ski resort in winter and a mountain-biking and hiking base in summer. The drive itself, past Howe Sound and Shannon Falls, is part of the attraction.

Victoria, on Vancouver Island, is reachable by BC Ferries and bus or by floatplane, and makes a long but rewarding day.

The North Shore — Grouse, Cypress, Deep Cove and Lynn Canyon — is close enough for a half day by transit.

Squamish, halfway to Whistler, has the Sea to Sky Gondola and some of the best rock climbing in Canada.

Vancouver is among the most expensive cities in Canada, driven by accommodation. Prices swing sharply with the summer season and with cruise-ship traffic.

Food is where value is easiest to find: Asian restaurants in Richmond and along Kingsway serve substantial meals inexpensively, and the food-court style Asian malls are cheaper still. Transit is reasonable on a day pass, and the seawall, the beaches, Stanley Park, Lynn Canyon and the city's viewpoints are all free.

Take the Canada Line from the airport. It is faster and far cheaper than a taxi into downtown.

Bring a rain shell rather than an umbrella. Locals largely do not use umbrellas, and the rain is usually light and persistent rather than heavy.

Ride the SeaBus at least once. It costs an ordinary transit fare and gives the best harbour view in the city.

Be aware of the Downtown Eastside. The area around Main and Hastings has severe visible poverty and drug use; it is not a no-go zone but many visitors prefer to route around it.

Bears are a genuine consideration on North Shore trails. Read the posted advice at trailheads and do not carry food loosely.