One of North America's best city parks. City residents are not only justifiably proud of their famous park, they use it avidly-and visitors are just as fond of the park's attractions. It's big (405ha/1,000 acres), beautiful,accessible and uncrowded. ..

Totem poles and the sensational building that houses them-the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) is one of North America's most important cultural institutions. It's also a great place to spend an afternoon looking at wonderful things. Designed by Arthur E..

The tentlike roof of the building shields the mast of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrol ship that was first to traverse the Northwest Passage through Canada's Arctic in both directions. Amazingly enough, despite its career bashing through icy wa..

You'll recognise the city's oldest museum by the huge stainless-steel crab that stands in front of the entrance. Don't worry, it's harmless; sculptor George Norris fashioned the crab to symbolize the creature that guards the harbour according to Firs..

Once known as "Robsonstrasse" to reflect the street's erstwhile German character, this thoroughfare leading from downtown to the West End has transformed itself into a cosmopolitan district with ethnic flair. It is particularly popular with..

Represents the work of BC's two best-known architects, and holds the largest collection of the province's most famous artist-Emily Carr (see sidebar). Designed by Francis Rattenbury, who also did the Parliament Buildings in Victoria (see Excursions),..

Hardly anyone is neutral about this colourful design by famed Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. Safdie denies the building's similarities to the Roman Colosseum-but the resemblance is obvious to virtually everyone else. Made of brown pre-cast concrete..

Imagine houses filling this lovely spot, instead of the colourful botanical garden. That's what it came perilously close to being. Once the site of a golf club for the nearby Shaughnessy mansion district (see Neighbourhoods), the land that now holds ..

The lifework of stonemason James Cunningham (1878-1963). A 9.5km/5.9mi barrier of 46kg/101-pound granite blocks built over the course of 46 years to withstand the battering of winter storms, the seawall follows much the same route as the driving tour..

If you're in Vancouver in the winter, spring or fall months, you may wonder why the beach here looks so neatly tended, the sand raked and logs lined up back from the water. Do people really swim here? Yes, they do. By noon on sunny summer days, assor..

The graceful canvas "sails" of Canada Place lift 70m/230ft above the water below-and are, cynics say, a blatant rip-off of the Sydney Opera House (just as Denver International Airport is undoubtedly a copy of Canada Place). Aside from their..

It dates back almost 150 years, to the days when Chinese laborers were brought across the Pacific to build the Canadian railroads and wagon roads; its continuing vitality reflects the mid-1990s exodus from Hong Kong to Canada, as well as Canada's pol..

A large, hangar-like building right along False Creek. Here you can wander among dozens of independent stalls whose offerings embrace a cosmically broad range: artisan cheese and bread, seafood, fresh BC fruits and vegetables, condiments, jams and pr..

Housed in a fine collection of 19C buildings is a hodge-podge of 20C curio shops, art galleries, restaurants and stores. This is where the city's first timber mills began cutting wood from nearby forests in 1862; many of the brick and stone buildings..

Exhibits explain the basics of planetary orbits, the nature of galaxies, the history of human space exploration. A special section delineates Canadian contributions to the latter. The two highlights are a motion simulator, which takes a virtual trip ..

A 154m/505ft hillock, is the pinnacle of this 52.5ha/130-acre park, which spreads across the largely open hillside. Six million visitors a year make Queen Elizabeth the city's second most popular park. The northwest end of the park is an arboretum th..

Long before it was a warehouse district, Yaletown was the edge of a tidal flatland. The curving brick wall in the tiny park at Mainland and Davie streets marks the shoreline of two centuries ago, before dredging and filling converted much of False Cr..

Packed exhibit galleries in this comprehensive museum leave virtually nothing out, from the snowshoe races prospectors held for entertainment, to the stunning victory in the 1998 Olympics by Whistler resident Ross Rebagliati. He won the first snowboa..

Though some have derided its appearance as a puff pastry left out too long, this fabric-dome-roofed structure has served its role admirably since 1983, and will be pressed into service during the 2010 Winter Olympics for opening and closing ceremonie..

Opened in 1927, the 2,800-seat hall was once the largest theatre in Canada. Interior arches, columns and moldings of travertine, marble, stone and plaster are designed in Spanish Baroque style by architect Marcus Priteca. Converted to a movie theatre..