Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Regardless of whether you have a weekend or a full week scheduled for Vancouver,
plan on rising early and heading out to Stanley Park for a walk or ride at least once. Visit
the major museums—
Museum of Vancouver, Vancouver Maritime Museum,
and the
Museum of Anthropology
—in the mornings. Leave the afternoons for outdoor pursuits
that can be active (kayaking on
False Creek
), educational (
Capilano Salmon Hatch-
ery
),orbreathtaking(
Grouse Mountain Skyride
).Luckily,manyattractionsareclustered
around downtown, with others such as Granville Island and the city's three major mu-
seums farther out but easily reached by public transportation. Try to arrange your sight-
seeing schedule around the weather. If the forecast calls for a rainy day, concentrate on the
museums, leaving the North Shore and Stanley Park for a sunny day.
The City of Vancouver
TheCityofVancouvercomprises23neighborhoods(suburbs),extendingfrom
downtown
and the adjacent
West End
south to the North Arm of the Fraser River. Here lie the trendy
beachside suburb of
Kitsilano
(known as “Kits” to the locals), home to Museum of Van-
couver, and
Point Grey,
home to the University of British Columbia. The City of Van-
couver also takes in some of Vancouver's most expensive suburbs, including
Shaugh-
nessy.
Metro Vancouver
Surrounding this central core of neighborhoods, 20 additional self-governing municipalit-
ies, many incorporated as individual cities, fall under the umbrella of
Metro Vancouver.
South of Vancouver, the low-lying Fraser River delta extends all the way south to the U.S.
border. Between the north and south arms of the river is
Richmond,
home of
Vancouver
International Airport.
South of the South Arm is the industrial and residential area of
Delta,
as well as
Tsawwassen,
departure point for ferries to Vancouver Island. Immedi-
ately east of Delta is the city of
Surrey.
On the north side of Burrard Inlet, the
North
Shore
isanarrow,developedstripbackeduptothemountainsandconnectedtodowntown
by the Lions Gate Bridge.
North Vancouver
lies directly across from downtown; to its
west is the municipality of
West Vancouver,
an upscale neighborhood, and the secluded
community of
Horseshoe Bay,
departure point for Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island
ferries. With Vancouver growing at an incredible rate, and as development to the south
and north are restricted—by the international border and the North Shore Range—there's
nowhere to go but east. The residential sprawl continues east from Vancouver along the
