Discover a Canadian city rich in culture, scenery, and cosmopolitan flair

To steal a phrase, Vancouver is a once-in-a-lifetime-city -- which one really should visit at least twice to experience to the full. Its unrivalled location -- where mountains sweep down to the sea -- helps make this young, by European standards, vibrant city one of the choicest and most livable in the world, and one of the most spectacular, safe and friendly to visit. Strategically-placed for almost every imaginable summer and winter activity, Vancouver is a Mecca for leisure, soft adventure and wilderness tours, and other outdoor activities -- not too mention spectacular attractions for the entire family to enjoy.

Hotel accommodations range from decidedly top-end properties like The "Five Diamond" Pan Pacific and Canadian Pacific's elegant Waterfront Hotel -- both located steps away from Coal Harbour, the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre and Cruise Ship Terminal. There also a variety fine hotels such as the Hyatt Regency, Four Seasons and the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, and a vast selection of lower-priced properties offering excellent value, from furnished suite lodgings to quaint, comfortable and relatively inexpensive bed and breakfast establishments.

Vancouver is a shopper's paradise. Robson Street, arguably Vancouver's liveliest, has become the year-round place to shop, dine, browse or just enjoy, with an ever-increasing complement of fine and casual dining restaurants, boutiques, smaller international chain stores and street entertainment. Downtown and in adjoining townships, elegant suburban shopping malls, like Pacific Centre, Metrotown, Park Royal and The Eaton Centre flourish, linked by an inexpensive and efficient transit system -- Bus, SeaBus and SkyTrain.