Canada's west-coast city extraordinaire, Vancouver is well known for its cosmopolitan spirit and natural beauty. Whether you come to shop on Robson Street, check out the scene on Commercial Drive, dine in Yaletown or hike across Stanley Park, you're sure to be won over by Vancouver's many charms.
The heart of Vancouver includes the city's main shopping and business districts, as well as a number of picturesque neighborhoods. Check out movies, concerts and clubs on Granville, the city's Theatre Row. Yaletown's renovated warehouses house trendy shops, bars and restaurants; Gastown offers visitors a look at the city's old-time charm. Other central areas include Chinatown and Granville Island.
Robson Street brims with boutiques, coffee houses and chic restaurants in the center of town, but follow it westward into this neighborhood -- a short walk or bus ride to the urban core -- to find high-rise condos rubbing shoulders with sweet Edwardian homes. At the neighborhood's western edge lies venerable Stanley Park, North America's second-largest urban forest and home to the Vancouver Aquarium.
Ten miles from downtown, suburban Richmond is home to Vancouver's modern airport and the city's major Asian enclaves. Explore Asian food and shops at Asia West, Aberdeen Mall, Yao Han Centre and the Richmond Centre Mall. Take a stroll along the Dyke Trails or through Fantasy Garden World. Visit the historic Gulf of Georgia Cannery, a national historic site dedicated to local fisheries.
These two neighborhoods are popular for their close proximity to the False Creek waterfront and downtown Vancouver. Just outside the neighborhood boundaries, you'll find Granville Island and its famed Public Market. Plenty of shops line South Granville, as well as nearby West 4th Avenue and West Broadway in the Kitsilano neighborhood. Mount Pleasant is home to City Hall and City Centre mall.
A trio of similarly named areas leave many Vancouver visitors scratching their heads. The residential West End, the home of Stanley Park, occupies the westernmost part of downtown. The West Side area -- south of downtown and False Creek -- is home to University of British Columbia as well as the Kitsilano and West Granville neighborhoods. And then there's West Vancouver, a separate city entirely.