About Vancouver

"You’re gorgeous, baby, you’re sophisticated, you live well...Vancouver is Manhattan with mountains. It’s a liquid city, a tomorrow city, equal parts India, China, England, France and the Pacific Northwest. It’s the cool North American sibling." – The New York Times

Majestic mountains, sparkling ocean, rainforests and beautiful foliage during all of Canada's four seasons make Vancouver one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Vancouver's citizens take great pride in our welcoming, clean, safe streets, with the city rapidly becoming one of North America's greenest metropolitan areas. In February 2009, Mayor Gregor Robertson launched the Greenest City initiative with a goal to map out how we can earn the title of becoming the greenest city by 2020.

Home to a significant overseas student population, Vancouver is Canada's gateway city to Pacific Rim countries, with the city's population as likely to speak Japanese and Chinese as Canada's two official languages, English and French. Vancouver's many coffee shops, museums and outdoor attractions prove attractive incentives for the thousands of students attending the city's universities, which include the University of British Columbia (UBC), Simon Fraser University (SFU), the Emily Carr University of Art & Design, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Quick Facts about Vancouver:

Population of 2.1 million, making it Canada's 3rd largest metropolitan area;
49.1% of Vancouver residents native English speakers; 25.3% native Chinese speakers;
One of Canada's mildest climates;
Host of the 2010 Olympic Winter & Paralympic Games;
One of the world's most livable cities, as according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Bloomsberg and Monocle.

5 of Vancouver's Must-See Attractions:

1. Stanley Park

Vancouver's top attraction, Stanley Park was Vancouver's first park, and an evergreen oasis of 400 hectares (1,000 acres) close to the downtown core.

The seawall refers to the 22km (13.7 miles) walking, jogging, cycling and inline skating path that lines Vancouver's waterfront from the convention centre on Burrard Inlet (Coal Harbour), around Stanley Park and False Creek, past Granville Island and ending at Kitsilano Beach Park. It is the most popular recreational facility in Vancouver and is on the "to do" lists of many visitors

2. Capilano Suspension Bridge

Explore Vancouver's forests via the swaying suspension bridge, which stretches 137 metres (450 feet) across the Capilano River 70 metres (230 feet) below.

3. Vancouver Aquarium

Home to 70,000+ fascinating sea creatures ranging from Arctic to Amazonian climates, with daily beluga whale, dolphin and sea otter shows.

4. Chinatown

Between 1890-1920, early Chinese immigrants settled in what was known as Shanghai Alley and Canton Alley. By 1890, Shanghai Alley was home to more than 1,000 Chinese residents. Much of the community's activities and entertainment evolved around a 500 seat Chinese theatre built in 1898.

5. Granville Island

A charming public market overflowing with fresh produce, breads and seafood set among picturesque lanes.