VANCOUVER is good for the soul. It has a soaring skyline, sprawling urban parks and sparkling ocean. Whether spending a few days before hopping on a cruise ship or using it as a base for venturing further into British Columbia, the visitor who doesn’t come away feeling invigorated is rare.
With the city surrounded by water on three sides, one of the best ways to get a feel for it is from an aquatic vantage point with options including a zodiac adventure, eco-safari and kayak.
There are daily guided kayak tours that leave from one of my favourite spots, Granville Island. The surrounding False Creek is a calm waterway where you might catch a glimpse of wildlife such as herons, seals and eagles.
Paddle past the Yaletown and the Olympic Village neighbourhoods as well as the BC Place stadium, Science World and the Giants, striking murals on concrete silos that form part of the Vancouver Biennale.
Alternatively, head out under Burrard Bridge and into English Bay, passing Vanier Park, Kitsilano Beach and the West End.
Granville Island is one of the jewels of Vancouver with its market and thriving arts and crafts community. If ever urban planners want a masterclass in waterfront regeneration this would be it.
Four decades ago, the site was little more than industrial wasteland punctuated by defunct sawmills and rusting corrugated metal shacks. The transformation began in late 1977, with the public market opening a year later. Today, Granville Island has waterfront restaurants, theatres, galleries, shops and food stalls.
But this is just a small part of the glorious culinary scene. Vancouver has no shortage of food-themed delights including sushi, street cuisine and seafood. During summer there is a penchant for al fresco dining: Vancouverites love their “patios”, especially if they come with mesmerising views.
Those who like a tipple won’t be disappointed either – there’s a vibrant microbrewing scene with craft breweries and distilleries.
Check out Odd Society, a small-batch distillery in East Vancouver where founder Gordon Glanz – who trained at Heriot-Watt University and honed his skills at Springbank Distillers in Campbeltown – creates spirits including whisky, vodka and gin.
One of British Columbia’s best-kept secrets is that it is home to some pretty decent wine country stretching from Vancouver to the Okanagan Valley (although complex alcohol regulations mean little of the vino leaves the province).
While the region’s icewine is perhaps the best known, familiar varieties of grapes, including chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and riesling, are all grown here.
Even if you can’t make it to the vineyards, there are shops across Vancouver that offer tastings, not to mention restaurant wine lists filled with bottles from across the province.
If you need to burn off all that good living, Stanley Park is ideal for walking and cycling. At almost 1,000 acres it is larger than New York’s Central Park and arguably even prettier with its swathes of coastal temperate rainforest.
Stanley Park has five breeding pairs of eagles, their mighty nests perched high in the conifers, some reportedly the size of an original VW Beetle. Other wildlife includes coyotes, racoons, bats, beavers and squirrels.
You can jump aboard the Stanley Park Train (a replica of a Canadian Pacific Railway engine #374 used in the late 1800s), take a horse-drawn carriage ride or join the Vancouver Trolley Company for a 45-minute hop-on, hop-off tour.
Among the popular walking and cycling routes is to circle around the park’s seawall which takes roughly an hour by bike or three hours on foot.
And don’t leave without seeing the First Nations Art and Totem Poles at Brockton Point. There is good reason it’s one of British Columbia’s most visited places: it is truly breathtaking.
WIN A PAIR OF CLUB-CLASS FLIGHTS WORTH UP TO £2500 FROM GLASGOW TO VANCOUVER IN THE HERALD THIS WEEKEND (APRIL 1, 2017)
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article