Vancouver

A 400-hectare peninsula of old-growth forest encircled by a seawall with unobstructed views of the North Shore mountains and passing freighters.

A 137-metre swaying footbridge strung 70 metres above the Capilano River gorge, surrounded by towering Douglas firs draped in moss.

Arthur Erickson's concrete-and-glass building houses one of North America's finest collections of Pacific Northwest First Nations totem poles, masks, and ceremonial objects.

A working industrial island turned bustling market where you can watch artisan cheesemakers, pick up Dungeness crab directly from fishermen, and eat a hot piroshky by the water's edge.

Reached by a steep 473-step trail through UBC's endowment forest, this clothing-optional stretch of wild shoreline feels nothing like the polished seawall a few kilometres away.

A free-admission photography and media arts gallery on the North Vancouver waterfront that consistently mounts serious, challenging exhibitions overlooked by most tourists.

A no-frills Chinatown institution since 1958 where steamed BBQ pork buns come out of the kitchen in bamboo trays for just a couple of dollars each.

Vancouver's oldest surviving building, a tiny 1865 general store moved to Jericho Beach that most locals have never stepped inside despite living minutes away.

Angus An's Kitsilano kitchen reframes Thai cuisine with BC seafood and seasonal vegetables, producing dishes of genuine complexity without defaulting to fusion gimmicks.

Chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson's tasting menu channels hyper-local Pacific Northwest ingredients — sea buckthorn, foraged mushrooms, BC spot prawns — through technically precise, inventive cooking.

A dimly lit Chinatown room blending Japanese and Italian influences, where the squid ink tagliolini and yuzu kosho butter have made it one of the most consistently celebrated tables in the city.

Andrea Carlson's Main Street restaurant builds a short, handwritten menu around local farms and foraged ingredients, changing so frequently that no two visits are quite the same.

A Gastown craft-beer bar with one of the best curated tap lists in Western Canada, where BC farmhouse ales and sour beers share the board with rotating guest kegs from small producers.

Accessed through an unmarked door on Main Street, this narrow red-lit basement bar has a lived-in neighbourhood feel and strong, unpretentious cocktails.

A compact Mount Pleasant taproom that pours its own experimental small-batch beers, including dry-hopped saisons and oddball adjunct stouts, at communal tables packed with locals.

A gritty East Vancouver institution for punk, metal, and DIY rock that has survived gentrification waves through sheer stubbornness and a fiercely loyal all-ages crowd.

A Davie Street LGBTQ+ flagship that has been the anchor of Vancouver's queer nightlife since the 1980s, with drag performances, themed nights, and a large sprung dance floor.

A converted 1930s adult cinema on Main Street now hosting live bands, comedy nights, and DJ sets inside a preserved Art Deco interior that gives every show an unusual intimacy.

Chinatown's premier electronic music venue with a serious Meyer Sound system and a programming mix that leans toward house, techno, and hip-hop from local and international selectors.