Vancouver is not much different from major American cities when it comes to culture. Vancouverites speak English, dress casually and generally tip around 15 percent at restaurants. The only major difference that American travelers will face is the use of the Canadian dollar, which is roughly equivalent to the American dollar in terms of the exchange rate, according to Xe.com. You can avoid high exchange fees by withdrawing Canadian money directly from an ATM in Vancouver.
Vancouver is definitely known for its seafood (we recommend dining in Downtown or West Vancouver). But with anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000 restaurants, you're guaranteed to find something to satisfy your appetite. Vancouver is one of North America's top dining cities. Chinatown is home to dozens of top-notch Chinese restaurants, while East Vancouver features numerous types of fares, with Italian and Indian restaurants reigning supreme. For a trendier dining experience, find a table in Gastown or Yaletown, where restaurants offer menus featuring everything from European specialties to Southern barbecue. Travelers dining in Point Grey can expect a more upscale selection of eateries with fancier entrees and higher prices.
Vancouver is consistently named as one of the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life, and the Economist Intelligence Unit acknowledged it as the first city to rank among the top-ten of the world's most livable cities for five consecutive years. Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, UN Habitat I, Expo 86, and the World Police and Fire Games in 1989 and 2009. In 2014, following thirty years in California, Vancouver became the indefinite home of the annual TED conference. Canada will host the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and several matches will be played in Vancouver, including the final at BC Place Stadium. The 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics were held in Vancouver and nearby Whistler, a resort community 125 km (78 mi) north of the city.
You can take a walk across the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which hovers high above the ground. Even if adventure isn't your idea of fun, take a stroll through Stanley Park or enjoying the views from English Bay. Vancouver is also home to dozens of museums like the Museum of Anthropology and the Vancouver Art Gallery and markets like Granville Public or Lonsdale Quay.
With 11 miles of beaches to one side and the coastal mountains to the other, those who visit Vancouver can spend one day swimming, playing beach volleyball and kayaking, and the next day rock climbing, parasailing and mountain biking. Hikers, skiiers or white-water rafters should head north of the city; recent visitors suggest you try your skills at Lynn Canyon Park or Grouse Mountain.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is housed downtown in the neoclassical former courthouse built in 1906. The courthouse building was designed by Francis Rattenbury, who also designed the British Columbia Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria, and the lavishly decorated second Hotel Vancouver. The 556-room Hotel Vancouver, opened in 1939 and the third by that name, is across the street with its copper roof. The Gothic-style Christ Church Cathedral, across from the hotel, opened in 1894 and was declared a heritage building in 1976.
There are several modern buildings in the downtown area, including the Harbour Centre, the Vancouver Law Courts and surrounding plaza known as Robson Square (designed by Arthur Erickson) and the Vancouver Library Square (designed by Moshe Safdie), reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome, and the recently completed Woodward's building Redevelopment (designed by Gregory Henriquez). The original BC Hydro headquarters building (designed by Ron Thom and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets is a modernist high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominia. Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the MacMillan Bloedel building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection.
A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame Canada Place, the former Canada Pavilion from the 1986 World Exposition, which includes part of the Convention Centre, the Pan-Pacific Hotel, and a cruise ship terminal. Two modern buildings that define the southern skyline away from the downtown area are City Hall and the Centennial Pavilion of Vancouver General Hospital, both designed by Townley and Matheson in 1936 and 1958 respectively.
There are so many wonderful things to do in Vancouver but in order to find out you will have to go there yourself!
