Vancouver, Victoria & Vancouver Island

The biggest city in BC, Vancouver is famed for letting its residents go from working in a high-rise office buildings all day to paddling kayaks, skiing, mountain biking or pretty much any other outdoor activity before sunset. The city is the art and culture capital of the province, as well. There's plenty of theater, good museums and, during the annual Film Festival, you see people lined up around the block waiting to get into flicks you've never heard of. There's live music somewhere every night of the week, plus all the advantages of a university town. Then there's the wild. Stanley Park is one of the biggest municipal parks anywhere. Get off a trail here and you'll forget that you're in the middle of a city of more than two million residents. Twenty minutes from downtown can put you in the deep forest. Vancouver Island is the largest island on the west coast, and it has not only some of the biggest trees in the world - as well as sea monsters, orca and fairly regular Bigfoot sightings - it also has the city of Victoria, recently voted the top city in North America. Once you're on the island, it'll be hard to think of a reason to leave. How can you not love a city that puts flower pots on all its lamp posts? Victoria is, plain and simple, one of the glory cities of the western hemisphere. It's beautiful, friendly, civilized. And it's diverse. You can go from having high tea at one of the fanciest hotels to chasing sea monsters, all in a few hours. You can tour classics of Victorian architecture, or hang out with orcas. And then you can move out and begin to explore Vancouver Island, from Port Hardy to Quadra Island, Pacific Rim National Park to Nootka Sound. Where to stay and eat, how to get around, what to see and do - all the information you need is here, along with abundant photographs.