Visiting Vancouver: Three Unmissable Sights
Known as one of the world's best places to live, Vancouver, in western Canada, offers city life, mountain life and ocean life all in one place.
So it's probably no surprise that the best things to do in the city are either in the mountains or by the water!
Found to the northwest of downtown Vancouver, this 4-square-kilometer park offers beaches, gardens, and walking paths among about 500,000 evergreen trees.
Many visitors will enjoy a walk or a bike ride around the park's seawall, where a nearly 9-kilometer path offers beautiful views of the city.
The park also has restaurants, a swimming pool, an aquarium, horse-drawn carriage rides and even a miniature railway!
Capilano Suspension Bridge
The name Capilano comes from the Squamish — an Indigenous people — term kia'palano, which means "beautiful river."
The first bridge was built here in 1889, after a Scottish engineer bought land on either side of the Capilano River in North Vancouver, and built a house on top of the 70-meter-deep canyon.
Visitors now will find a much newer, 137-meter-long bridge, as well as walkways hanging high off the side of the canyon. On the far side of the bridge, you can walk between platforms up to 33 meters high among 250-year-old trees.
Most people take the Skyride, a 100-person gondola, up Grouse Mountain, a 1,231-meter mountain in North Vancouver. And those who would like some extra adventure can even ride on the Skyride's roof!
But visitors who want some exercise may choose to climb up the 2,830 steps of the Grouse Grind instead!
As well as beautiful views of Vancouver, Grouse Mountain offers ziplines, paragliding and lumberjack shows in summer, and skiing in winter. Shuttle buses go to the mountain from downtown Vancouver, and you can also get there by city bus from Capilano Suspension Bridge.
