Ocean deep, mountain high

From whale watching to alpine hiking, nature is never far away from this corner of British Columbia.

- Jenny Southan

Canada’s west-coast city of Vancouver is consistently rated highly in terms of quality of life, so if you are in town on business, make sure you add a weekend to explore. You can split your time between downtown and the mountains (for skiing, Whistler is just 90 minutes by car), or take a boat to Vancouver Island for some whale-watching.

The City

A wealthy seaport city of green glass and liberal vibes, downtown Vancouver is a grid of glittering towers surrounded by water on three sides. If you’re weary from jet lag, the breeze blowing over False Creek is reviving, as is a meal of the national dish, poutine (French fries, cheese and gravy), good any time of the day or night.

Quirky Granville Island is a short hop via Aquabus across the water from downtown – here you will find Edible Canada, which has a bistro with an outdoor terrace and a shop selling local produce. Once an industrial site, Granville’s corrugated in factories and warehouses have been reappropriated for farmers’ markets, boutiques, galleries and craft shops, as well as Molson’s Brewery and the Liberty Distillery, which opened in 2013 – pop in for a snifter of Endeavour gin.

If you’re short on time, the best way to get a sense of the city’s geography is to zoom out of the inner harbor on a high speed inflatable Zodiac boat. Tours with Sea Vancouver (C$42/$32) take you around the shores of Stanley Park at the tip of the peninsula (here you can rent a bike, see totem poles and lounge on sandy beaches), and under Lions Gate suspension bridge, which crosses the Burrard Inlet.

The Mountains