Discovering Vancouver, British Columbia
The city lights shimmer, casting reflections on the harbor, as a cool breeze drifts inland. Pedestrians button coats and stroll down the avenue gazing in
colorful boutique windows and pointing out their favorite architecture against Vancouver, British Columbia’s beautiful skyline.
Vancouver B.C. is a wonderful cultural cauldron that melds together in a vibrant metropolis featuring diverse and fascinating attractions. From multitudes of fashion shops and restaurants, to the scenic splendor of Stanley Park and hum of Grandville Island, Vancouver is an active and exciting destination. Vancouver has a moderate climate
and is perfect to explore year-round. For additional information, visit TourismVancouver.com
A good choice for familiarizing yourself with the city and an inexpensive way to explore is to purchase a ticket for the Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing the Vancouver Trolley Company. The company provides various interesting tours (including Stanley Park) and drives by most of the cities major attractions. The trolleys have large, open windows for unobstructed views and photographs as well. The heart of the city is Robson Street, where you’ll find the widest selection of fashion shopping, excellent hotels and a restaurant located on e very block. Situated on the south end of Robson is the Vancouver Art Gallery. This gallery is one of Canada’s finest and includes an extensive Emily Carr collection. One of Vancouver’s most charming aspects is the numerous lush and beautiful parks located throughout the city. Stanley Park, the most famous and certainly one of the outstanding parks of the world, is a must-visit. The park consists of 1,000 acres of majestic wooded and plant landscapes surrounded by bays and inlets on all sides. Visitors will find activities year-round with lovely restaurants, horse-drawn carriage rides, biking, swimming or simply meandering down a serene, wooded path. Granville Island is a popular market place and a fun way to spend the afternoon with loads of fresh produce, bakeries, retail shops, cafes and activities for the entire family. The market is also home to delicious Roger’s Chocolates. There are accommodations for every style, taste and budget in Vancouver; however, if you want a stellar view of Coal Harbour and the best service in Western Canada, try the Fairmount Waterfront. This hotel is lovely, yet unpretentious, features light and airy rooms, and is located a few blocks away from Robson Street. The gracious staff makes this hotel number one on our recommendations list for Vancouver and the rates are reasonable.  Patrice Raplee is an experienced travel photojournalist and editor of Travel Excursion and Seattle Spotlight for Positively Entertainment
magazine. In addition, she writes a monthly travel column for the award-wining site Offbeat Travel. She is a member of North American Travel Journalists
Association (NATJA), International Travel Writers Alliance (ITWA) and the Recording Academy. Her photographs and articles have appeared in numerous
international publications, as well as NW newspapers such as the Seattle Times, the Stranger, Seattle Weekly and the Oregonian. As a freelance
photojournalist, she has also worked with acclaimed musical entertainers, such as Santana, Billy Joel and Steven Tyler. Patrice travels the globe to
cover destinations that feature fascinating culture, art, culinary, history and soft adventure.
All photos by Patrice Raplee © 2009 |
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