The jewel in Vancouver's crown is Stanley Park, a green space roughly equivalent in size (1000 acres) to the downtown core itself. The park sits at the northwestern tip of the city and is bisected by the Stanley Park Causeway, which turns into the majestic Lions Gate Bridge, connecting to the North Shore. A popular activity for residents and tourists alike is 'doing the Seawall', an 11-kilometre paved pathway that circles the entire park. Other than bicycles, no vehicles are permitted on the Seawall, and walking, jogging or rollerblading are the preferred forms of locomotion. There are many bike and rollerblade rental shops in the West End near the entrance to the park.

Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre: Located on Avison Way within Stanley Park, this marine-science museum (www.vanaqua.org) is home to some 60,000 aquatic creatures, ranging from beluga whales to the tiniest of fish. Tickets cost $15.95 and are worth every penny.

Granville Island: In the 1970s, a civic initiative brought new life to a deteriorating industrial area beneath the Granville Street Bridge, turning it into a community for artists, craftspeople and children. The island now houses a splendid food market where many top chefs do their shopping, numerous galleries and a couple of excellent restaurants. It is very easy to spend a whole day here. The Vancouver Canucks are the local National Hockey League franchise, and in recent years the team's performance has earned sell-out crowds. Games are played at GM Place, near Beatty Street and West Georgia. Tickets are usually available from scalpers outside the arena. Expect to pay upwards of $200 for a pair of seats in the 'nosebleed section', which refers not to the game's reputation for violence but to the altitude of the seats, far above the playing surface. (www.canucks.com). In summer, the Vancouver Canadians baseball team, a minor league franchise (canadiansbaseball.com), plays at Nat Bailey Stadiumin Queen Elizabeth Park. By contrast, a pair of tickets here will set you back a paltry $20.