What should I see and do in Vancouver, Canada?

The Vancouver art gallery is a MUST (for art fans such as myself)

MY daughter lives in Squamish, just N. of Vancouver. For the outdoors do the drive N. around the loop that includes Whistler, where the 2010 winter olympics are happening. Pix from two of her recent trips.

One

Two

@gailcalled Wow, that is amazing. Is it a long drive from Vancouver?

It depends on where you live in V. and what time of day you have to get over the bridge. If you’re at the N. edge of the city and can hit HWY 99/1 easily, it’s a 1 hr 10 minute drive to Squamish.

More

Brunswick Mt.

Edit: And here’s the correct link for two

@gailcalled I guess I’ll be renting a car then. Thanks. It looks wonderful.

@oratio: It is spectacular if that is your thing. On one of these trips my daughter and her friends biked to the top of one of those peaks. They have pictures of standing in the snow fields in biking gear and waving the bikes over their heads.

If you want restaurants, art, culture and city life, that info is easily available. V is a gorgeous city.

And I fixed the Google map link for Squamish and points North.

Oh yes. I am very much an outdoor person. So, squamish, garibaldi, whistler. Definitely. So there are roads going up to the lake, or only hiking trails? I would prefer to walk, but I am not there more than four days.

MY daughter is in the wilderness and inaccessible now. I think you can get info on drives and hiking trails from Google.

Yes, thank you. I found some good sites. This really helped.

@oratio: Bring clothes for layering and keep your leg muscles in good shape. Have fun and send the collection some pictures. It is all photogenic.

@gailcalled Ok. Will do!

Well you could go to the Vapour lounge and smoke some marijuana.

Just kidding. Dont to go to Hastings and Cambie. The art gallery is a good place even if you dont like art. Theres a nice cafe on the side of it with some nice food. You should use the Canada line. They just finished it and its was really expensive so tourist such as yourself could get around easier. Theres the H.R. Macmillian space center if your into that kind of stuff. And make sure to visit Stanley park.

Hope you enjoy your stay.

@Bugabear Thanks. I will.

Trailer park boys!

In the city itself, do not miss Stanley Park, which has wonderful drives plus hiking and biking, spectacular views of the city, and amazing killer whale and beluga whale exhibits. In terms of the killer whales they have shows, but the whales don’t do tricks, they only have them demonstrate natural whale behaviors such as how they stun the fish they eat. Very worth seeing.

Vancouver is a large city with a very European feel. It has an excellent restaurant scene and wonderful shopping. Granville Island is one good choice for both of those.

The Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden is wonderful. Very calming after hectic tourist hours or days.

My very favorite cheese in the world is Black Diamond Aged Canadian Cheddar (at least two years old). It is so sharp, it almost bites back. Try some while you are there and/or bring some home.

I second what @gailcalled says about Whistler. The drive there is spectacular. The Village is pretty commercial, but the outdoors scenery is exquisite. More expensive than renting a car, but a fun way to go is the train out/flight back day trip described here.

It is also easy to take a ferry from the Vancouver area to Victoria, B.C., which makes for a fun day trip. The two cities have very different characters. Victoria has a bery British feel rather than Vancouver’s continental flair.

Have a wonderful time.