Travel

B.C. is rich with living and historical Aboriginal culture. Archaeological evidence and Aboriginal oral history suggest that complex cultures lived here as long as 10,000 years ago. B.C. is home to approximately 156,000 Aboriginal people, belonging to 40 major cultural groups. Many live in small communities throughout the province and continue traditions established hundreds of years ago.

In its annual liveability survey, the Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Vancouver as the world's most liveable city for the second year in a row.

Hit the pedals this summer and explore British Columbia by bicycle. Cycling is a unique way to explore the province's terrain and towns and connect with the locals. On a bike you can feel, hear, and even smell the scenery going by.

Home to just over 10,000 inhabitants the 180 square kilometer Salt Spring Island is the largest of the Gulf Islands nestled in the Strait of Georgia between mainland Vancouver and Vancouver Island.  Connected to the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island by BC Ferries or by air, Salt Spring Island is a short trip from Vancouver making it an ideal weekend get-away.

Discover the stranger or quirky side of Vancouver that makes it such a unique place to visit and live ...

A lively and vibrant neighbourhood in Vancouver's downtown core, the West End stretches from Coal Harbour to English Bay, with Stanley Park on one side and Burrard Street on the other.

Fifteen minutes after departing downtown Vancouver and threading its way through the towering freighters of the working harbour, the SeaBus pulls into its slip. Vancouverites have been crossing Burrard Inlet by ferry for over 130 years. First Nations' peoples have been making the crossing for considerably longer. Today, when you arrive in North Vancouver on the SeaBus you'll discover a vibrant public market, waterfront parks, working ship yards and some of the best views of the Vancouver skyline.

West Van, as locals call their stretch of home along the North Shore's Coast Range mountains, is a beautiful community missed by most tourists who cross the spectacular Lions Gate Bridge. The bridge connects the City of Vancouver through the 1,000-acre (400-hectare) forest of Stanley Park to the North Shore. West Van is often overlooked as visitors pass by on their way to the Upper Levels Highway, bound for Whistler or the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal to Vancouver Island.

Transient students and singles come and go, but a strong core of long-time residents still anchors in Kitsilano ('Kits' to the locals), one of the city's liveliest and most desirable established neighbourhoods. Overlooking the classic Vancouver skyline of sea, Stanley Park and the North Shore mountains from Cornwall Street, this area was once the counter-culture capital of the region and is now home to many of those hippies who grew up to enter middle-management. It's now a comfortable, liberal paradise of well-heeled vegetarians.

Here's a perfect day for the foodie in your life. After a night at an oceanfront lodge, pick up a pair of bicycles and peddle round to some local wineries, sampling a Merlot, a Pinot Gris, or perhaps a kiwi wine. At noon, spread your picnic blanket under a tree and dig into some fresh baked bread and locally made cheese before wending your way back to the lodge.