"Vancouver, British Columbia, ..." a Vancouver Travel Page by penumbra

Vancouver is a wonderful city. Nestled against the mountains, it none-the-less has beaches that stretch along the water’s edge. With year round moderate weather, there is seldom snow in the winter or a need for air conditioning during the summer. There is rain though. The heavy clouds rolling in from the Pacific can’t quite make it over the mountain range until they lighten their load on Vancouver and the lower mainland. The rain is worst in the winter, with miserable grey days passing almost without end from October through February. The remainder of the year, the sun is out more often than not, and Vancouver is a beautiful city to behold when its sunny.

I spent 15 months working in Vancouver’s downtown area. The downtown section is on an isthmus of land so that you’ll almost certainly cross one of the major bridges to reach the center. From the south (from the airport) you’ll cross False Creek on the Burrard, Granville or Cambie bridges. From the North (from West Vancouver or North Vancouver) you’ll cross the first narrows of the Burrard Inlet on the Lion’s Gate bridge. Only from the east (through China town) can you enter downtown over land and even then the most likely route is across the Georgia/Dunsmuir viaducts. I mention these bridges because they are all walkable. It’s often hard to get a good view of Vancouver once you’re in among all of its high-rise buildings. Out on the bridges though are some amazing views that you might want to capture in a picture or two. Be sure to check out the views as you’re heading into downtown.