Outdoor Plaza

Unlike many cities, Vancouver's great urban gathering places stand not at the center but on the periphery, on two opposite sides of the seawall that runs around Stanley Park: English Bay, on the south side of Denman Street, and Coal Harbour, on the northern, Burrard Inlet side, are where Vancouverites go to stroll and be seen. On warm sunny days, these two areas are packed. Another waterside gathering spot is Canada Place, built for Expo '86 and now being enlarged. Built in the shape of a cruise ship and serving as the city's cruise-ship terminal (as well as a huge convention center with a giant hotel on top for good measure), it has wide walkways all around it that are super for strolling and offers fabulous views of the mountains.

Designed by architect Arthur Erickson to be Vancouver's central plaza, Robson Square -- downtown, between Hornby and Howe streets from Robson to Smithe streets -- has never really worked. The square, which anchors the north end of the Provincial Law Courts complex designed by Erickson in 1972, suffers from a basic design flaw: It's sunk one story below street level, making it difficult to see and to access. The Law Courts complex, which sits on a higher level, raised above the street, is beautifully executed with shrubbery, cherry trees, sculptures, and a triple-tiered waterfall, but Robson Square below is about as appealing as a drained swimming pool. Just opposite Robson Square, however, the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery are a great people place, filled with loungers, political agitators, and old men playing chess. It just goes to show that grandiose urban theory and urban design, especially back in the 1970s, doesn't always take the human element into account.

Library Square -- a few blocks east from Robson Square at the corner of Robson and Homer streets -- is an example of a new urban space that does work. It's been popular with locals since it opened in 1995. People sit on the steps, bask in the sunshine, read, harangue passersby with half-baked political ideas, and generally seem to enjoy themselves.

Parks & Gardens

Park and garden lovers are in heaven in Vancouver. The wet, mild climate is ideal for gardening, and come spring the city blazes with blossoming cherry trees, rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, and spring bulbs. And roses in summer. Gardens are everywhere. For general information about Vancouver's parks, call tel. 604/257-8400, or try www.parks.vancouver.bc.ca.

On the West Side you'll find the magnificent UBC Botanical Garden, one of the largest living botany collections on the West Coast, and the sublime Nitobe Japanese Garden.

In Chinatown, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is a small, tranquil oasis in the heart of the city, built by artisans from Suzhou, China; right next to it, accessed via the Chinese Cultural Centre on Pender Street, is the pretty (and free) Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park, with a pond, walkways, and plantings.

On the West Side, Queen Elizabeth Park -- at Cambie Street and W. 33rd Avenue -- sits atop a 150m-high (492-ft.) extinct volcano and is the highest urban vantage point south of downtown, offering panoramic views in all directions (although leafy deciduous trees now block some of the best views). Along with the rose garden in Stanley Park, it's Vancouver's most popular location for wedding-photo sessions, with well-manicured gardens and a profusion of colorful flora. There are areas for lawn bowling, tennis, pitch-and-putt golf, and picnicking. The Bloedel Conservatory (tel. 604/257-8584) stands next to the park's huge sunken garden, an amazing reclamation of an abandoned rock quarry. A 42m-high (138-ft.) domed structure, the conservatory houses a tropical rainforest with more than 100 plant species as well as free-flying tropical birds. Admission to the conservatory is C$4.50 (US$4/£2) for adults, with discounts for seniors and children. Take bus no. 15 to reach the park.

VanDusen Botanical Gardens, 5251 Oak St., at West 37th Avenue (tel. 604/878-9274; www.vandusengarden.org), is located just a few blocks from Queen Elizabeth Park and the Bloedel Conservatory. In contrast to the flower fetish displayed by Victoria's famous Butchart Gardens, Vancouver's 22-hectare (54-acre) botanical garden concentrates on whole ecosystems. From trees hundreds of feet high down to the little lichens on the smallest of damp stones, the gardeners at VanDusen attempt to re-create the plant life of a number of different environments. Depending on which trail you take, you may find yourself wandering through the Southern Hemisphere section, the Sino-Himalayan garden, or the Northern California sequoia garden. Should all this tree gazing finally pall, head for the farthest corner of the garden, where you'll find a devilishly difficult Elizabethan garden maze. Admission April through September C$8.25 (US$7/£4) adults, C$6 (US$5/£2.70) seniors, C$6.25 (US$5/£2.80) youth 13 to 18, C$4.25 (US$3.60/£1.90) children 6 to 12, C$19 (US$16/£9) families, free for children under 6. Admission is about C$2 less from October through March. Open daily 10am to dusk. Take bus no. 17. Note: Be aware that the garden lost hundreds of trees in the December 2006 windstorm that also devastated Stanley Park.

Adjoining UBC on the city's west side at Point Grey, Pacific Spirit Regional Park, called the Endowment Lands by longtime Vancouver residents, is the largest green space in Vancouver. Comprising 754 hectares (1,863 acres) of temperate rainforest, marshes, and beaches, the park includes nearly 35km (22 miles) of trails ideal for hiking, riding, mountainbiking, and beachcombing.

Across the Lions Gate Bridge, six provincial parks delight outdoor enthusiasts year-round. Good in winter or for those averse to strenuous climbing is the publicly maintained Capilano River Regional Park, 4500 Capilano Rd. (tel. 604/666-1790), surrounding the Capilano Suspension Bridge & Park. Hikers can follow a gentle trail by the river for 7km (4.3 miles) down the well-maintained Capilano trails to the Burrard Inlet and the Lions Gate Bridge, or about a mile upstream to Cleveland Dam, a launching point for white-water kayakers and canoeists.

The Capilano Salmon Hatchery, on Capilano Road (tel. 604/666-1790), is on the river's east bank about .5km (1/3 mile) below the Cleveland Dam. Approximately two million Coho and Chinook salmon are hatched annually in glass-fronted tanks connected to the river by a series of channels. You can observe the hatching fry (baby fish) before they depart for open waters, as well as the mature salmon that return to the Capilano River to spawn (Sept-Dec are best viewing times). Admission is free, and the hatchery is open daily from 8am to 7pm (until 4pm in the winter). Drive across Lions Gate Bridge and follow the signs to North Vancouver and the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Or take the SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay and transfer to bus no. 236; the trip takes less than 45 minutes.

Eight kilometers (5 miles) west of Lions Gate Bridge on Marine Drive West, West Vancouver, is Lighthouse Park. This 74-hectare (183-acre) rugged-terrain forest has 13km (8 miles) of groomed trails and -- because it has never been clear-cut -- some of the largest and oldest trees in the Vancouver area. One of the paths leads to the 18m (59-ft.) Point Atkinson Lighthouse, on a rocky bluff overlooking the Strait of Georgia and a fabulous view of Vancouver. It's an easy trip on bus no. 250. For information about other West Vancouver parks, call tel. 604/925-7200 weekdays.

Driving up-up-up the mountain from Lighthouse Park will eventually get you to the top of Cypress Provincial Park. Stop halfway at the scenic viewpoint for a sweeping vista of the Vancouver skyline, the harbor, the Gulf Islands, and Washington State's Mount Baker, which peers above the eastern horizon. The park is 12km (7 1/2 miles) north of Cypress Bowl Road and the Highway 99 junction in West Vancouver. Cypress Provincial Park has an intricate network of trails maintained for hiking during the summer and autumn and for downhill and cross-country skiing during the winter.

Rising 1,430m (4,692 ft.) above Indian Arm, Mount Seymour Provincial Park, 1700 Mt. Seymour Rd., North Vancouver (tel. 604/986-2261), offers another view of the area's Coast Mountains range. The road to this park roams through stands of Douglas fir, red cedar, and hemlock. Higher than Grouse Mountain, Mount Seymour has a spectacular view of Washington State's Mount Baker on clear days. It has challenging hiking trails that go straight to the summit, where you can see Indian Arm, Vancouver's bustling commercial port, the city skyline, the Strait of Georgia, and Vancouver Island. The trails are open all summer for hiking; during the winter, the paths are maintained for skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. Mount Seymour is open daily from 7am to 10pm.