Saturday, September 23, 2023, 4:34am
Introduction to CANADA
Date travelled: July 1991 for three weeks
Tour Operator: Not Used
Whistler Resort is known world-wide. For several years in a row, Whistler has been rated the best ski resort in North America by international ski publications. This resort, actually two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb offers one mile of vertical (5,280') on over 100 marked runs, including bowl and glacier skiing.
Stanley Park is a city treasure and one of the largest urban parks in North America. Enjoy the parks many attractions, including the formal Rose Garden, Lost Lagoon, Malkin Bowl (an outdoor theater), totem poles at Brockton Point, Lumbermans Arch, Beaver Lake, Vancouver Aquarium, the Vancouver Rowing Club, the Lions Gate Suspension Bridge, Siwash Rock, Ferguson Point, a water park, and beaches. During the summer months, a free shuttle bus travels through the park, stopping at some of the most popular attractions.
Only 15 minutes from downtown Vancouver, Grouse Mountain (1,211 metres) has been one of Vancouver's top winter destinations since 1926. Now the city's most visited four-season attraction, Grouse Mountain offers 25 runs for skiers and riders of all abilities.
About 36,000 people of Chinese descent live in the city's thriving downtown Chinatown, a designated heritage area, centred on W Pender St at the base of the peninsula. For the most part it's a real Chinese market and business district where most signs are in Chinese and English is rarely spoken. If you need respite from the crowds head to the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Park, the only full-scale Chinese garden found outside China.
History buffs wishing to raise a glass to town founder 'Gassy' Jack Deighton should head to Gastown, where the publican's statue stands. Along Water Street, the once-shabby Gastown underwent renovations in the 1970s to become a bright and shiny neo-Victorian business district. Nineteenth-century office buildings now house restaurants, bars, boutiques and galleries; old lamps line the brick streets and vendors and buskers add to the holiday feel of the area. At the western end of Water Street is the Gastown Steam Clock; you can see its works through glass panels and hear it toot every 15 minutes.
** Information on the travel pages was correct at the time of publishing. Passport & Visa information applies to UK citizens.
