Travel and leisure
Destinations
Summer days in Vancouver
July and August are Vancouver's driest months, when the city basks in temperatures in the high 70s. Nicola Iseard rounds up the best ways to spend those summer days
Take a stroll through Stanley Park
Often referred to as the 'soul of the city and the envy of the world', this glorious 1,000-acre park is located on a peninsula on the northwest tip of downtown, giving it a wonderful island feel. Perfect for an early morning walk, its Seawall offers five miles of spectacular waterfront views.
En route you'll pass an intriguing totem pole display at Brockton Point, sweeping panoramas of the North Shore mountains and Lions Gate Bridge at Prospect Point lookout, and a volcanic outcropping known as Siwash Rock.
As you come round towards English Bay, take a detour inland to the Lost Lagoon, where you're likely to encounter Canada geese, while bald eagles and osprey soar overhead.
Take the cable car up Grouse Mountain
For one of the best views in the city you have to get above sea level - 3,700 ft above it in fact. The Skyride cable car whisks passengers from the foot of Grouse Mountain right to the summit in less than ten minutes. On a clear day the views from here are breathtaking, stretching across the city as far as the San Juan Islands some 160km away in Washington State.
Sign up for the guided Eco walk, which takes you along mountaintop pathways and trails, through forests and along the shores of the Blue Grouse Lake. You'll also visit the wildlife refuge, a five-acre habitat that is home to two orphaned grizzly bears, Grinder and Coola.
Visit the VanDusen Botanical Garden
Spanning 55 acres and filled with over 7,500 different kinds of plants and flowers from six continents, it's no wonder the VanDusen Botanical Garden is rated one of the best of its kind in the world.
Amid rolling lawns, tranquil lakes and dramatic rock formations you'll find gardens devoted to roses, herbs and heather, as well as a gorgeous Rhododendron Walk, where a number of old hybrids that date back over 140 years grow beside hybrids of quite recent origin.
The Sino Himalayan Garden - the site of which is one of the highest points in Vancouver at 464 ft elevation - is rather special too, with a stone garden, waterfall and displays of magnolias and empress trees.
Take a ferry to Granville Island
Hop on one of the foot passenger ferries to Granville Island and you'll be in for quite a treat. The centrepiece is a large public market, with its huge selection of produce, local artisan specialities and a piazza that overlooks False Creek (a perfect spot for a midday picnic).
Elsewhere on the island you'll find buskers and mime artists performing among the pavement cafés, and independent shops and workshops where you can watch everything from boat building to pottery to glass blowing.
* Nicola Iseard is the deputy travel editor of the Daily Express.