Between ocean and peaks, with forests woven through its core, Vancouver balances urban energy with a blissful sense of calm all year round.
Few cities are as seamlessly tied to their surroundings as Vancouver. Even downtown, you don’t feel closed in. Turn a corner and there’s water, forest or a flash of mountain. With more than 250 parks stitched through the city, every walk or ride feels less like crossing streets and more like crossing worlds.
Stanley Park, a rainforest at the city’s edge, is where locals come to move and reset. The Seawall – part of a 28-kilometre path wrapping the waterfront, the longest of its kind anywhere – is part commute, part ritual.
Cyclists, runners and walkers trace its curve past totem poles, rocky shoreline and sandy coves as Burrard Inlet opens ahead and the North Shore Mountains lift beyond the green arc of Lions Gate Bridge.
The best way to see it? On two wheels. Start at the corner of Denman and West Georgia streets, where Spokes Bicycle Rentals will set you up near the park gates. Follow the Seawall’s counter-clockwise loop – it’s one-way for bikes – and let the city fall away with every pedal.
Vancouver’s mix of cultures shapes a food scene that’s globally fluent and locally grounded. The Michelin Guide currently lists 12 starred restaurants, 15 Bib Gourmands and a number of other quality restaurants, spotlighting chefs who weave Japanese, Cantonese, Filipino, Persian and French traditions into the region’s seasonal produce: spot prawns, salmon, wild mushrooms, sea greens and more.
Lunch might be sushi at Miku by the harbour; dinner could be a forest-inspired tasting menu at Burdock & Co on Main Street, built from whatever nearby farms and foragers have found that week. Further south, in Richmond, the Dumpling Trail links more than a dozen family-run kitchens serving delicate xiao long bao, gyoza and dim sum. And for a real taste of place, try the salmon or bison pot roast with bannock fry bread – dishes rooted in First Nations tradition – at Salmon n’ Bannock.
Just south of downtown, hip Mount Pleasant pairs artistry with calm. Once industrial, its streets now hum with indie cafés, mural-covered alleys and microbreweries strung with lights. Keep walking uphill to Queen Elizabeth Park, where the Bloedel Conservatory crowns the city’s highest point and a panorama of skyline, mountains and sea opens in every direction.
Each season in Vancouver brings its own kind of restoration. In spring, cherry blossoms blush across Queen Elizabeth Park and the pathways of Stanley Park. Autumn paints fiery maples in Stanley Park and VanDusen Botanical Garden, while chefs fold the season’s bounty into warming menus around the city.
In winter, light reflects off fresh snow on Grouse Mountain and steam curls above the open-air pools at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Spa – perfect for a long soak beneath crisp air and quiet skies.
Start planning your journey in nature at: destinationvancouver.com
To book, search Travel Booking in the CommBank app.
Published: 15 December 2025
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