49.2827° N · 123.1207° W — British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver

A city built on a rainforest peninsula, ringed by mountains, and wrapped in 28 kilometres of seawall. The glass catches the sunset; the forest starts at the end of the street.

01 — The City

Big enough to matter, small enough to miss

Vancouver is home to 662,248 people — 2.6 million across the metro, Canada’s third-largest — packed onto a peninsula between Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River delta. It is the country’s densest major city, which is why it can feel like a forest of apartment towers that happens to contain a port.

It was incorporated on April 6, 1886, burned almost to the ground three months later, and rebuilt around a sawmill and a rail yard. The version you see now — glass towers, sail-shaped roofs, cruise ships at the quay — mostly arrived after two coming-out parties: Expo 86 and the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Incorporated April 6, 1886
Canada’s densest city
Third-largest metro
Port of Vancouver — Canada’s largest port
Demonym — Vancouverite

662,248

City residents, 2021 census

2.6M

Metro population — Canada’s third largest

405 ha

Stanley Park — larger than Central Park

28 km

Seawall, Convention Centre to Spanish Banks

02 — Neighbourhoods

Where the city actually lives

01GastownCobblestones, the steam clock, and the oldest bar stools in town.
02ChinatownThe Millennium Gate, night markets, and dim sum older than the skyline.
03Granville IslandA factory floor under the bridge, reborn as a public market.
04KitsilanoA beach, a saltwater pool, and mountain views from the volleyball courts.
05West EndBeaches at the front door, Stanley Park in the back yard.
06Commercial DriveEspresso, football on the patios, and the city’s loudest opinions.
07Mount PleasantMurals, breweries, and Main Street’s second-hand everything.
08Deep CoveQuarry Rock, dawn kayaks, and honey doughnuts — technically North Vancouver, but nobody’s counting.

Vancouver at dusk seen from Grouse Mountain, the city glowing between forest and sea

03 — The Outdoors

Ski in the morning. Sail in the afternoon.

Three ski areas — Grouse, Cypress, and Seymour — are visible from the office towers, and the lifts run until ten at night. The seawall began in 1917 as erosion control and became the city’s front porch: nine kilometres of it loop Stanley Park alone. When the crowds get to be too much, Lynn Canyon’s suspension bridge hangs quietly over a river forty minutes from downtown.

Grouse · Cypress · Seymour — all within sight of downtown

04 — Landmarks

The greatest hits, in natural light

Sunset over False Creek with Granville Island, the Burrard Street Bridge and the downtown skyline — False Creek — sunset from the Granville Street bridge

Science World’s glowing geodesic dome on a rainy night, reflections on False Creek — Science World — a rainy night on False Creek. Very Vancouver.

The five white sails of Canada Place against a blue sky — Canada Place — the five sails

The sun setting over English Bay, silhouettes of boats and onlookers — English Bay — sunset, as advertised

The Stanley Park seawall curving along the water with the city beyond — Stanley Park — the seawall, doing its job since 1917

Kitsilano Beach on a clear day, the downtown skyline across the water — Kitsilano — the beach with a skyline

Gastown’s steam clock on Water Street — Gastown — the steam clock, right on time

Deep Cove and Indian Arm seen from Quarry Rock — Deep Cove — the view from Quarry Rock

Granville Island Public Market with the Granville Street bridge behind — Granville Island — market day under the bridge

05 — For Business

A domain with room for the whole city

vanbc.com is more than a postcard. It is the Vancouver web address — and it is being built out as a home for the city’s small businesses.

One address per business. Short, local, and impossible to forget — a URL that says exactly where you are, whether it’s printed on a menu, a delivery bike, or the side of a work truck.

Claim your name

thebakery.vanbc.com
thebikestore.vanbc.com
thebookkeeper.vanbc.com
yourbusiness.vanbc.com