Fjords, all kinds of tiny islands and even orcas and seals emerge when we take the ferry from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The Harbourfront Walkway is very nice: this 4.5-kilometer route is one of the most important attractions.
The road runs from the bay where ferries dock past various bistros, pubs and parks. On the route is the Swy-a-Lana Lagoon, one of the few man-made tidal pools in Canada. A pedestrian bridge runs across the lagoon to Maffeo Sutton Park. Festivals are often held here in the summer and you will find local artists offering their work for sale.
Snowy mountains, rainforests and rugged coastlines can be found in the immediate vicinity of Vancouver. Famous attractions are Stanley Park with its totem poles, the Lookout Tower, Granville Island and the Capilano Suspension Bridge, a long suspension bridge over a ravine. The city consists of several districts with their own character. One example is Chinatown, one of the largest Chinese neighborhoods in North America, also known as 'Hongcouver'.

Chinatown:
One of the largest Chinatowns in North America is no longer a primary residential area, but a shopping area with countless sights. Highlights are the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens, the Chinese Cultural Museum, Vancouver Chinatown Millennium Gate (a large entrance gate) and Sam Kee Building (with 1.80 meters in width the narrowest house in the city). Chinatown came into being when many Chinese immigrants settled in the early twentieth century who were working in the mining or railroad industries.

Gastown:
Gastown is a historic neighborhood, northeast of downtown. There are many relics from the heyday of the Canadian Pacific Railway in this part of the city, since the end point was in this neighborhood. It is recommended for those who want to taste the atmosphere from the pioneering period. The most famous attraction is the Gastown Steam Clock, a clock that runs on steam and produces a melody every 15 minutes. Maple Tree Square is also known. A monument has been erected here for Gassy Jack, the pioneer who started a saloon with a barrel of whiskey as the most precious possession. In Water Street you will find many occasions where live music is performed.

Granville Island:
This peninsula is in a special location, in the middle of the city. There are restaurants on the water, theaters, galleries, boutiques, cafés and a large market with fresh food (Granville Public Market). The Granville Island Museum consists of three smaller museums; the Model Trains Museum (model railway lines), the Model Ship Museum (scale models of boats) and the Sportfishing Museum (fishing).

Granville Street:
The Granville Entertainment District consists of seven blocks along Granville Street. Here you will find busy clubs, various bars and cafés that offer a wide range of music: from the more famous jazz performances to local bands. One of the most important sights is The Commodore Ballroom, an atmospheric art deco music hall where famous names have stood in the past 75 years, including Tina Turner, The Police and Snoop Dogg.

Stanley Park:
The majority of the eight million annual visitors use the approximately ten kilometer long road around the park. In the park there are more than half a million trees that are hundreds of years old (hemlock and douglass firs) and some of which have reached a height of 76 meters. The park has approximately two hundred kilometers of paths and roads, making it an important recreational place for the people of Vancouver. The nine totem poles at Brockton Point are famous.

Vancouver Lookout:
A glass elevator takes you to an observation platform at around 160 meters in forty seconds. You have good views of the historic Gastown district and the bustling Coal Harbor. Stanley Park, the Pacific Ocean, the North Shore Mountains and the Olympic Peninsula Mountains can also be seen. You can participate in guided tours and learn everything about the history, present and future of Vancouver. Capilano Suspension Bridge: In North Vancouver, past Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge, lies Capilano Park, with the Capilano Suspension Bridge as the highlight. This suspension bridge was built in 1889
is built eighty meters high and spans 135 meters over the deep canyon through which the Capilano River flows.

Grouse Mountain:
Grouse Mountain is a few minutes' drive from the Capilano Bridge. The Skyline cable car takes you to the top of the mountain, also known as The Peak of Vancouver. Here you have a wonderful view of the city and the delta of the Fraser River. Beautiful hiking trails start at the top of the mountain, of which the Blue Grouse Interpretive Trail (to Lake Blue Grouse) is the easiest. At the lake stands the Híwus Feasthouse of the Salish Indians. In the evening there are
dancing and you can enjoy Indian cuisine. You can also visit the Wildlife Refuge. Grizzly bears, birds of prey and wolves live here.
Fort Langley National Historic Site: Built in 1827 (east of today's center), the fort was the first European settlement near present-day Vancouver and was one of the most important forts of the Hudson's Bay Company. Trade with the First Nations was checked from here. It is sometimes said that the history of British Columbia began with the construction of this fort. From this trading post, merchandise (mainly furs, cranberries and salmon from the Fraser River) was shipped to Europe and California, among others. Nowadays there are a few old buildings on display.
The 'residents' look the same as the former traders and work in the same clothing and with the same materials. The buildings are furnished with furniture and utensils from the nineteenth century.

In this 4 star route you drive on beautiful good roads, through a beautiful environment, long stop on the Harbourfront Walkway you should definitely do.

History:
The history of Vancouver began thousands of years ago with the foundation of the first settlements of the indigenous people. Only at the end of the sixteenth century did the first Europeans appear. It was Spanish explorers who explored the Canadian west coast. In 1792 the English captain George arrived in Vancouver. He met the Spaniards (the place is now called Spanish Banks and English Bay) and instructed them to leave. George Vancouver claimed the area in the name of the British crown.

Simon Fraser, sales representative of the North West Company (at that time the big competitor of the Hudson's Bay Company), was in 1808 the first European to reach the west coast from the east via the interior. This is how the Fraser River got its name. In 1821 the North West Company merged with the Hudson's Bay Company and six years later a trading post was built on the Fraser River; Fort Langley. The trading post was the first non-native branch in the Vancouver region and was very important in opening up the province of British Columbia. First they checked trade with the Indians from Fort Langley and traders sought protection there. Then settlers on the way inland visited the fort and later the gold seekers followed. The latter group ensured that the settlement at Fort Langley in 1858 rapidly changed into a bustling village. The gold rush brought tens of thousands of people to the west coast of Canada. John Deighton, nicknamed 'Gassy Jack', opened a saloon for foresters in 1867. His saloon became so popular that there was a community around it: Gastown.

The Great Vancouver Fire raged at the end of the nineteenth century, which destroyed almost the entire city in half an hour. During the reconstruction, substantial investments were made in equipment for the fire brigade and water tanks. The Canadian Pacific Railway also connected the city to the east of the country before the turn of the century. The terminus of the railway was the Waterfront Station, located in Gastown. This gave this neighborhood a major boost.

In the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century Vancouver grew so fast that there was a lack of space. The first skyscrapers therefore sprouted like mushrooms. This made Downtown Vancouver a compact and accessible city center, suitable for public transport, cyclists and walkers. In 1983 Canada's first indoor stadium opened: the BC Place Stadium. Three years later, Vancouver was the scene of the Expo 86, which at the time attracted 22 million visitors. A recent major event in Vancouver were the Winter Olympics in 2010.

Vancouver is now Canada's second largest city and half of the total population of British Columbia lives in the conurbation. It is the gateway to the Pacific Ocean and therefore the province's trade center and also an important hub for air, train and bus traffic. In addition to industry and the transport sector, the ICT sector, biotechnology and film industry are on the rise. Thanks to the latter sector, Vancouver has been nicknamed 'Hollywood of the North'.