Vancouver

Vancouver enjoys one of the most spectacular urban settings anywhere, wedged between the peaks of the Coast Mountains and the Pacific. You can ski in the morning and stroll a city beach in the afternoon, and the outdoors is never far away. Cosmopolitan and green, it consistently ranks among the world's most liveable cities.

Nature and city blend seamlessly here. The vast, forested Stanley Park and its seawall path wrap the downtown peninsula, the food stalls of Granville Island draw crowds beneath the bridges, and a quick trip up Grouse Mountain or out to the suspension bridges of the North Shore puts you deep in the rainforest. A rich multicultural mix, especially its Asian communities, makes Vancouver one of North America's great food cities, and the resort of Whistler lies just up the highway.

Vancouver's Pacific Northwest climate is mild but wet, with grey, rainy stretches through the cooler months. The payoff comes in summer, roughly July to September, when the weather turns dry, sunny, and gloriously pleasant.