Canada City Guide
Downtown Vancouver, with its historic Gastown and trendy Yaletown areas, is located on the Burrard Peninsula, as are the residential West End and Stanley Park with its dense cover of fir and cedar. The landmark Lions Gate Bridge links the city with North Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains across Burrard Inlet. The city’s large Chinatown and the multicultural Commercial Drive area lie to the east, while False Creek and the vibrant public spaces on Granville Island separate Downtown from the larger part of the city to the south.
Vancouver’s many ethnic communities enliven the city, with everything from excellent restaurants to a diverse programme of cultural events. Numerous pathways follow the curves of the shoreline connecting up many of Vancouver’s distinctive neighbourhoods, such as Kitsilano and the West End, where pavement cafés and people-watching are de rigueur. The Lower Mainland was originally home to various First Nations peoples (belonging to the Coast Salish linguistic group) when George Vancouver explored the area in 1792. In the 1820s, European settlers set up a fur and salmon trading post at Fort Langley, east of present-day Vancouver.
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