Hotels in Vancouver

Vancouver's pitch is simple: a compact downtown where mountains, ocean and temperate rainforest all crowd into view. The Stanley Park seawall is the essential walk or cycle, Granville Island's market covers lunch, and Grouse Mountain skiing and the North Shore trails are under an hour away — with Whistler at two.

The food is excellent, particularly Asian cuisine, from Richmond dim sum to izakayas downtown. Trade-offs: it rains persistently from October to March, and it is one of North America's most expensive cities. Stay downtown or Coal Harbour for the seawall and easy everything, Yaletown for restaurants, or Kitsilano for a beachy residential feel across the bridge with lower rates.