Beautiful Vancouver City Of The Sea Mountains

A s one flies over Vancouver       skies, especially during the       during the decent into the      winter months, are one of the few  Canadian city's airport,        negatives of living in Vancouver.  the surrounding beautiful natural     Fortunately, there is very little  scenery is already noticed with       snowfall within the city so for    mountains on one side and the sea     Vancouverites, it is a trade off   on the other. Once inside the         of some sort to have to deal with  baggage claim area of the             rain rather than shoveling snow    international airport, visitors       during their winters. As for       are greeted with large Pacific        tourists, the best time to visit   Northwest Coast Indian art            Vancouver is the least wet season  carvings. This adds to the            which is during the summer         overall flavor of nature and the      months. I've been told by another  environment that makes Vancouver      local that September is one of     so different from other major         the best months to visit. When     cities. When driving along            the sun is shining in Vancouver    Granville Street towards the city     with both the ocean and mountains  center, one can't help but notice     as the background, it really       that the trees and hedges in the      doesn't get any better.            residential areas are so much                                            larger and taller than the ones       Stanley Park on the west side of   we normally see elsewhere. One of     downtown Vancouver is the most     the locals claims that the            visited attraction. A drive        superior growth of the area's         around the island will reveal      plant life is due to the huge         great photo spots of both the      amount of rainfall. Vancouver is      city and the ocean. Vancouver's    close to both the ocean and the       Aquarium is also on site in        mountain range so lots of rain is     Stanley Park as well as a          expected. In fact, the rain here      magnificent collection of Pacific  can actually be a problem as grey     Northwest Coastal Indian art       totem poles. Of course, one can                                          always marvel at the tall trees       Back in downtown Vancouver, the    which seem to touch the skies         Gastown district is one of the     here. The Lion's Gate Suspension      top tourist areas for boutique     Bridge connects Stanley Park with     shopping and souvenirs. Don't      North Vancouver on the other side     miss the steam clock that rings    of the harbor. On the north side      on the hour. Vancouver has one of  is Grouse Mountain, the area's        the largest Asian communities in   closest ski resort to the city        North America so the Chinatown     that has turned into an all year      nearby as expected has some of     round attraction. During the          the best dim sum luncheons         non-winter months, one can take       outside of Hong Kong. Further      the gondola up Grouse mountain        boutique shopping can be found in  for some wonderful hiking and         the Yaletown and Granville Island  views of the Vancouver skyline.       districts.                         The Capilano Suspension Bridge                                           which visitors walk across to a       If time permits, one of the        nice nature area is another must      recommended day trips to do out    see nearby. One of the cuisine        of Vancouver is to drive up the    highlights in the British             Sea & Sky highway to Whistler,     Columbia province is the salmon       one of North America's largest     and one of the best restaurants       ski resorts. During the off ski    to sample it is the Salmon House      season, Whistler is all season     in adjacent West Vancouver.           resort with many activities such   Dinner there with the Pacific         as hiking, biking, festivities     Northwest Coast Indian art décor     and shopping in the village. A     and spectacular nighttime views       ride up the gondola here will      of the city is one of the best        enable visitors to get a bird's    ways to finish off a day of           eye view of the majestic Canadian  sightseeing.                          Rockies mountain range. The drive  itself to Whistler, about two and     departure port of a cruise to      a half hours along the coastline,     either Hawaii or Alaska, it is     offers many wonderful scenic          highly recommended to allocate at  points as well.                       least a full day before or after                                         the cruise to see what the city    Vancouver is a great city to          has to offer. As I mentioned       visit as one can really see how a     before, on a sunny day with the    major city can still be in very       sea on one side and the mountains  scenic surroundings. For those        on the other, Vancouver is really  coming to Vancouver as the            hard to beat.                      About the Author: Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards. Source: www.isnare.com