Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver occupies the Burrard Peninsula on the southwest coast of mainland British Columbia, framed by the saltwater Burrard Inlet to the north, the Fraser River to the south, the Strait of Georgia to the west and the Coast Mountains rising directly behind the harbour skyline. The combination of ocean, river, mountain forest and a compact downtown peninsula sets Vancouver apart from the rest of Canada's major cities: Stanley Park's 405 hectares of mature rainforest sit five minutes from the downtown core, the North Shore mountains carry three ski areas within forty minutes of the city by car, and the Pacific lapping the Kitsilano and English Bay beaches is part of the daily urban view. Three layers structure the experience: the downtown peninsula (Coal Harbour, West End, Yaletown, Gastown, Chinatown, the central business district), the established residential west side (Kitsilano, Point Grey and the University of British Columbia at the far western tip), and the wider Metro Vancouver footprint (Richmond's large Chinese-Canadian community south of the city, Burnaby and Surrey east and southeast, the North Shore municipalities across Burrard Inlet). Vancouver is one of the most multicultural cities in Canada, with significant Chinese, South Asian, Filipino, Korean and Japanese populations shaping everyday food, retail and cultural life — Richmond in particular has the highest Chinese-Canadian population share of any Canadian municipality. The city stands on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. BC Place — the downtown retractable-roof stadium, a venue of the 2010 Winter Olympics — sits directly above the SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown station, a few minutes' walk from much of the downtown peninsula.