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Just over a century old, Vancouver is one of the world’s youngest cities; it is also one of the most thoroughly modern. In attitude it has more in common with other West Coast cities such as San Francisco than with East Coast Canadian cities like Toronto, which have retained a lingering European disposition. For quality of life Vancouver often tops the list. Where else in the world could you spend a weekend skiing, hiking in the mountains, kayaking around remote forested inlets, biking a network of tough, adrenaline- inducing trails, even scuba-diving to artificial reefs to admire the wolf eel and giant octopus, without having to cross the city limits? The youthful, fairly wealthy and extremely cosmoplitan population, which includes a large and vibrant gay community, supports the things it loves; like restaurants. Vancouver’s culinary scene is inspirational, the standard and variety astounding. The bistro, tapas or Martini bar is a Vancouver speciality, and Sunday brunch and the neighbourhood café are a municipal obsession. During one Vancouver performance, Bette Midler famously remarked: “I’ve never seen so much coffee in all my life. The whole town is on a caffeine jag and still nothing gets done any faster.” Vancouver’s cultural scene is as broad and contemporary as you’d expect of a much bigger city, with several great music venues, and theatre ranging from classics or musical blockbusters to alternative fringe pieces, a healthy smattering of repertory cinemas and art galleries running the whole gamut of styles. Vancouverites also love to shop, so expect to find all the trendy boutiques, retro clothes and speciality stores you desire. Vancouver reveals its modernity in other ways too. Downtown is dominated by sleek glass, chrome and granite skyscrapers and almost entirely missed out on the dull and functional monstrosities that were thrown up in the 60s and 70s. Architecture here is thoroughly eclectic. Gothic churches and Victorian warehouses punctuate the tower blocks, and cutting-edge architects have created dazzlingly original post-modern fusions such as the exceptional Public Library. Such exciting cityscapes have inspired a generation of film makers, making Vancouver’s movie industry a serious competitor for Hollywood. Film people have brought their own level of hip to the city, the trendy Alibi Room, for instance, being owned and frequented by the likes of Gillian Anderson. Working against such tendencies is a legacy of politicians and grey entities who instituted a set of draconian laws that denied liquor licences, limited opening hours and even outlawed dancing in certain places. This apparently deliberate ploy to stop people having too good a time led listings bible the Georgia Strait to dub Vancouver ‘the city that fun forgot’. Though the laws have now changed, Vancouver has yet to become the happening spot it should be. Like British Columbia as a whole, the scenic splendour of Vancouver’s mountains and water is a perennial source of health and inspiration. This is the major outlet for BC’s staggering number of artists and artisans, making it a great place to shop for art and crafts. BC is also renowned for its marijuana, resulting in Vancouver’s dubious claim to be the new Amsterdam, with an as yet small number of ‘smoke-friendly’ cafés. Halfway between Asia and Europe, Vancouver’s character is less Canadian than it is Pacific Rim. Of all the world’s cities, this is the one where East and West fuse most completely, a real-life example of the kind of futuristic multiculturalism that Ridley Scott foresaw in Blade Runner. Of five daily newspapers in Greater Vancouver, three are in Chinese; Chinese New Year is a far bigger occasion than 31 Decem- ber; Chinese medicine clinics, schools and herbalists are ubiquitous. Vancouver’s Chinatown is the continent’s third biggest after New York and San Francisco, and Chinese food in Vancouver has been ranked equal to that of Hong Kong. But this is only one strand of a rich multicultural Oriental tapestry that also embraces immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.
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