I’ve savoured over 50 North American cities, but if I had to choose one to return to repeatedly it wouldn’t be frenetic New York, nor overrated Chicago; certainly not discombobulating LA. I’d choose Vancouver, the USA’s cooler Canadian cousin. In this effervescent, cosmopolitan hub your money goes further, outdoor living envelopes and North America’s most thrilling food scene tempts.
Arriving back in Vancouver I feel a sea change to my US arrival last month. It reminds me of touching down in Glasgow versus London. Instead of stern-faced security guards and grim passport officials, I feel welcome. Smiles abound and that genuine Canadian friendliness instantly drops my shoulders and relaxes me.
The temperature drops my shoulders, too. Throughout my return it’s around 20C, while the Big Apple boils above 30C and the southern American cities bake even more. Vancouver is quite literally cooler than the vast majority of US cities, a godsend in these times when excessive heat can ruin a holiday, despite what the president next door might say about global warming.
On my first night I take Vancouver’s pulse at Published on Main. It’s very Vancouver: hip, but relaxed. Manager Aaron Sayomac is Vancouver’s living embodiment, with a Filipino heritage he’s worked all over the world, from the UK to South Africa, bringing his myriad influences here with a dash of hipster moustache. As he pours me an excellent British Columbian wine – I’ll take the local Okanagan Valley vintages over California’s Napa Valley any day – I enjoy steak tartare spiced with fresh blackcurrant and locally smoked Koho salmon with foraged herbs. Aaron beams: “Vancouver is the sort of city you come to once and you instantly want to just stay.” It is. And I do.
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Vancouver may be one of the hippest cities in North America, popping up all over those cool cachet lists, but it’s not just style, there’s substance too. Vancouver is bed-rocked on spectacular foundations, with a harbour to rival Boston or New York, but also epic sky-scraping mountains that conjure up a vast natural amphitheatre. It’s a city that looks and feels big. Vancouver Island fringes the city just across the water, a bucolic escape bigger than Belgium. I take a RIB ride with Sea Vancouver gleefully bouncing across the harbour watching out for seals and dolphins as we go.
Our RIB eases around Stanley Park, one of the great urban parks, sprawling its green tentacles over 400 hectares – larger than Central Park. It’s far more engaging too, with snaking wild trails wandering by cobalt lakes under the shadow of trees older than any American city south of the border. Vancouver is connected to nature in a way many American hubs have lost. There is swimming too, roller blading and kayaking in a city that life-affirmingly feels both urban and alive with wild corners. Many North American cities – including Toronto – seem to struggle with a work/life balance; in Vancouver life always comes out top. I’ve never seen so many walkers, joggers and cyclists.
Even hipster districts are not just for posing – they are spirit-soaringly for living. In the last year I’ve hung out in Williamsburg in Brooklyn and Boston’s revamped core, but I’d rather be on Granville Island, an old industrial pile now rejuvenated with bars, shops and the brilliant Granville Market. Not to mention the Granville Brewing Company, whose craft beers would pass muster in New England. But there are also the reborn warehouses of grittier Yaletown and tarted up Gastown. And more of those craft breweries and superb eats sprinkle the current zeitgeist-leading district of Mount Pleasant.
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These hip quarters and Downtown are live with superb restaurants that are defiantly not just for tourists. Michelin may have only discovered Vancouver in 2022, but they just cannot help dishing out stars, including to the aforementioned Published on Main, one of 10 starred restaurants, along with 16 Bib Gourmands and 50 Michelin-recommended eateries.
Beyond the stars Miku brings city views and the best Japanese lunch I’ve savoured outside of Tokyo and Osaka, while at Michelin-recommended Como Taperia, a taste of Spain and Canadian creativity combine with British Columbian produce to create delicious results. Manager Shaun Layton tells me,: “Vancouver is one of the few places in the world whose food moves me, it such an integral part of the culture and the spirit of the city.” I know what Shaun means. Not for as a second do I miss the world-famous (read hideously overpriced) haunts of Manhattan, or even the decent value rising foodie star of Tampa.
Food tours are a great litmus test of a city and Vancouver has several. I indulge in an Asian food adventure with Vancouver Foodie Tours in a city with the third largest Chinatown in Americas; the city that gave the world the California Roll – invented by Japanese-born chef Hidekazu Tojo, who moved to Vancouver in 1971. We sweep from China to Japan to South Korea in a swirl of superb dim sum, a welter of spices and serious serving of passion. Indian-born guide Preethi says: “Vancouver offers a little bit of everything and we’re proud of our immigrants – and our First Nations people – who altogether make this such a fun and rewarding city to live in.”
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On a practical level Vancouver is financially rewarding. Restaurants are not just cheaper than their American cousins, but for me better value too. And I ate well from Michelin-starred restaurants to food trucks. Drinks are also cheaper and I didn’t miss the high tipping levels of New York, where 20 per cent is now standard for even cursory service, with a suggested 22 per cent increasingly appearing on bills.
On my taxi ride to the airport I chat to the Punjab-born driver about Canada hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026, along with the USA and Mexico. Vancouver will host games alongside the likes of New York, LA and Boston. “What city would you chose to watch a game in?” he asks. He smiles all the way to departures when I answer.
Robin’s trip was supported by Discover British Columbia and Destination Vancouver.
How to get there
British Airways offer direct flights from London Heathrow to Vancouver. Flight time is around 9 hours 30 minutes.
Where to stay
The Opus Hotel is one of the best of the new wave of hip boutique hotels that have brightened up central Vancouver. It's the perfect spot for tapping into up-and-coming Yaletown's zeitgeist and it's easy to see why it has (deservedly) won awards.
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