The City of Vancouver is a coastal, seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia surrounded on three sides by water. Located on the western half of the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver is bounded to the north by English Bay and the Burrard Inlet and to the south by the Fraser River. The City of Burnaby lies to the east and the Strait of Georgia to the west. Vancouver Island, across the Strait of Georgia, shields Vancouver from the Pacific Ocean. Walkable neighborhoods, drink-and-dine delights and memorable cultural and outdoor activities framed by dramatic vistas – there's a glassful of great reasons to love this lotusland metropolis. It is a cosmopolitan city right on the edge of nature, making it easy to combine an urban getaway with outdoor adventure. It is the largest city in British Columbia, and the eighth largest municipality in Canada and Stanley Park is one of the largest urban parks in North America. Downtown is just the start of Vancouver. Walk or hop public transit and within minutes you'll be hanging with the locals in one of the city's many diverse and distinctive 'hoods. Whether discovering the coffee shops of Commercial Dr or the hipster haunts of Main St, the indie bars and restaurants of Gastown or the heritage-house beachfronts and browsable stores of Kitsilano, you'll find this city perfect for easy-access urban exploration. Just be sure to chat to the locals wherever you go: they might seem shy or aloof at first, but Vancouverites love talking up their town. As the city awaits its long-anticipated new Vancouver Art Gallery building, there's already a rich and ever-spreading canvas of cultural action to dive into around the city. Dig deeply and you'll uncover a diverse grassroots scene that operates like a locavore movement for culture-lovers.