• Explore downtown Vancouver, backed by the Coastal Mountain Range. Gastown, the city's reconstructed old centre, is a pleasant array of cobblestone streets, cafes and shops. Museums and galleries include the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology, Science World and the Maritime Museum.

• Also while in Vancouver, stroll through Stanley Park and take the Grouse Mountain Skyride on the North Shore, offering views of the city and fjords of the Pacific coast. More breathtaking city and coastal views are offered by nearby Burnaby Mountain Park.

• See towns dotted along the historic Cariboo Gold Rush route. Common stops include Mayne Island's Miners Bay and historic 100 Mile House, which recalls the days when Cariboo pioneers measured journeys by the distance from the Gold Rush town of Lillooet, otherwise known as 'Mile 0'.

• Soak up the vineyard views and their vinous produce too in British Columbia's ‘playground', Lake Okanagan. The northern tip of Mexico's Sonora Desert ends in this rich, lush countryside and azure-blue waters. Fall wine tours attract many visitors. Shuswap Lake offers resort-like summer weather and excellent boating opportunities.

• Enjoy a close encounter of the furred kind, observing foraging black bears munch on berries; prime viewing areas include Wells Gray Provincial Park and rural roads nears Kamloops and Merritt.

• Survey vast tracts of untamed lakeland, forest and wilderness in the Cariboo. The arid, desert-like terrain is best known for its guest ranch accommodation and winter lodge facilities.

• See more than 400 glaciers continue to sculpt the dramatic Columbia Mountains and to feed the crystal-clear rivers in the spectacular Glacier National Park. 

• Visit the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed, a sacred Aboriginal site near Terrace. Explore the unique volcanic landscape, whilst also learning about Nisga'a culture and legends. The Queen Charlotte Islands are also inhabited by several Aboriginal communities, accessible by boat or floatplane.

• Inspect fossils dating back more than 10 million years at Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park.

• Combine seeing more than one million seabirds and animals with standing in one of Canada's many UNESCO World Heritage Sites at the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.