Things to see in Vancouver

Vancouver's large Chinatown district, Canada's biggest, centres on Pender Street and Main Street, and offers a kaleidoscope of colours and rich scents. A wide range of restaurants is the focus for morning dim sum and more elaborate evening meals. The night market (weekend nights from mid-May to mid-September) is especially worth a visit. Chinese Canadians are just as likely to shop in the southern suburb of Richmond however, where there are a number of malls comprising mostly Asian shops. At the western edge of Chinatown, the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Garden was the first full-sized, classical Chinese garden to be built outside of China and offers an oasis from the gritty urbanity that surrounds it.

This regenerated former industrial district is home to a lively mix of entertainment and eating spots, shops and a large public market. Visitors can watch artists, potters, weavers and glassblowers as they work (www.granvilleislandartists.com) and there are often concerts and outdoor events during the summer months. Visitors with children will appreciate the Kids' Market and water park (summer only). The best way to get to Granville Island is an experience in itself - on one of the tiny ferryboats that connect various points along False Creek.

The Museum of Anthropology on the UBC campus is a striking building designed by Arthur Erickson for the purpose of displaying a comprehensive collection of British Columbia's First Nations heritage. The simple concrete forms allow the star attraction, totem poles, to stand out against the view of the ocean visible through the expanse of glass walls. The museum has recently undergone a massive renewal project creating a new research centre and redesigned visible storage galleries.

Located in Barclay Heritage Square, a group of nine renovated houses in Vancouver's West End, Roedde House offers a fascinating insight into middle-class life at the turn of the 20th century. The late Victorian home was built for German immigrant Gustav Roedde (the city's first bookbinder), his wife Matilda and their children. The rooms have been thoughtfully restored with period furnishings and many of the family's own belongings.

The 9km (5.5-mile) seawall that circles Stanley Park provides incredible ocean views for strollers, joggers, cyclists and in-line skaters. A network of trails crisscrosses the 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of rainforest and parkland, connecting the seawall and beaches with an open-air swimming pool, restaurants, a totem pole park and the Vancouver Aquarium. The aquarium is home to West Coast marine life, as well as creatures from warmer waters. Highlights include the beluga viewing gallery, daily whale and dolphin shows, the feeding of the sea otters and the 4D multi-sensory cinematic experience.