Lose an Afternoon at VanDusen Botanical Garden

The cliche that earned it. Eight free volleyball nets, a driftwood log, and English Bay going full pink.

Former basalt quarry turned sunken flower garden, with a stone bridge that has starred in approximately every Vancouver wedding photo.

Tiny rainbow ferries, five-minute crossing, Granville Island oysters, and a skyline that glows on the way home.

A dead-level wetland trail at the foot of Burke Mountain with herons, eagles, kingfishers and Golden Ears framed across the Pitt River.

Grab Denman Street takeout, claim a driftwood log, and watch the sun drop behind the North Shore mountains. Free, always.

One of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan, and the path narrows to single-file, which is actually the point.

Stanley Park's west-facing sandy cove, where everyone on the seawall cycles past while you watch the real show.

West Van's waterfront walk puts Lions Gate, Stanley Park and the whole downtown skyline across Burrard Inlet at your disposal.

Harbour Air's floatplane throttles up across Coal Harbour, climbs over Lions Gate and Stanley Park, and lands back on the water like it weighs nothing.

Ten minutes through never-logged Douglas firs to warm granite bluffs above the Point Atkinson lighthouse and Howe Sound.

Sailboats, mountains, evergreens and a flat free walk from Jericho to Locarno. Vancouver's gentlest waterfront at late afternoon.

English Bay's quieter cousin at the mouth of False Creek, where the ferries, the mountains, and the freighters all line up.

The one Vancouver sunset where the sand goes on forever, the crowds go home, and the sky takes its sweet time.

Canada's longest pier stretches 470 metres over Semiahmoo Bay, Mount Baker glowing across the water like it's showing off.