It's been consistently rated as one of the most livable cities in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, with a large population inhabiting high-rises in the city center. Today, Vancouver is an ethnic melting pot, with 35 percent of the 2.3 million metro-region residents being foreign born. The legacy of post-fire reconstruction is the lovely old brick buildings of the original Gastown neighborhood. In 1886, the town had a population of 1,000 and was renamed Vancouver - then burned to the ground. A community built up around the bar and, a few years later, incorporated as the town of Granville. In 1867, an enterprising man called Gassy Jack supplied a barrel of booze and poured drinks for the men who built him a saloon in a day. After that, the fur traders, gold miners and lumber workers arrived and, eventually, the railroad.īefore Vancouver was Vancouver, it was known as Gastown, built out of the need for a bar to serve thirsty lumber mill workers. In 1827, Hudson's Bay Company built a trading post on the Fraser River, and the company is still around today - though now as a department store. The area has been occupied by the Coast Salish people, claimed by the Spanish, and was visited for exactly one day by British Captain George Vancouver.
This vibrant metropolis caters to all age groups and interests it's particularly friendly to pedestrians and bikers, and even the most navigationally challenged visitors can find their way around with ease. It's not hard to understand why Vancouver is so appealing.