6 Best Sights in British Columbia, Canada

This 154-acre park links Downtown Victoria to the waterfront. Its rambling lawns overlook the Pacific Ocean, the Olympic Mountains, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Kite-fliers, hang gliders, and dog walkers are numerous. Take your photo at the Mile 0 marker of the Trans-Canada Highway, at the foot of Douglas Street. Beacon Hill includes ponds where you can feed ducks, cycling, jogging and walking paths, flowers and gardens, a cricket pitch, and a petting zoo (closed in winter). There's live music in the bandshell on summer evenings, and on Saturday nights in August the Victoria Film Festival screens free movies.

The 8.8 km (5½ mile) walking and cycling path, former railroad tracks that ran along Arbutus Street, runs the length of the West Side north to south from False Creek to the Fraser River.  There are places to sit and watch the action as well as easy access to the surrounding neighborhoods. The city's website has a downloadable map. 

Those in the know avoid the crush of the crowds at Kits Beach and Jericho Beach in favor of this small park with a huge cherry tree framing gorgeous views over English Bay toward the North Shore Mountains. Steep stairs lead to a rocky beach below.

In the center of Vancouver, this park hosts community festivals and is a popular place for family picnics. There's an attractive farmers' market on summer Saturdays, and it's also home to Trout Lake, the city's only freshwater lake, which has a sandy beach and a swimming raft.

Home to the Museum of Vancouver, the Vancouver Maritime Museum, and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, Vanier Park is also known as the best kite flying venue in the city. Every summer, this is also where you'll find the Children's Festival and Bard on the Beach theater—both presented under billowing tents along the water.