Vancouver Gets its 15 Minutes of Fame in the New York Times

…or rather its 36 hours. The New York Times Travel Sec­tion has devoted this weekend’s 36 Hours in [Your City Here] to Van­cou­ver. I found the open­ing para­graph par­tic­u­larly interesting:

VANCOUVER, British Colum­bia, is two cities rolled into one. For out­doorsy types, this west­ern Cana­dian city is a nature par­adise, with miles of scenic hik­ing trails and bike paths that sweep along the Strait of Geor­gia, the pine tree-lined water­way that con­nects Van­cou­ver with the Pacific Ocean. For urban­ites, Van­cou­ver is a sophis­ti­cated des­ti­na­tion, with thriv­ing immi­grant enclaves, an ever-expanding restau­rant scene, quirky neigh­bor­hoods, dis­tinc­tive shops and lively bars that party all night. Part of the fun is weav­ing your way through Vancouver’s two sides, and real­iz­ing that’s why the city ranks as one of the world’s most liv­able places.

Since I often refer to the city’s dual nature (although my dual­ity is more about Sum­mer Van­cou­ver vs. Win­ter Van­cou­ver), the out­doorsy vs urban­ite split also works and fits neatly into those two sea­sonal char­ac­ters as well.

I can’t say that they visit the same spots that I’d go to with lim­ited time, but they hit a few (the Granville Island Pub­lic Mar­ket and Jeri­cho Beach), toward the end. (The 36 hours are up? Damn, it was just get­ting good!) Also, the pic­ture they use at the begin­ning of the arti­cle is, I think, one of the city’s most pho­to­genic spots: one of the views from under the Granville Bridge, just as you approach Granville Island that includes the marina, the city and the moun­tains. When­ever I pass that point, I try to stop for a moment to take it in. Of course, you usu­ally have to stop these days due to the crowds, and this arti­cle is prob­a­bly not going help. Oh well…

Thanks to my Aunt Mary for being the first of what I expect will be many links from the East Coast to this arti­cle start­ing today…