The green heart of Vancouver - Stanley Park was named after colonial minister Frederick Arthur Stanley © David Nunuk/All Canada Photos/Corbis Day one in Vancouver
10:00 Brunch with a shot at The Score
Rainbow-coloured pedestrian crossings and free love - the West End is Vancouver's colourful lesbian and gay district. In the middle of it all is "The Score". It's a sports bar and brunch bar in one, serving hearty breakfasts on weekends. "Steak and Eggs" is served here shortly after 10 a.m. - just the thing after a night of dancing. But above all, "The Score" is famous for its Crazy Caesars - a cocktail made of vodka, clamato (a mixture of tomato juice and mussel broth) and spices. At weekends, Canadians sometimes treat themselves to their Caesar for breakfast, and hardy tourists join in. "The Score" is known far beyond the city limits not for the drink itself, but for the finger food with which the glasses are garnished: Onion rings and chicken wings are not uncommon. (1262 Davie Street, www.scoreondavie.com).
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11:30 Pure nature in Stanley Park
Lush rainforest, more than 500 animal species and all this right next to downtown. A visit to Stanley Park - with an area of more than four square kilometres the largest city park in Canada - is a must on any visit to Vancouver. If you want, rent a bike (e.g. at Bayshore Bike Rentals, 745 Denman Street, www.bayshorebikerentals.ca) and set off on the Seawall, a seawall that encloses the entire park. Route tip: At Prospect Point, turn inland and follow the Prospect Trail by bike to Raccoon Trail. From there you can walk further into the park via the Thompson Trail. Raccoon sightings are virtually guaranteed here, on the winding hiking trails that are more than 27 km long in total. By the way: Some scenes from "Twilight: New Moon" were filmed amidst the giant live trees, hemlocks and Douglas firs in Stanley Park.
14:00
Enjoy the beach
If the Pacific is too cold for swimming, there is a huge heated outdoor pool at Second Beach, adjacent to Stanley Park. Right next door, in English Bay, stand-up paddlers glide across the water against a dreamlike backdrop of forest and mountains. If you want to try the trendy sport yourself, you can rent a board and paddle for 19 dollars an hour(www.ecomarine.com).
15:30 By aquabus to the island
From Sunset Beach, the cute vehicles called Aquabus take visitors across False Creek to Granville Island. The peninsula, which once served as a rubbish dump, is now characterised by arts and crafts. In many places you can watch blacksmiths or glassblowers at work. My tip: Participants can learn all about the history of Granville Island on the free guided tours by the Tour Guys. (Registration at www.tourguys.ca). The peninsula is also home to the covered Public Market. From meat and fish to fruit and vegetables and pastries, gourmets will find everything their heart desires here. The best cheese in town can be found at Benton Brothers Fine Cheese. Whether it's sheep's cheese from the Basque country or Brie from France, cheese lovers can taste and receive extensive advice. It's worth walking back over the Granville Bridge, which offers pedestrians a fabulous view of the city centre(www.granvilleisland.com).
18:00 Experience Festival Films at the Vancity Theatre
The Vancity Theatre is the main venue for the annual Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF). VIFF not only presents the largest selection of East Asian productions outside of East Asia, but also more documentaries than most other film festivals. From 25 September to 10 October, nearly 350 entries from more than 70 countries will be screened. Tickets for the 33rd VIFF are available now online and on-site at the box office from 13 September (1181 Seymour Street, www.viff.org).
20:00 Dine like the stars
As you'd expect from the fifth largest film festival in North America, VIFF attracts dozens of famous filmmakers and actors year after year. The likelihood of meeting a celebrity is particularly high at the posh Italian restaurant "CinCin". Pasta and risotto main courses start at $23.50, while fish and meat dishes are slightly more expensive at $32. A glass of one of the award-winning wines is available from 10 dollars. Naomi Watts, Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake have all dined here (1154 Robson Street, www.cincin.net).
23:00 Drinks in a retro ambience
The bar "The Distillery" in the chic district of Yaletown captivates with its old-school charm: black-and-white films play in the background, jazz sounds from the speakers. A magnificent chandelier hangs from the ceiling, gleaming in competition with the smooth wooden surface of the bar. Even the glasses here are vintage. The extremely charming bartenders wear stylish 50s suits and gel hairstyles to match. The tart and fresh "French 75" is particularly recommended. Another tip: On Sundays, all pasta dishes here cost only $10 (1131 Mainland Street, www.mjg.ca/yaletown-distillery).
The Vancouver gas clock is the world's first example of gas-powered clocks; a replica has stood in Otaru, Japan, since 1994. © Berthold Steinhilber/laif Day two in Vancouver
10:00 Breakfast on the "Drive
East of downtown lies the trendy district of Commercial Drive, known to Vancouverites simply as "The Drive". The area is popular not least because of its many indie bars and cafés. Always well frequented, and rightly so, is the vegetarian "Café deux Soleils". For little money, hungry guests get a large plate with gluten-free toast, eggs and wonderfully crispy roasties. Also a must-try: the Blueberry Smoothie! (2096 Commercial Drive, www.cafedeuxsoleils.com)
11:00 Shopping in vintage paradise
The "Drive" not only invites you to feast, but also to browse. Second-hand and retro fans in particular get their money's worth in the many independent shops. Whether rockabilly or hippie: at "Little Miss Vintage" (941 Commercial Drive, www.littlemissvintage.com), for example, you will find clothes and accessories from past decades back to the 1930s. Three doors down, at "Attic Treasures" (944 Commercial Drive, www.attictreasuresvancouver.com), there are unusual furnishings from the 50s to the 80s, from chunky orange lampshades to wall clocks in the shape of the sun and wing chairs. For film fans, there is a shopping gem just outside Vancouver, in the suburb of Burnaby. The 30-minute drive is worth it: HollyNorth (3735 1st Ave, Burnaby, www.hollynorth.com) stocks director's chairs, camera accessories, stick-on burns and gallons of fake blood - everything hobby filmmakers need.
14:00 Baguettes for lunch
In the cutest café in town, Finch's Tea and Coffee House, there are barely a handful of wooden tables, old curtains hang in front of the windows, and guests find the menu on handwritten boards. The coffee is fair trade. Regulars come back again and again, especially for the delicious baguettes. My favourite: the avocado baguette with roasted walnuts and Edam cheese (353 West Pender Street, www.finchteahouse.com).
15:00 Discover Gastown
Gastown is Vancouver's pretty old town, with old red-brick merchant houses and genteel Victorian buildings. Today, they are mainly home to restaurants, pubs and boutiques. In the heart of Gastown also stands one of the city's landmarks: the Steamclock is the first steam-powered clock. And if you see the book adaptation "Shades of Grey" in the cinema next year, you might recognise Gastown's cobblestone streets lined with flowers and lanterns in the bicycle accident scene.
17:00 Time for art!
Coincidentally on a Tuesday in Vancouver? Very good! Because every Tuesday from 5 to 9 p.m., admission to the Vancouver Art Gallery is free, only a donation is requested. But a visit there is generally worthwhile: works by Emily Carr, Canada's most important painter, and Marc Chagall are just some of the 8,000 exhibits from the permanent collection (750 Hornby Street, www.vanartgallery.bc.ca).
19:00 Chinese-French Dinner
Vancouver is known for its culinary diversity. Countless restaurants for every budget vie for customers every day - Indian, Mexican, Italian, Greek, but above all Asian. One highlight is Bao Bei, described as a "Chinese Brasserie". The restaurant in Chinatown is very popular with critics. Nevertheless, the prices are moderate. Guests enjoy modern versions of Chinese dishes with a French touch in a narrow, stylishly decorated room. I recommend the deliciously spicy Marinated Eggplant (aubergine marinated in soy sauce, ginger and garlic) as a starter and the very tender Beef Tartare (163 Keefer Street, www.bao-bei.ca) as a main course.
21:00 Drinks that make you healthy
Right next door is one of the hottest cocktail bars in town: Keefer Bar, a long, dark room with an exotic atmosphere, touts its unusual cocktails as medicinal. All ingredients come fresh from the market and herbalists in Chinatown. The "Dragonfly" made of gin, rice wine, lemon, ginger syrup and a tincture of magnolia bark (135 Keefer Street, www.thekeeferbar.com) is popular with guests.
23:00 Live music and party
Granville Street is Vancouver's party mile, but the clubs and bars here attract a fairly young crowd under 25. One exception is the "Roxy" (932 Granville Street, www.roxyvan.com): Here, guests of all ages, from students to businessmen, party daily to live music. Those who prefer electronic sounds will feel at home at the popular "Celebrities" (1022 Davie Street, www.celebritiesnightclub.com) in the West End. The over-30s tend to party in the clubs in Yaletown, such as "Bar None" (1222 Hamilton Street, www.donnellygroup.ca/locations/partner-venues/bar-none).