Pinpoint: Vancouver, BC, Canada

If a province’s people were judged by their license plates, British Columbians would come off as hilariously vain. Next to “friendly” Manitoba; Alberta, “wild rose country”, and Ontario, which invites onlookers to explore the region with open arms, B.C. differentiates itself with a word most often reserved for your S.O. or a particularly insightful piece of art: “beautiful”.

Indeed, the term has been splashed across travel brochures, blogs, and 36-hour guides so often that it’s hard not to start sipping the Kool-Aid. At the centre of the descriptor is Vancouver—the largest city on Canada’s West Coast, the third biggest population centre in Canada, and an area that is, indeed, frequently recognized as one of the most visually stunning destinations in the world.

And while Vancouver’s coastal site—with its numberless beaches and view of the majestic North Shore Mountains— does afford visitors the opportunity to experience ocean, peak, and forest in one fell swoop, the city’s true beauty lies in the everyday. In its pop-up galleries and painted alleyways bursting with creative energy; in its independent shops, boutiques, and markets brimming with artisan goods.

In its aging Chinatown, where longtime residents are working tirelessly to preserve the area’s history; in its parks, community spaces, and galleries, where the resilience of the region’s First Nations burns bright in the face of adversity.

In its numberless restaurants, where world-class dim sum, Indian, and sushi live in harmony; in its quirky coffee shops, where the caffeine is coveted and conversations, without fail, always lead to rain. And of course, in the fresh scent of the salt- and pine-tinged air that makes coming home so sweet. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then in Vancouver, there’s plenty to see.

Written by Lucy Lau | Photography by Gloria Wong