Hollywood North in Canada

14 February 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  18 minutes

Bridge Studios in Vancouver © flickr.com - Jeff Hitchcock/cc-by-2.0

Bridge Studios in Vancouver © flickr.com – Jeff Hitchcock/cc-by-2.0

Hollywood North is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and/or film locations north of its namesake, Hollywood, California. The term has been applied principally to the film industry in Canada, specifically to the cities Toronto and Vancouver. The title has been claimed for both Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia.   read more…

Gulf Islands in Canada

2 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Environment Reading Time:  10 minutes

View from Baynes Peak on Saltspring Island © Michal Klajban/cc-by-sa-4.0

View from Baynes Peak on Saltspring Island © Michal Klajban/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. The name “Gulf Islands” comes from “Gulf of Georgia“, the original term used by George Vancouver in his mapping of the southern part of the archipelago and which before the San Juan Island dispute also was taken to include what have since been called the San Juan Islands. While geopolitically divided, the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands geologically form part of the larger Gulf Archipelago.   read more…

Railway adventure trips with Rocky Mountaineer

8 January 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Hotels Reading Time:  9 minutes

Rocky Mountaineer with Rockies in the background © The Land/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rocky Mountaineer with Rockies in the background © The Land/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rocky Mountaineer is a Canadian rail-tour company in Western Canada that operates trains on three rail routes through British Columbia and Alberta. Rocky Mountaineer trains operate exclusively during the day to maximize scenic views, therefore, no sleeper service is offered. All trips include overnight stops at which passengers disembark and stay in hotels. As Rocky Mountaineer is primarily a railtour service, not an intercity passenger train, all journeys are end-to-end. Between their origin and destination, trains only stop for overnight layovers, and no passengers may begin or end their journeys at these stations. The one exception to these provisions is the First Passage to the West route, which has an intermediate stop at Lake Louise where westbound passengers may board and eastbound passengers may disembark. No tickets are sold solely for the Banff-Lake Louise portion of the trip. Trains only operate in the tourist season of April to October.   read more…

Victoria in British Columbia

15 June 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

The Empress © Miladlaferrari/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Empress © Miladlaferrari/cc-by-sa-3.0

Victoria, the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, is on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada’s Pacific coast. The city has a population of 86,000, while the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria has a population of 383,000, making it the 15th most populous Canadian metropolitan area. The city of Victoria is the 7th most densely populated city in Canada with 4,405.8 people per square kilometre, which is a greater population density than Toronto, Ontario. Victoria is the southernmost major city in Western Canada, and is about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from British Columbia’s largest city of Vancouver on the mainland. The city is about 100 km (60 mi) from Seattle by airplane, ferry, or the Victoria Clipper passenger-only ferry which operates daily, year round between Seattle and Victoria, and 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Port Angeles, Washington, by ferry Coho across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.   read more…

Stanley Park in Vancouver

21 June 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  11 minutes

Vancouver Rowing Club © Daderot

Vancouver Rowing Club © Daderot

Stanley Park is a 405-hectare (1,001-acre) public park that borders the downtown of Vancouver in Canada and is almost entirely surrounded by waters of Vancouver Harbour and English Bay. The park has a long history and was one of the first areas to be explored in the city. The land was originally used by indigenous peoples for thousands of years before British Columbia was colonized by the British during the 1858 Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. For many years after colonization, the future park with its abundant resources would also be home to nonaboriginal settlers. The land was later turned into Vancouver’s first park when the city incorporated in 1886. It was named after Lord Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, a British politician who had recently been appointed governor general. Unlike other large urban parks, Stanley Park is not the creation of a landscape architect, but rather the evolution of a forest and urban space over many years. Most of the manmade structures we see today were built between 1911 and 1937 under the influence of then superintendent W.S. Rawlings. Additional attractions, such as a polar bear exhibit, aquarium, and miniature train, were added in the post-war period.   read more…

Burnaby in British Columbia

2 December 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Highrises across Deer Lake © Vranak/cc-by-sa-3.0

Highrises across Deer Lake © Vranak/cc-by-sa-3.0

Burnaby is a city in Canada, located immediately to the east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey and Vancouver. It was incorporated in 1892 and achieved City status in 1992, one hundred years after incorporation. It is the seat of the Greater Vancouver Regional District‘s government, the board of which calls itself Metro Vancouver. Major parklands and waterways in Burnaby include Central Park, Robert Burnaby Park, Kensington Park, Burnaby Mountain, Still Creek, the Brunette River, Burnaby Lake, Deer Lake, and Squint Lake.   read more…

Vancouver in British Columbia

7 March 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  < 1 minute

© flickr.com - High Diver/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – High Diver/cc-by-sa-2.0

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia in Canada. he population is at 604,000 in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality. The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country, the second largest city on the , and the most populous in Western Canada. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city. The City of Vancouver encompasses a land area of about 114 square kilometres, giving it a population density of about 5,249 people per square kilometre (13,590 per square mile). Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality, and the fourth most densely populated city with over 250,000 residents in North America, behind New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City. Vancouver is consistently named as one of the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life, and the Economist Intelligence Unit acknowledged it as the first city to rank among the top-ten of the world’s most liveable cities for five consecutive years.   read more…

Vancouver Island in British Columbia

10 April 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Oak Bay © flickr.com - rpaterso/cc-by-sa-2.0

Oak Bay © flickr.com – rpaterso/cc-by-sa-2.0

Vancouver Island, located in British Columbia, Canada, is the largest Pacific island east of New Zealand. Originally called Quadra and Vancouver Island after Spanish navigator Juan de la Bodega y Quadra and British navy officer George Vancouver, the island was first explored by British and Spanish expeditions in the late 18th century. The former’s name was eventually dropped and it has since been known solely as Vancouver Island. It is one of several North American locations named after this British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794. While the city of Vancouver is located on the North American mainland, Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is located on the island.   read more…

False Creek in Vancouver

4 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

False Creek at blue hour © flickr.com - Kenny Louie/cc-by-2.0

False Creek at blue hour © flickr.com – Kenny Louie/cc-by-2.0

False Creek is a short inlet in the heart of Vancouver. It separates downtown from the rest of the city. It was named by George Henry Richards during his Hydrographic survey of 1856-63. Science World is located at its eastern end and the Burrard Street Bridge crosses its western end. False Creek is also spanned by the Granville Street and Cambie bridges. The Canada Line tunnel crosses underneath False Creek just west of the Cambie Bridge. It is one of the four major bodies of water bordering Vancouver along with English Bay, Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River. In 1986 it was the location of the Expo 86 World’s Fair.   read more…

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