Vancouver counts down to 2010 Games

updated 10:17 a.m. ET Feb. 10, 2009

VANCOUVER - Hugging a spectacular bay by the Pacific Ocean and ringed by stunning, snowcapped peaks, Vancouver easily ranks as one of the world's most beautiful cities.

With its sandy beaches, Pacific waters, lush rain forests and a glittering downtown full of skyscrapers, Vancouver considers itself a world-class destination on par with cities like Sydney, Australia, or San Francisco.

The region embodies the laid-back West Coast lifestyle, a place where visitors can literally ski in the morning and sail in the afternoon. And, now, Vancouver is preparing to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

It's the most populous destination ever to host the Winter Olympics, with 2.1 million people in the greater Vancouver regional area, according to Canada's 2006 census. It's also Canada's third time to welcome the Olympics, having hosted the Montreal 1976 Summer Games and the 1988 Calgary Winter Games. No Canadian has ever won a gold medal on home turf.

The Vancouver region has been home to First Nations peoples, and it's a heritage that's celebrated throughout British Columbia.

Europeans arrived in British Columbia in the 18th and 19th centuries with the advent of the fur trade and several gold rushes which brought prospectors from around the world.

Now, the region boasts a multiethnic makeup and vast cultural diversity. Several influxes of Asian immigrants have made it home to one of the largest Chinese populations outside China.

Old-world charm
Any exploration of the city would be incomplete without a stroll on the cobbled streets of Gastown with its old-world charm, much-photographed steam clock, quaint pubs, restaurants and galleries.

This is the heart of old Vancouver, which grew up quickly around a makeshift tavern established in 1867 by gold prospector "Gassy" Jack Deighton.

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For the less well-heeled, the surrounding area is home to a number of hostels and cheap eateries.

Visitors should be careful not to stray too far south of Gastown lest they wind up in the city's notoriously squalid and poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside, where drugs and prostitution are rampant.

It's here that the term "skid row" was born, as logs were "skidded" along roads from the waterfront to sawmills.

But that's just one small part of Vancouver.

Galleries in other areas are worth a visit. The Vancouver Art Gallery hosts international shows as well as a permanent exhibit of the work of Emily Carr, who documented West Coast native life.

The gallery steps are a focus of the city's leisure crowd, lounging to take in the scene and watch street performers.

From there, it's a short hop to casual Kitsilano, where Fourth Avenue was Vancouver's 1960s hippie haven. It's now home to an eclectic assortment of restaurants and one-of-a-kind shops.

Past Kitsilano is the University of British Columbia, home to the Museum of Anthropology, a temple of light perched atop cliffs over the scenic waters of Howe Sound.

And, at the bottom of the cliffs is Wreck Beach, in warm weather one of North America's favorite nude hangouts.

The night buzz in Vancouver is on glittering Robson Street, the city's Rodeo Drive North, lined with top-name boutiques, oyster bars and java joints. For the more adventurous, the award-winning restaurant atop Grouse Mountain accessible by a gondola offers unparalleled views of Vancouver and its harbor.

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