48 hours in Vancouver, Canada travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Vancouver is two cities rolled into one. This Canadian city is absolutely spectacular with its panoramic hiking and bike paths, with pine-tree-lined waterway that connects Vancouver with the Pacific Ocean. The city is one of the world’s most livable place because of expanding restaurants scene, quickly neighborhoods, distinctive shops and lively bars that party all night.

So if you have just two days to see the most amazing parts in this city, first it’s good to visit Gastown. Once the seedy home to drug addicts and prostitutes, the old waterfront neighborhood is now a restored district of cobblestone streets and antique gaslights. The changes have been accompanied by trendy restaurants, art galleries and specialty stores, including Livestock, a sneaker shop that carries limited-edition Nikes and Adidases.

As well as the city has emerged as a major foodie destination, with a constellation of star chefs who are using local ingredients. It’s a fantastic place with serious cooking, especially for seafood like wild salmon with orange fennel.

Amid the glittering skyscrapers and Victorian buildings, it’s easy to forget that this area was originally a rain forest on the Strait of Georgia.The park offers 1,000 gorgeous acres of flower gardens and majestic cedar, hemlock and fir trees. A six-mile bike path rings the park.