MOON METRO VANCOUVER

Moon Metro Vancouver
2nd Edition
ISBN 1-59880-080-9
ISBN-13 978-1-59880-080-7
$16.95
Purchase here through Amazon.com or visit Indiebound.org to find your local independent bookseller.

Fulfilling the ideals of its burgeoning film industry, Vancouver possesses the three attributes of stardom: beauty, youth, and charm. With striking waterfront views and a gorgeous backdrop of mountains and forests, the city is graced with a naturally stunning location. Vancouver buzzes with the energy of a young and evolving city but at the same time recognizes the charm of its past; residents have preserved many of Vancouver’s historic neighborhoods even as the city barrels toward its very bright future.

The city’s natural beauty and proximity to Los Angeles — only three hours away by plane — have made it attractive to American filmmakers. Dubbed “Hollywood North,” Vancouver is now the third largest film production center in North America (after Los Angeles and New York), and British Columbia rakes in more than $1 billion a year from film and TV projects. Even a Hollywood set designer would be hard-pressed to produce surroundings as spectacular as Vancouver’s.

Vancouver’s eclectic cityscape is a jumble of architectural styles. The Vancouver Public Library, in the style of a Roman colosseum, stands not far from Science World, shaped like a giant silver golf ball, and from Canada Place, a convention center that looks as if it’s about to set sail. Also in the mix: Edwardian manor houses, Depression-era warehouses, and stylishly refurbished Craftsman bungalows. An ongoing building boom — courtesy of an influx of Asian investment dollars as well as the 2010 Winter Olympics — is throwing up glass and steel office towers and condos by the day.

But Vancouver’s backdrop is not the only thing that makes this city a star. Its growing reputation for innovative cuisine is bringing foodies from far and wide: With its mild climate, this culinary hot spot has fresh local produce and seafood, as well as award-winning chefs who combine the area’s many ethnic influences into their inventive dishes.

Despite 112 centimeters (44 in) of rain annually, Vancouver’s winters are indeed mild, and spring begins in February or March. When the rest of the country is still shoveling snow, Vancouverites — and visitors — are hiking, biking, golfing, and inline skating, and soon after, they can be fishing, sailing, kayaking, and windsurfing. Still, the climate is just cold enough to blanket three local mountains with snow for skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing, day or night.

This blend of the great outdoors and urban culture awards Vancouver the starring role as the most attractive city in the Pacific Northwest. But it has more than just a picture-perfect setting. Discover what makes Vancouver beautiful from the inside and uncover a quality of life that somehow keeps this alluring metropolis eternally young.