Burnaby

Immediately east of downtown [1], Burnaby was incorporated as a city in 1992 (its population of 240,000 makes it British Columbia’s third-largest city), but in reality it’s part of Vancouver [2]’s suburban sprawl. It extends east from Boundary Road to Coquitlam [3], while Burrard Inlet lies to the north and riverside New Westminster [4] to the southeast. The TransCanada Highway bisects Burnaby, but access is easiest via the SkyTrain, which makes four stops within the city. Among these stops is Metrotown, which is Vancouver’s largest shopping mall.

Burnaby Village Museum is a four-hectare (10-acre) open-air museum (604/293-6500, Tues.–Sun. 11 a.m.–4:30 p.m. May–early Sept., closed the rest of the year, adult $12, senior and child $9) in Deer Lake Park, on the south side of the TransCanada Highway.

The village is a reconstruction of how a British Columbia town would have looked in the first 20 years of the 1900s, complete with more than 30 shops and houses, heritage-style gardens, a miniature railway, and costumed staff. But the highlight is a historic carousel with more than 30 restored wooden horses.

To get there, take Exit 33 south, then turn left onto Canada Way and right onto Deer Lake Avenue, or take the SkyTrain to Metrotown Station and jump aboard bus number 144.