Winter dreams

Canadian city readies itself for the 2010 Winter Olympics

by Mark Malby traveller@mediacorp.com.sg

Vancouver city panorama

Vancouver’s English Bay after snowfall

Floating houses at Granville Island

Gastown steam clock

“When it’s raining in Vancouver, it’s snowing at Whistler,” goes the resident wisdom in Canada’s lush coastal city, at least among its avid skiers and snowboarders.

Vancouver, with the nearby resort of Whistler, will host the Winter Olympics in February, and enthusiasts are justifiably optimistic.

The global economy is rebounding, construction at all sites is either complete or in the final stages, and tickets are selling like hotdogs at a National Hockey League showdown.

“The games are cultivating a real positive kindred spirit among Canadians during a time when so much of the headline news in the world seems negative,” says George Edwards, a local realtor and volunteer at one of the host sites.

Some 25,000 Vancouverites have signed on to help as volunteers with the Olympics, just another sign that this city of 2 million is enthusiastically behind the games.

Vancouver’s bid is just the third Olympics to be held in Canada, and the second winter games after the successful 1988 Olympics in Calgary.

But there’s more to Vancouver than Olympics, and as a winter destination, Canada’s third largest city has much to offer. Any new visitor is quickly struck by the breathless natural beauty of its harbour and mountains, its easy-going lifestyle, and host of outdoor activities.

It’s little wonder that Vancouver often tops lists of the world’s most liveable cities in publications like Condé Nast and The Economist.

Long lauded as a place to “ski and sail on the same day”, one can add scuba diving to the list of winter activities (Jacques Cousteau ranked diving off Vancouver Island as his secondfavourite in the world, after the Red Sea).

Even in mid-winter, sailing is a regular feature from yacht clubs in Kitsilano or Burrard Inlet, as is golf, tennis, and afternoon jogs along the famed Stanley Park seawall.

While the city lawns stay green year-round, the local mountains sparkle at night with the resorts of Grouse Mountain and Cypress Bowl, good for beginners and a 20-minute car ride from the city.

Ski and snowboard enthusiasts, however, will head an hour north on the Sea-to-Sky highway to Whistler, where the twin resorts of Whistler-Blackcombe offer some of the best alpine skiing on the continent.

Naturally, Whistler is where much of the Olympic action will be centred, although other events (freestyle skiing at Cypress bowl, and speed-skating at the stylised Olympic Oval in Richmond) will take place within Vancouver’s city limits.

The alpine village, long known as both a summer and winter retreat from city life, has more than doubled in size in the last five years, in preparation for the games.

That means more for everybody, post Olympics.

CITY NOTES

Getting there

Many airlines offer flights from Singapore to Vancouver with one stopover. Cost: About $2,000.

Where to stay

In Vancouver, hotel range from the luxurious (Pan Pacific, $390) to the historic (Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, $260) to the budget (Patricia hotel, $60). In Whistler, Four Seasons Resort, $633; and Pemberton Valley Lodge, $199. Check vacancy during theOlympics.

What to see

- Grouse Mountain. Even if you’re not planning to ski, take the tram from the temperate city up to the alpine silence. Drink mulled wine while the lights of Vancouver twinkle far below.

- Stanley Park. The biggest inner-city park in the world boasts ancient trees and 15km of scenic seawall to walk, run or roller-blade.

- Gastown. Vancouver’s Old Town and always on the tourist stops.

- Robson street. The upper-end shopping and dining district.

- Kitsilano Beach to Spanish Banks: The city’s nicest beaches. A bit cold for sunbathing or beach volleyball in winter, but great for walks and photos.

Winter Olympics tickets www.vancouver2010.com

http://www.todayonline.com/Traveller/EDC091224-0000060/Winter-dreams