The south shore of English Bay is populated  “partly by recreation-mad singles and partly by young professional families”. Sleek condos and apartment buildings have replaced many of the attractive older houses that gave the district so much of its character in the 1960s and '70s, when it was known as a hippie haven.

West Fourth Avenue from Burrard, all the way west to the University of British Columbia, is broken up into clusters of colorful shops and restaurants with international menus. In Kitsilano's Vanier Park you will find the Vancouver Museum & H.R. Macmillan Space Centre, the Vancouver Maritime Museum and the Gordon Southam Observatory. Bring along your beach bag and flip flops, as just a little further west you’ll find the public beaches.