by HENRIETTE FREESE

Most of us agree that Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with a stunning setting between the North Shore Mountains and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Today we want to give you some facts about Vancouver that go beyond just general knowledge, so let’s learn a little more about our beautiful city!

1. Vancouver is also called “Hollywood of the North”. In North America the city comes second after Los Angeles in TV production and third in feature film production (after Los Angeles and New York). Most productions made in Vancouver are American, whereas most Toronto based productions are Canadian.

2. Vancouver’s cruise ship terminal is the 4th largest in the world. Most of the ships departing from the terminal are headed to Alaska. The last cruise of the 2016 season will leave the Canada Place Terminal on October 19th!

3. The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the third largest in North America in terms of total tonnage moved in and out of the port.

4. Vancouver is home to Canada’s longest pool. Kits Pool is the city’s only saltwater pool and is located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. The lanes stretch 137 meters, which is almost 3 times as long as an Olympic pool.

Photo Credit: https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/

5. The cosmetic treatment Botox was invented in Vancouver.

6. The British Properties in West Vancouver was originally a neighbourhood for upper class elites. Residents were required to have a British passport and excluded non-white and Jewish people. Fortunately, it has become much more diverse these days.

7. Vancouver’s Stanley Park is 10% larger than Central Park in New York. One of the most popular ways to explore it is during a bike ride or walk along the famous Seawall.

8. Speaking of Stanley Park: all of the grey squirrels found in Stanley Park are descendants of eight pairs of grey squirrels that Vancouver received as a gift from New York City in 1909.

9. The world’s largest tin soldier is located in the city of New Westminster, in the Vancouver Metropolitan area. It is an astonishing 9.75 metres tall and weighs 4540 kilograms.

Photo Credit: http://accessecobc.blogspot.ca/

10. Vancouver has the highest real estate prices in Canada and is the third least affordable major metropolitan real estate market after Hong Kong and Sydney, Australia.

11. 40% of Vancouver’s total population is made up of immigrants. The city has also the highest proportion of Asians per capita of any North American city. Vancouver’s historic Chinatown is one of the largest in North America.

12. The eco-activist group Greenpeace, one of the most successful environmental groups worldwide, was founded in Vancouver 1971. A group of volunteers first met in Gastown’s Luna Café, which is now known as Smart Mouth Cafe.

13. “The Eye of The Wind” on top of Grouse Mountain is the only working wind turbine in the world that has a viewing platform.

Photo Credit: www.grousemountain.com/

14. Vancouver is a very young city. It was only incorporated in 1886 and thus shares the same anniversary with the founding of Coca-Cola. On June 13 1886, the Great Vancouver Fire burnt down the city and only a few buildings survived the fire.

15. Even though the name might suggest something else, the California roll was actually invented in Vancouver by Chef Hidekazu Tojo. You can visit his restaurant Tojo in Vancouver’s Fairview neighbourhood.

Photo Credit: www.tojos.com/

16. Vancouver is one of the only major cities in North America where you cannot find a freeway access downtown.

17. The Marine Building on 355 Burrard Street used to be the tallest building in the British Empire.

Photo Credit: http://forbiddenvancouver.ca/

18. Vancouver has recently been named the third most livable city in the world, after Melbourne and Vienna. The index considers 30 factors related to safety, health care, educational resources, infrastructure and the environment.

19. BC Place was the first covered stadium in Canada. The retractable roof is 7500 square metres and is the largest in the world.

20. Vancouver and Victoria have the mildest climates in Canada. As pleasant as this may be, Vancouver also sees an average of 1457mm of rain with an average of 165 rainy days per year.

21. In fact, the city contains some of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in all of Canada, the wealthiest being West Vancouver. The average annual household income is $120.000 compared to Metro Vancouver’s average of $63.000. Many movie stars, corporate executives and wealthy people live here in stunning homes along the waterfront.

We hope that you learned a few new fun facts about our city in this post. We’d love to hear your favourite things about the city or some other interesting facts that you might know – please feel free to share! If you want to explore the city more, don’t miss out on our VGC Activities. Our Events Team is dedicated to organizing a fun and versatile program to show you the best Vancouver and BC have to offer!

[custom_author=Henriette Freese]