Widespread Olympic spirit and landmark Fitzsimmons Creek Renewable Energy Project highlight the 2009-2010 season

This city teems with wonderful restaurants serving all manner of cuisine, a happy dilemma for the adventuresome diner. We’ve curated a collection of top-notch, award-winning rooms to zero in on.

Whether you’re after plush pillows and artisanal cucumber water, or sleek leather chairs and a glass of champers, each of these spas offers an over-the-top experience.

Vancouver’s contemporary art scene is celebrated on the international circuit but remains a mystery to most of the city’s residents. Dive in with this cocktailparty-worthy primer on our most compelling artists, plus where to view (and purchase) their work.

Whether it’s north to Whistler or south to Victoria, there are countless ways to escape big-city life.

GuestLife's Guide to some fabulous Vancouver shopping!

Must See - Where to go and what to do in Vancouver. GuestLife's Guide to all things "Cultural" in Vancouver.

Meat Market - Here’s where cultured carnivores tuck into juicy slabs of beef.

Raw Deal - A guide to Vancouver's great Sushi Restaurants.

Sunny Side Up - The Best Vancouver Breakfasts.

With such an abundance of dining options, deciding where to eat in Vancouver is half the fun. Make it easy with this guide to GuestLife’s restaurant advertisers.

GuestLife Vancouver's guide to a wide range of activities and attractions in the Vancouver area.

Vancouver’s infamous Downtown Eastside gets a reboot with the lauded Woodward’s project.

Downtown caught 2010 fever long ago, attracting a wave of luxury retail brands (all the heavyweights are here) and a number of glittering new condo-hotel hybrids. Still, signs of classic Vancouver remain: casualwear in the business district, and mountains visible beyond the glass.

After Expo 86, pavilion sites gave way to condos, and brick warehouses converted into lofts with high-end retail and bars occupying former loading docks beneath. Ever the bellwether area, it’s recently diversified, becoming a destination for beauty services and popular mid-tier restaurants.

Vancouver’s ultimate master-planned community is devoted to the good life, with luxury condo towers offering stunning views, a seawall that winds into nearby Stanley Park, and some of the city’s prettiest urban green space.

The city’s most-loved public space and top tourist draw packs old tin-sided buildings, a top arts university, studios, and a public market onto a manmade island overlooking downtown.

The neighbourhood synonymous with the West Coast lifestyle, Kits was once a forested beach used by vacationers. Then came the arts and crafts homes, then the hippies and students who turned W. Fourth Ave. into Rainbow Road. Today, it’s among the city’s most exclusive neighbourhoods — with seriously pricey real estate and retail to match — but the laidback beach vibe still prevails.

Sleepy small-town atmosphere, elegant homes, and upscale shops make Kerrisdale one of the loveliest neighbourhoods in which to while away an afternoon.

Construction of the Canada Line subway down Cambie Street has wrapped, leaving behind an attractive new streetscape and a number of new, locally focussed businesses and amenities. This is a neighbourhood on the verge.

Occupying prime real estate between Shaughnessy and downtown, South Granville is chockablock with elegant home-design stores, luxury clothing boutiques, private art galleries, and some of the finest restaurants in town. An afternoon here is a date with the good life.

House prices have declined across the city, but this neighbourhood — still trendy, still gentrifying — seems immune. And no wonder: it offers a rare mix of independent cafés, eclectic antique stores, and boutiques showcasing local designers and European labels.

Cheap eats, vintage clothing boutiques, and…hemp-inspired record stores? Quirky’s the thing on the Drive, a vibrant ’hood composed of equal parts Italians, hippies, and young families.

Beautiful homes, driftwood-strewn beaches, and sweeping views of English Bay make this one of Vancouver’s most exclusive neighbourhoods. Up 10th Avenue, west of Alma, a mix of mom-and-pops, upscale boutiques, and comfortable bistros cater to discerning locals and UBC students.

This storied inner-city neighbourhood is home to artist studios, traditional corner stores, and ramshackle homes that lend the area its historic shabby chic.

East of downtown, Hastings-Sunrise is an unpolished family neighbourhood known for its old-fashioned delis and bakeries — with prices just as old fashioned. No shortage of family entertainment either: in winter, it’s home to the Vancouver Giants; in summer, the Pacific National Exhibition and Playland keep things lively.

The gentrification of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods continues unabated, with an impressive slate of new stores and restaurants opening in the past year, and more heritage conversions coming on the market.

The affluent cities of North Vancouver and West Vancouver are famous for their sweeping views of downtown (and, on a clear day, Vancouver Island), picturesque shopping villages, and proximity to world-class skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and mountain-biking terrain (That local adage about skiing and kayaking on the same day originates here).

What’s on the agenda tonight? Whatever the mood calls for — whether it’s chilling at a low-key pub, sipping a superbly crafted cocktail, exploring an adventurous wine list, or taking over the dance floor — make sure these rooms are on the shortlist.

Vancouver magazine’s 2009 International Wine Competition drew over 700 entries from across the winemaking world. The judges elected 100 bottles in 10 categories that represented best value; here are the British Columbians that came out on top.

A "scrolling" tour of some of GuestLife's favorite art galleries.

The Best Looks Of The City

Vancouver’s creative industry takes cues from the world around it. Make a statement, in your closet and pantry, by stocking up on these indigenous goods.

A thoroughly modern home perched on a West Vancouver cliff. An impossibly chic couple with a taste for adventure. Add lynx fur, graffiti, and big-statement jewellery and you’ve got fashion that’s… Over the Edge.

Links to some of GuestLife Vancouver's favorite art galleries.

Reviews on 26 of Vancouver's finest dining establishments.

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards adds to its sustainability practices by becoming the first Canadian winery to complete the Climate Smart program