EMS  Annual Meeting 2006 : Vancouver , British Columbia, 

What to see in Vancouver

Stanley Park : 5 minutes from the hotel (you have to walk around the west end of the marina), Stanley Park is an astounding city site. 140 acres of  relatively real west coast rain forest, with some Victorian adaptations. Tea house, Vancouver aquarium, waliking/jogging, sea wall. Stanley Park is surrounded by the ocean, connected to Vancouver by the causeway on the south, and to West Vancouver via the Lion's Gate bridge on the north. All the way around is a good hour or more, given various distractions. No significant sand beach on the park island.

Robson Street : The "main" street of downtown, 5-10 minutes from the hotel. Shopping, food, sights and sounds. Busy and interesting.

Museum of Anthropology : Actually, museum might not be exactly accurate, maybe unmuseum would be better.  The MoA is an amazing Arthur Erickson designed building housing the anthropology collections of the University of British Columbia. Parts of it are like museum, parts are archives of artefacts, and some is a blend. A fantastic collection of old and recent west coast native art, including Bill Reid's "Raven and the First Men", totems, animals, and so on. 

Planetarium    

Vancouver Art Gallery

Marine museum

China town

The beaches : Kitsilano, Jericho, Wreck,

Vancouver Island

Whistler/Blackcomb

Lonsdale Quay (aka Capilano Market)

Granville Island

Fourth Avenue/Kitsilano

Science World  /  False Creek

A Family Fun in Vancouver site

A Coastal Peoples Gallery

Wikipedias for Vancouver, Kitsilano, Granville Island , False Creek,