VANCOUVER: Forests, beaches, trails -- and that's just downtown.

Our hike through a dense, old-growth forest of cedar and fir brings us to a sandy beach, and we continue our journey by kayak. Long-necked Western grebes are diving for anchovies. Seals playfully bob next to our boats, staring at us with big, soft eyes that seem to question our intrusion.

After beaching our kayaks, we walk a couple of hundred yards and hail a cab along the street to take us for lunch to the chic Blue Water Cafe, where seafood is prepared West Coast-style, with a hint of Asian fusion.

This is tourism Vancouver-style. Watch the salmon jumping in the morning, spend the afternoon at an art gallery. Rent a mountain bike to take on rough hilly trails, and stop for tea with crumpets when you tire. The city of Vancouver meets and in fact incorporates the country here, offering the best of both worlds.

But Vancouver is also where East meets West. This city in the southwest corner of British Columbia is midway between Europe and Asia. It's a bit of England, with cricket fields and formal gardens, but also a gateway to the Pacific Rim. After English, the most commonly spoken language is Chinese.

The varied cultures have come together to create a sophisticated, dynamic and vibrant city that remains uniquely Canadian. It's a place where the giant carved totem poles of the indigenous population mix easily with signs of homage to the British queen, where the dim sum includes wild Pacific salmon and bok choy.

Just 24 miles from the U.S. border, Vancouver is also less than an hour's ferry ride from Victoria, on the island of Vancouver. The island and the city that shares its name are separated by the Strait of Georgia.

Vancouver would be a first-rate city even if it weren't surrounded by water and towering mountains. The fresh, salty breezes are a bonus, as is the fact that wise urban planners left about as much space within city limits for woods and parkland as they did for developers in the main downtown area.

Urban Adventures

My family planned during our four-day visit here to travel just outside the city for an outdoor adventure to supplement our urban pleasures. But we discover that we don't need to leave the city limits to satisfy either appetite.

I realize the minute we hit our hotel that Vancouver's outdoorsy dynamic does not mean we'll be seeing any Canadians in plaid wool shirts and hobnailed boots. This city is chic, and we spend our first night in one of the trendiest parts of town, in a new boutique hotel.

The bar of the Opus Hotel is filled with beautiful people lounging in a steel-and-glass tribute to hip modernity. My 10-year-old daughter immediately falls in love with the boldly colored chairs in the lobby -- chairs best described as what beanbags might become if they could mature gracefully.

While she and her father relax -- we don't arrive until after 10 p.m. -- I stroll the neighborhood of Yaletown, sharing the streets with locals walking their dogs and young professionals picking and choosing among the bars and restaurants of the refurbished former warehouse district. Tourism officials compare Yaletown to New York's SoHo, but it's much cleaner, and not nearly as large or edgy.

The next morning I walk to Urban Fare, a gourmet supermarket that makes D.C.'s finest seem like pretenders, and select fig bread, olives and chunks of Cheshire and Shropshire cheeses for a picnic. Then my daughter and I head for Stanley Park, the 1,000-acre swath of green that is connected to downtown but is otherwise surrounded by English Bay, Lost Lagoon, Coal Harbour and the Strait of Georgia.