Florence
For the wanderluster who wants everything at their doorstep but isn’t so keen on spending hours travelling from location to location, there’s no better destination than Vancouver. The Canadian city has an abundance of rare wildlife, some of the most gorgeous mountain scenery and hiking trails on earth, and a thriving cultural scene that can go toe to toe with anything in the Old World. And that’s not mentioning the world class skiing facilities just ninety minutes away.
The great thing about the city is it so seamlessly blends everything you could want, while maintaining a high standard of, well, everything. It’s why you can eat at a world class restaurant on the same day you go whale spotting, or spend an afternoon taking in a serene hiking route and the evening strolling around thriving, historic Gastown. It’s also one of the only cities in the Western world where over half of the residents aren’t native English speakers (hence the varied culinary offerings). Vancouver is a city of extremes, definitely, but one that does them all so well you’ll be wondering why anybody ever leaves.
