There are all sorts of city-highlights tour options in Vancouver; your hotel concierge can help sort them out for you.

Our group used free-lance guides rather than a tour company. The one on our bus said he generally hires out to families or very small groups; he’ll provide car, driver and three-hour guided tour for CDN $115 --- pretty reasonable, given that with a large group you’d spend some of those three hours waiting for stragglers to return to the bus or go to the bathroom. Judging from the number of buses following our own group, most tours seemed to follow the same general itinerary.

Downtown: Burrard is the main street running southwest from the waterfront; The Sutton Place, Sheraton and Hyatt Regency Hotels and the classic Hotel Vancouver are on it, as is Vancouver Center. The favorite shopping and strolling street is Robson, running southeast. Leaving downtown, tours proceed along Georgia Street, past ultra-luxe waterfront hotels and condominiums too...

Stanley Park: Occupying the entire tip of the pensinsula that separates Burrard Inlet from open water, this is one of Vancouver’s favorite recreational sites. Among its attractions are a mile-long Seawall Walk, an impressive display of First Nation totem poles, and what’s said to be the world’s largest public swimming pool. Marvelous views of Lion’s Gate Bridge and North Vancouver can be had from the observation decks at Prospect Point, highest point in the city. There’s a rest stop here with washrooms, an ice cream shop and souvenir store. Leaving the park, we pass English Bay, home of Vancouver’s gay community.

Ordinarily, there would have several photo stops for cross-harbor views of the cruise ship docks and downtown skyline. Unfortunately, the warm, moist current that nurtures the northern Pacific Coast’s lush forests also brings rain: Such was the case this day. The totem poles were virtually unphotographable; the view from Prospect Point, less than ideal.

It’s hard to believe that the Sunken Gardens were once an ugly, abandoned quarry. Only photographs can describe the effort that went into the park that’s here today. Our tight schedule allowed only 20-25 minutes; an hour would have been more appropriate.

Not for from the Convention Center and cruise ship docks, there’s Gastown. This is the old city, part authentic, part not, and a huge magnet for tourists --- hopelessly crowded during lunch hour. The most interesting artifact is a 10-foot-high steam-powered clock, which whistles like a steam engine every 15 minutes. My view, alas, was blocked by what must have been at least 300 visiting school children and by the time they left the rains had come. For a relatively tranquil respite from the crowds (and rain), visit the beautifully restored Canadian Pacific Depot, now a historical site.

Most city tours end at the docks and convention center. Skytrain also terminates there, and it’s a great way to continue exploring on your own.