WHY GO NOW With clear days, August and September are two of Vancouver's months to shine. Much of the year, the city's rainfall rivals Seattle's, but in the sunny season, the number of outdoor cafes is the standard of comparison between the two coffee capitals. In September, whale-watching season is still good as orcas and humpbacks continue to appear along the mainland coast. There's always been a healthy energy to this outdoorsy, athletic city, but the buzz (construction and otherwise) increases ever more as Vancouver prepares to play host to the Winter Olympic Games in five years' time.

WHERE TO STAY Stunning views of the city's surrounding Coastal Mountain Range and Coal Harbour keep guests coming to the 504-room Pan Pacific Vancouver, (1) 999 Canada Place, (604) 662-8111, www.panpacific.com. Rooms are done in sleek bird's-eye maple, furnished with Frette linens and pillowtop beds, and served by an attentive, expert staff. A new 2,500-square-foot fitness center has two personal trainers on duty all day. At $1.24 Canadian to the U.S. dollar, doubles start at $410 and run up to $3,500 for the Royal Suite.

Runners, cyclists and in-line skaters will love the Westin Bayshore Resort and Marina, (2) 1601 Bayshore Drive, (604) 682-3377, www.westin.com/bayshore, for easy access to the lush, 1,000-acre urban oasis of Stanley Park. The 511-room Bayshore is also a pleasant, 20-minute walk along shop-lined Denman Street to English Bay Beach. Two pools and a Reebok-designed health club with whirlpools, saunas and a steam room are on hand for those who don't want to leave the grounds. In peak summer season, rates are $192 to $318.

In trendy, warehouse-chic Yaletown, the Opus Hotel, (3) 322 Davie Street, (866) 642-6787, www.opushotel.com, attracts flashy celebs and a young, international clientele. D.J.'s are flown in from Paris for parties, and local reality shows have been filmed in the lobby bar. Its 96 rooms come in five colorful design schemes, with light-flooded bathrooms, marble counters and huge glass mirrors that are perfect for prepping before stepping out on the town. Rooms start at $250 in the high season.

The intimate, centrally located Listel Vancouver Hotel, (4) 1300 Robson Street, (800) 663-5491, www.listel-vancouver.com, offers excellent value, with 129 art- and museum-themed rooms and wireless Internet access throughout the property. Special rates start at $150.

WHERE TO EAT Being a port city, Vancouver has more than its fair share of incredible seafood. The best fish and chips in town can be found at Go Fish, (5) 1505 West First Avenue, (604) 730-5039, an upscale fish shack near Granville Island that supports local fisherman. Though it has just a few seats outside, the concession draws a crowd for its homemade beer-battered halibut ($6.75, including french fries and coleslaw, all served in a bamboo basket) and soups of the day ($4.20 a bowl; recent concoctions included a magnificent coconut curry fish chowder). Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Cantilevered over the water with a main dining room enclosed in louvered glass doors, the sleek and sexy Lift, (6) next to the Westin at 333 Menchions Mews, (604) 689-5438, is lending the Coal Harbour neighborhood some buzz. Opened last December, the restaurant has rooftop dining, an outdoor fire pit, heated cork floors and a centerpiece bar topped by gleaming honey onyx from Portugal. Its sense of adventurous style extends to the menu: cardamom roasted lobster claw with watercress grapefruit salad ($17.60), or Arctic char over sweet potato vanilla purée ($24.35).

With the city so influenced by Chinese and Japanese culture, Asian cuisine is always an excellent bet. Fresh Chinese cooking with classy presentation and service to match can be found at Imperial Chinese Seafood, (7) 355 Burrard Street, (604) 688-8191, overlooking Coal Harbour. Specialties include salt-roasted chicken, sea bass delicately steamed in ginger and scallions, and fragrant, deep-fried Dungeness crab (followed by hot lemon water in finger bowls and towels). Dinner for two with wine is about $65.

Day or night, you'll find that coffeehouses are jumping (after all, the city is just a stone's throw from Seattle). Locally owned Caffé Artigiano (8) serves up beautifully decorated lattes (a tall flavored one is $2.65), and the downtown branch at 763 Hornby Street, (604) 694-7737, is perfect for weary shoppers coming off Robson Street's retail strip or tourists seeking to refuel after an afternoon at the Vancouver Art Gallery, just across the street.

WHAT TO DO DURING THE DAY When the weather is fair, there's a lot to keep you busy in this health-conscious city's sparkling out of doors. On the south side of the Burrard Street Bridge, Kitsilano Beach (or "Kits") (9) is a wide, white-sand swath packed with young people and with a saltwater pool as a swimming option.

Get your blood pumping with a run or ride along the just-completed Coal Harbour Seawall and into Stanley Park; you can rent bikes across the street from the park entrance at Spokes, (10) 1798 West Georgia Street, (604) 688-5141. Single-speed cruisers are $3.95 an hour in summer, while top-of-the-line, full-suspension mountain bikes are $15.70 an hour. Manhattanites might feel at home at the sight of the gray squirrels scampering among the rhododendrons, especially since the first eight pairs of these critters were given to Vancouver by the City of New York in 1909.

Tranquillity can be found among the lotus flowers in the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Garden, (11) 578 Carrall Street, (604) 662-3207, www.vancouverchinesegarden.com, which was the first full-scale classical garden built outside China when it opened in 1986. The outdoor gardens, pavilions and courtyards are modeled on the Ming Dynasty-era (1368 to 1644) gardens of Suzhou. Last June, a new wing was added to showcase special Chinese art and horticultural exhibits. Admission is $7.35 (under age 5, free).

When an inevitable rainy day arrives in this verdant city, Vancouverites seek solace in the city's many spas. Situated in a clean, modern space in Yaletown, Skoah, (12) 1011 Hamilton Street, (877) 642-0200, www.skoah.com, specializes in fun-minded facials for young urbanites who pop in before heading to yoga classes in the neighborhood. Skoah stresses excellent service and affordable prices—the fitskin facial is just $50.

By contrast, the Pan Pacific's 11,000-square-foot Spa Utopia, (1) (604) 641-1351, just opened in April, and is truly over-the-top, with Roman-inspired pillars, waterfalls and marble-topped basins. In this temple to relaxation, a 60-minute Monticelli Mud treatment is $113.

Art-minded travelers can find shelter at the Vancouver Art Gallery, (13) 750 Hornby Street, (604) 662-4700, www.vanartgallery.bc.ca. Formerly the provincial courthouse, the redesigned 1907 heritage building and its circular central balconies now provide a glorious backdrop for the gallery's permanent collection, which includes close to 9,000 works. Admission is $12.60.

WHAT TO DO AT NIGHT There's all manner of night life in this friendly city. True to its flashy location in the Opus, the Elixir Bar and Restaurant, 322 Davie Street, (3) (604) 642-0557, is always hopping. A sleek lobby bar with a separate menu offers up candy-colored cocktails and delicious satay plates.

Serious oenophiles head to Brix Wine Bar, (14) 1138 Homer Street, (604) 915-9463, for a thoughtfully curated list of more than 60 wines by the glass ($4.60 to $12.60), and many more by the bottle. The historic 1912 building has its cozy, red-brick charms, but its outdoor garden courtyard is the best place to linger in summer.

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from 6:30 to 11 (midnight on Saturday) through Sept. 12, eclectic wares are on display at Chinatown Night Market, (15) on the 100 and 200 blocks of Keefer Street, (604) 682-8998, www.vancouverchinatown.ca (under Events). Stroll the stalls and pick up everything from a cheap dinner of steamed dumplings to fresh flowers and embroidered purses.

WHERE TO SHOP Vancouver has its share of kitschy tourist shops and big retail chains, but smaller boutique establishments for midcentury Chinese furniture, Japanese confections, and vintage buttons pepper every neighborhood. Those who want to buy, taste or talk about cheese head to Les Amis du Fromage, (16) 1752 West Second Avenue, (604) 732-4218, www.buycheese.com, a 20-year-old shop run by the mother-and-daughter team of Alice and Allison Spurrell. They supply top hotels with an extraordinary selection of European (particularly French raw milk) and local cheeses, including Poplar Grove Tiger Blue, an intricately threaded, double cream cheese with a spicy, peppery bite ($4.50 for 100 grams, about 3.5 ounces).

You can supplement the cheese with other picnic fixings at the farmers' market (17) held on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Nelson Park, Comox Street between Bute and Thurlow Streets. Information: (604) 879-3276, www.eatlocal.org.

Want to update your look with the latest from local designers? South Main Street, off the downtown peninsula, is a veritable design mine, with the whimsical, Victoria-based clothing label Smoking Lily, (18) 3634 Main Street, (604) 873-5459, with its rich, jewel-colored, silk-screened fabrics, and the eclectic shop Eugene Choo, 19 3683 Main Street, (604) 873-8874, www.eugenechoo.com, which features an ever-changing selection: hand-knit scarves, hats, swinging dresses, funky T-shirts for him and her.

YOUR FIRST TIME OR YOUR 10TH High-schoolers and business types alike flock to 23-year-old emporium La Casa Gelato, (20) 1033 Venables Street, (604) 251-3211, for the rotating 208 flavors of gelato (out of more than 500). The favorites? "People really like Ferrero Rocher, chocolate fudge brownie, lemon," a server behind the counter told me on a recent visit. What don't they like? "Well, they try flavors like durian and garlic. But they don't buy them." A generous single scoop cup or cone is $2.95.

HOW TO GET THERE Vancouver International Airport is served by a number of major airlines, including Air Canada, Continental and United. The flight time from New York is five to six hours, and a recent Web search showed round-trip fares in early September starting around $400. It's a 25-minute taxi ride to downtown Vancouver, and the fare usually runs $17 to $25.

GETTING AROUND Vancouver is a walkers' paradise, even when it's raining. And if you need to catch a taxi, you can get to most places for under $8.50.

An excellent new series of free city guides, Vancouver Modern Urban Guides, www.elephantshoeconcepts.com, is available at shops and restaurants around town; there are currently three editions, covering independent businesses in different neighborhoods (downtown, west, and east).

Standard city maps and other information can be found at Tourism Vancouver's Tourist Info Center, 21 200 Burrard Street, (604) 683-2000 and www.tourismvancouver.com.