Stanley Park, Vancouver

Attractions abound in this massive downtown park, a veritable rain forest within a metropolis. To name just a few of the activities and attractions: the Children's Farmyard, Miniature Railway, tennis courts, beaches, children's water park, heated ocean side swimming pool, the Theater Under the Stars, the Vancouver Aquarium, and the 10.5-km perimeter Seawall, which is packed with joggers, walkers, and rollerbladers. Once a military reserve, the park became one of the city's premier attractions by action of the city's first council.