Beautiful, breathtaking Vancouver. Home to two million people, this is a west coast lifestyle city like no other. Nestled snugly in and around the slopes of the snow-capped Coast Mountains in the southwest corner of British Columbia, Vancouver is consistently ranked as one of the top ten places in the world to live and voted as one of the top ten "best destinations" in the world by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine . It's a cosmopolitan and culturally diverse metropolis, a place to enjoy world class restaurants, art galleries, shopping, events and entertainment. Vancouver supports a thriving theatre community and is home to a number of first-class attractions such as the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Vancouver Museum.

With one of the most temperate climates in Canada, the exquisite natural scenery and relaxed outdoor lifestyle are all part of what makes the city so popular. Greater Vancouver offers outdoor activities year-round. During the summer months, kayaking, hiking, boating, camping, rock-climbing and golfing are all popular recreational pursuits. In the winter months, neighboring ski hills such as Whistler, Cypress and Blackcomb teem with snowboarders and skiers from around the world.

Industry wise, the Greater Vancouver area is considered the production capital of the game industry in North America where companies such as Radical Entertainment, Electronic Arts and Relic Entertainment call home. The city is the continent's third largest film and television production center behind Los Angeles and New York. Truly a city for innovative people, Vancouver, British Columbia is the gem of the Canadian southwest coast.

For culinary and hospitality interests, international caliber restaurants offer students countless opportunities to experience tastes from all corners of the globe. A little known, but relevant fact for future world class chefs is that Vancouver boasts more five diamond hotels than New York or Los Angeles. In fact, Vancouver has the greatest concentration of deluxe-rated hotels per capita in the whole of North America - a fine training ground for the new chefs of the world. The Art Institute of Vancouver is centrally situated for all these activities and is well-serviced by public transport to the downtown core.