Key your iPod to the Bang and Olufsen stereo in the 645-square-foot Penthouse as you take in the views of downtown Vancouver, the mountains, and False Creek from your floor-to-ceiling windows and wraparound balcony.

BBC: Daily deal: An opulent opus in downtown Vancouver

Should visitors want to stop by the Richmond Oval, located 14 km outside Vancouver, they can take advantage of the newly expanded, Olympics-inspired Canada Line light-rail transit route, which connects Richmond to downtown Vancouver and the airport.

BBC: Vancouver after the Games

Surrey, a municipality south of the city - whose mayor was rated one of the best in the world - is becoming the second central business district for the metro Vancouver area and is linked by SkyTrain to downtown.

BBC: Living in: Vancouver