Vancouver: city of mountains, rainforest and sea

My first day in the city and I'm completely charmed - charmed by the views, the food, our opulent hotel and by Beau, who is lounging by the concierge desk on a day bed, tolerating the attention of enthusiastic guests. He is, says the concierge, available for walks, diary dependant, and so I book him immediately.

Beau, you may have guessed by now, is a dog; a golden Labrador, to be precise. For walking guides, two legs good, four legs better.

He belongs to the hotel concierge and comes to work with her every day. He's a little bit of a fixture on the Vancouver scene and content to be borrowed by guests.

Our hotel, the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, is a grand dame, a galleon come to rest on upmarket shores. Proud and vast, planted in the shopping and entertainment district, the Hotel Vancouver is the last word in vintage luxury.

Beau, however, doesn't discriminate -he likes the Hotel Vancouver but he'll take you to two of the other three Fairmont hotel indiscriminately: the Fairmont Pacific Rim, Fairmont Waterfront. He goes where the treats are. The fourth, the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, is a little far for four soft paws to pad.

It turns out tour by canine is an excellent way to see a city. Beau leads the way, taking me to a host of local cafes where staff recognise him and feed him titbits. He has no shame whatsoever and trots behind counters to sit an expectant nose against cupboard doors and drawers.

It's a fantastic way to strike up conversations with local people and leads to a wealth of snippets about the city. Fellow tourists also come over to speak to Beau, offer him treats, and chat to me by extension.

Flanked by mountains, rainforest and sea but oozing sharp city style, Vancouver is a lotus-land of things to do and ways to do them. If canine tour guides don't quite suit then the city is extremely cycle-friendly. Many hotels offer bicycles for free and even the buses have bike racks.

Hire a bicycle and trace the sea wall around Stanley Park, which covers more than 400 hectares and is North America's largest urban park. It stands at the head of a peninsula, almost like an island in the surrounding Pacific Ocean waters, and is home to Stanley Park Aquarium, a family-friendly must-see, even if you just want a glimpse of the penguins.

From Stanley Park, the Lion's Gate Bridge will take you to upmarket North Vancouver where the Capilano Suspension Bridge hangs across the Capilano River in the midst of West Coast rainforest. Vertigo sufferers beware: the bridge bounces as you cross the gorge and the sensation is not for the faint-hearted. Rumour has it Margaret Thatcher liked it so much she did it twice. Trails run through the rainforest and the cool green scenery makes for a lush backdrop to the treetop adventure - a series of wooden walkways running through the 1300-year-old old growth Douglas-firs. If height suits you then the cliff-walk is another floating endeavour: the route follows a granite precipice along Capilano River with a series of narrow cantilevered bridges, stairs and platforms giving visitors an unrivalled view out across the forest.

Staying north of the city, you can take a cable car to the summit of Grouse Mountain for skiing or more stunning views, this time across the whole harbour and city. If you are adventurous you can take the zipslide, which runs at 80k an hour over the treetops. At height, too, is the 58 metre-high Eye Of The Wind, the world's only turbine with a clear glass viewing pod wrapped around the stem. A narrow elevator ride takes visitors up to the glass pod, which sits just three metres from the rotating blades, which swish down and cut through the panorama.

Higher still is the chance to see British Columbia from the air: Vancouver is home to Harbour Air Seaplanes, the world's largest all-seaplane airline. On the mail run, passengers are given the chance to see how local people live in the villages of the Gulf Islands. The seaplane hops between islands, dropping off supplies. Despite the shuddering and stink of diesel, the trip gives unparalleled views of the coastal mountains and varies each time due to the demands of the post pick-ups.

Back at ground level, Vancouver is rightly renowned for its restaurants; the city's recent history is of rapid re-development and culinary reinvention. Seafood is abundant and the cuisine a fusion of European, Asian and Pacific elements, thanks in no small part to the thriving Asian population.

Relaxed liquor laws have made Vancouver more brewer-friendly and the emphasis is on locally-sourced, quirky and healthful produce. Granville Island, a former industrial area in False Creek, south of downtown Vancouver, is dedicated to the delights of gastronomy. The market is packed with food stalls from sausage-makers, microbrewers, cheesemongers, olive sellers and porridge makers to a sake maker and some lobster specialists. It's possible to take a food tour, sampling rich delights from each stand.

At the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, the staff are mixing the foodie tradition of the city with its reputation for sustainability. On the third floor of the hotel is a 2,100 square-foot herb garden; one of the city's first green roofs, this is where the chefs grow produce that is then cooked in the restaurant. It also houses six beehives with more than half a million bees that forage across 26 square miles and bring back honey from over 60 different species of plants.

Executive chef Dana Hauser creates honey-infused dishes - from cocktails to chocolate and salad dressings - as well as commissioning a local micro-brewer, the Whistler Brewing Company, to make honey lager. The leftover hops are then baked into bread in Hauser's kitchen.

Vancouver's mild climate means drizzle for much of the year. The film industry has given the city the nickname Hollywood North - or Brollywood, in homage to the weather. Despite the rain, the city is beautiful and, away from the main downtown area, has quirky, vibrant pockets such as Yaletown, a mix of design shops, coffee bars and niche restaurants, and Gastown, a loft-living, flat white-drinking hipster central.

Polite in a classically Canadian way, Vancouverites are proud of their reputation for tolerance, free expression and hedonism. Vancouver is one of the cleanest cities in North America; its broad streets lie completely unsullied.

A confession: the only time I saw litter on the sidewalks was on my walk with Beau, who did what dogs do when outdoors and free.

The local tourist board aims to market Vancouver as ideal for a city break, which is absolutely is, but it's also much more. You could come for a city break but you'd only have to return to finish what you'd started.

Catriona Stewart was a guest of British Airways and Fairmont Hotels. BA flies several times daily from London Heathrow to Vancouver from around £720 return (www.britishairways.com).

A night at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver starts from around £90 (www.fairmont.com/hotel-vancouver).

5 things to do in Vancouver

VanDusen Botanical Garden

Beautiful gardens, with eco-systems from the Louisiana swamps to the Pacific Northwest. The orchid-based visitor centre is one of the city's most famous buildings.

In December, see the Festival Of Lights, with more than one million lights decorating the park.

Kitsilano Pool

Just along from Kitsilano Beach, the Kitsilano Pool is Vancouver's only saltwater swimming pool with views back towards downtown. Sited near cafes and the beach, there's plenty to do in the area when you've had enough of swimming.

Vancouver Lookout

Ride a glass elevator up 553 feet to see 360-degree views of the city, the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Opened by astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1977, the Lookout offers fun facts about the city's history, infrastructure and current trends.

South Granville

Upmarket shopping district South Granville offers fancy foods, spas, interior design stores and people-watching with theatre and art galleries thrown in the mix.

Northwest Marine Drive

Take a run along Northwest Marine Drive, skirting the ocean on one side and pretty views of residential Vancouver on the other. For those of bold bent, stop off at Wreck Beach - Vancouver's only nudist beach.