Vancouver has many summertime pleasures. Locally grown blueberries? The fresh markets are full of them. Where to spend the perfect lazy Sunday afternoon? Head to Deep Cove on the North Shore. What to do when the urge to commune with nature strikes? Hiking in Lighthouse Park will take care of that. Definitely one to add to this list is watching the sun set over English Bay. On a balmy summer evening it is the place to be downtown. Sunset watching, in fact, is a ritual here, drawing throngs of people who come to hang out and enjoy the long evening (in June and July darkness doesn’t arrive until well past 9 p.m.).

English Bay Beach is popular any time of day, and it’s easy to see why. For one thing, it’s at Stanley Park’s doorstep. The seawall promenade runs along the bay shoreline from the Burrard Bridge all the way around the perimeter of the park. It’s ideal for strolling, and Vancouverites make good use of it. Along the beach the paved walkway is lined with park benches (and palm trees). People lie on the grass sunning and snoozing. Bikers and bladers whiz by. Hot dog vendors do a brisk business. The whole scene is more reminiscent of Venice Beach than a city that lies almost astride the 50th parallel.

The party gets going once the sun begins to sink toward the horizon. Maybe it’s the (mostly) gloomy, rainy weather that occurs from fall through spring—a climatic trait Vancouver shares with other West Coast cities like Seattle and Portland—but in the summer everyone yearns to be outside. The Frisbee tossers and dog walkers are out in force.  People begin to gather: park benches fill up, blankets are spread on the grass and beach logs become seats. Ice cream cones are very much in evidence. Faces young and old run the ethnological spectrum, and overheard conversations reveal a polyglot of languages.

It doesn’t really matter whether the sunset is a showstopper (although it often is). The panoramic vista takes in the broad reach of the bay, the green mass of trees that cloak Stanley Park and the mountains that rise from the North Shore. On a clear evening you can make out hulking Vancouver Island. Sailboats dot the water, and sometimes a lone freighter is silhouetted against the deepening sky. As dusk settles English Bay turns a pale, translucent blue, and the water laps softly when tiny waves break against the shore. Perhaps the sky is fleeced with wispy clouds. The sun drops behind the mountains, turning them dark purple. If Mother Nature sees fit to put on a real show, the clouds progress in hue from soft yellow to gold to orange to hot pink to deep crimson. People take pictures with their cell phones, capturing an ephemeral moment of remarkable beauty.

The party continues as darkness spreads a soft blanket that envelops the bay and the mountains. The laughter of children mixes with the contented babble of their parents and the shouted greetings of teenage packs roaming up and down the beach. Somewhere in the distance the hypnotic rhythm of a drum circle starts up, punctuated by a hip-hop beat blaring briefly from a passing boombox.

Nearby Denman Street is packed with people. Sidewalk joints like the Mediterranean Grill dish up sharwma pita wraps, Greek salads and souvlaki plates. Lines form at Cupcakes for specialties like the butter cup cupcake (filled with peanut butter cream and sprinkled with chocolate chips) and at Beard Papa’s for their signature cream puffs (the vanilla and chocolate versions are equally awesome). And the Starbucks at Denman and Davie is—of course—buzzing. This is summer in the city—and it’s a gas.

English Bay Beach is across from Beach Avenue and the intersection of Denman and Davie streets in Vancouver’s West End neighborhood.