Cobie Smulders is Vancouver’s, through and through — the How I Met Your Mother and Marvel actress was born and raised right here, and she’s recently been talking up her favourite spots in the city.
The specific attractions she named weren’t detailed at post time, but the sentiment tracks with something Vancouverites hear constantly from actors who’ve filmed here, grown up here, or both: this city photographs like nowhere else, and the appeal isn’t manufactured for tourists — it’s baked into daily life for anyone who lives here.
Why Vancouver keeps winning over its own celebrities
Vancouver has one of the highest concentrations of major film and TV production in North America, which means a huge number of working actors have spent months at a time here — enough to actually get to know the city beyond the standard tourist loop. When someone like Smulders, who grew up here before Hollywood, talks about her favourite spots, it carries a bit more weight than a press-junket answer. It’s a local’s list, not a publicist’s.
It’s also a low-key reminder for anyone who’s lived here long enough to stop noticing: the mountains-meet-ocean setting, the walkable neighbourhoods, and the density of green space inside city limits are genuinely rare among major North American cities — easy to take for granted until someone who’s left comes back and gushes about it.
What would be on your list if a visiting celebrity asked you where to go in Vancouver? Let us know your top picks. 👀
