Best known as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on hit television series "The X-Files," actress Gillian Anderson has admitted she is a confirmed Vancouverite who adores the city.

Gillian Anderson

In a recent interview with CNN the actress says that although she now lives in London, England, she loves to come back to her property on one of the islands in Vancouver and visit her favourite hang-outs.

The show was filmed in Vancouver from 1993 to 1998, when Anderson resided in her beloved Caulfield neighbourhood of West Vancouver. She says the city is for her one of the best in the world, due to its cutural and environmental diversity and sense of security.

?You have beaches and snow-topped mountains and water and forests; there are great restaurants; it's safe to bring kids up,? she enthuses.

When asked which places featured top of her list in the city, she answers without hesitation. ?Robson Street. They've got everything on that street,? says Anderson. ?What's beautiful about it is that you see the mountains on one side and the water on the other side of this long strip of coffee shops and boutiques - and my favourite restaurants.?

She also ticks off Granville Island and Stanley Park for walks and bike rides, and the view of the city from Grouse Mountain. ?It?s really beautiful up in the clouds. You can sit at the top and have hot chocolate or a stiff drink and enjoy the view of the city.?

Not a fan of winter sports Anderson is giving the Olympics a miss. But on the topic of the city she calls ?unique? she answers one final question about her attachment to Vancouver.

?I do miss Vancouver. When I start thinking or talking about it, I start to get melancholy. It's just a really lovely place.?