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Sightseeing Overview
No matter how tall Calgary’s mirrored-glass skyscrapers are built or how dense the modern city center becomes, the snow-capped, jagged Rocky Mountains in the distance always seem to steal Calgary’s thunder. Situated at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers, Calgary strikes the visitor as a place of natural beauty with the mountains to the west and rolling fields of wheat to the east.

Calgary’s most identifiable man-made attraction is the Calgary Tower, a space-age sightseeing structure built in 1968 and located at the heart of the city center. Across the street is the Glenbow Museum, three floors of galleries celebrating the Canadian West, including an excellent exhibition on Native Canadians. A short distance northwest, Eau Claire Market is a refreshing mall with cafes, bars, an IMAX theater and craft market.

Connecting these attractions, as well as shops, offices and entertainment venues, is a series of enclosed elevated walkways (known as plus-15s, for their height of 4.5m (15ft) above street level) which shelter Calgarians from the worst of the winter chill and provide one of the city’s most unique features. Also linked to the system are the Devonian Gardens, where 20,000 plants grace an indoor garden of 1 hectare (2.5 acres) on three levels of the TD Square complex.

To the east of Downtown, St George’s Island stands in the Bow River and is home to Calgary’s most popular tourist attraction, the Calgary Zoo, Botanical Garden and Prehistoric Park. Northwest of Calgary’s Downtown, the city’s conservative facade is broken by the more alternative Kensington neighborhood - a place where interest shifts to trendy bars and restaurants, health-food stores, cafes and bookshops. The stretch of 17th Avenue SW to the west of Fourth Street is also a popular destination for shopping and dining.

Tourist Information
Tourism Calgary
200-238 11th Avenue SE
Tel: (403) 263 8510 or 1 800 661 1678.
Website: www.tourismcalgary.com
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1700.

Other visitor centers are located at the base of the Calgary Tower (daily 0800-1700) and Calgary International Airport’s arrivals level (daily 0600-2300) (tel: (403) 735 1234).

Passes
Discount coupon booklets are available free of charge at tourist information centers and at the Calgary Tower all year round. VISA offers a Visa savings passport to select hotels, restaurants and attractions in Calgary (website: www.visaperks.ca).

Key Attractions:

Calgary Tower
At 190m (626ft), the Calgary Tower, which opened in 1968, is not as tall as much of the promotional literature would have visitors believe. Nevertheless, this attraction, standing among the gleaming skyscrapers of the city center, is a must see. The Observation Terrace offers a bird’s-eye view of the city and the snow-capped Rocky Mountains to the west. A walk across the glass floor suspended over the city street below can be an unnerving experience! A snack bar, cocktail bar and revolving restaurant, the Panorama Dining Room, provide a more relaxed environment in which to take in the view.

101 Ninth Avenue SW
Tel: (403) 266 7171.
Website: www.calgarytower.com
Admission charge.

Glenbow Museum
The Glenbow Museum alone makes a trip to Calgary worthwhile. Built during the oil-rich 1960s, the museum spared few expenses, its three floors housing an excellent collection celebrating the Canadian West. The permanent collection follows the development of the west through Canadian indigenous art, early-European depictions of native Canadian peoples, native crafts, fur trade exhibits and much more. A permanent gallery, Nitsitapiisinnii: Our Way of Life, showcases the traditions and history of the Blackfoot people in their own words.

130 Ninth Avenue SE
Tel: (403) 268 4100.
Website: www.glenbow.org
Admission charge.

Calgary Stampede
Each July, for 10 days, Calgary hosts one of the grandest celebrations of cowboy culture in the world. Over a million visitors, most of them in cowboy hats and boots, descend on the city for a week and a half of chuckwagon races, rodeos (the roughest in North America), parades, square dancing and free pancake breakfasts. By night, there is music, cabarets, dancing, fireworks and a lively bar scene. The main venue for the Calgary Stampede is Stampede Park (where visitors find an amusement park, concert halls, bars, restaurants and a range of stalls), although the festive atmosphere infects the entire city.

Stampede Park
1410 Olympic Way SE
Tel: (403) 261 0101 or 1 800 661 1260.
Website: www.calgarystampede.com
Admission charge.

Calgary Zoo, Botanical Garden & Prehistoric Park
Scenic St George’s Island is home to an attraction that houses more than 1,100 animals - the Calgary Zoo, Botanical Garden & Prehistoric Park. One of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, the zoo was founded in 1929. Its nearly 300 different species are left in their natural environments as much as possible, such as in the ‘Canadian Wilds’ exhibit where close encounters with cougars, grizzlies and Rocky Mountain goats are possible. The more exotic ‘Destination Africa’ section features gorillas, giraffes and zebras. The Eurasia exhibit opened in summer 2007, with Siberian tigers, snow leopards, red pandas, and Elephant Crossing, a new home for the Asian elephants. The Botanical Garden, including a butterfly garden, rainforest garden and waterfalls, covers over 2.5 hectares (6 acres). The Prehistoric Park features 22 life-size dinosaur models.

1300 Zoo Road NE
Tel: (403) 232 9300 or 1 800 588 9993.
Website: www.calgaryzoo.com
Admission charge.

Fort Calgary Historic Park
Fort Calgary dates from 1875, when the Canadian government dispatched a troop of North-West Mounted Police to cross the Bow River and build a fort. Although the Mounties’ occupation of the fort ended in 1914, the fort is once again seeing life as local volunteers reconstruct it using period tools. An interpretive center outlines Calgary’s development via artifacts, audiovisual displays and guided walks along the river. The site also includes the Deane House Historic Site & Restaurant, a historic building that now houses a restaurant (open year round).

750 Ninth Avenue SE
Tel: (403) 290 1875.
Website: www.fortcalgary.com
Admission charge.

TELUS World of Science-Calgary & Creative Kids Museum
The TELUS World of Science offers a variety of attractions and exhibitions which celebrate science in three main exhibit areas that feature a constantly changing menu of multimedia interactive exhibits, covering topics such as nature, the atmosphere, the universe and physics. Explore the outdoor Amazement Park, WOWtown and the Discovery Dome Theater, North America’s first multimedia theater with Alberta’s largest indoor screen. The new Creative Kids Museum provides interactive educational programs for kids.

701 11th Street SW
Tel: (403) 268 8300.
Website: www.calgaryscience.ca
Admission charge.

Calaway Park
Calaway Park is western Canada’s largest amusement park. The park has 32 rides, including the Vortex rollercoaster, and the Rocky Mountain Railroad, as well as the popular Shoot the Chutes and Ocean Motion rides. There are also live musical and stage shows performed daily.

245033 Range Road 33 (off Highway 1, 10km/6 miles west of city limits)
Tel: (403) 240 3822.
Website: www.calawaypark.com
Admission charge.

Bow Valley Ranche
The Bow Valley Ranche was built in 1896 by Roger Hull, a Calgarian who made his fortune supplying beef to railway crews as they pushed west into British Columbia. In 1973, the building and its sprawling grounds were bought by the Alberta government. The grounds became Fish Creek Provincial Park, the largest urban park in North America, popular for walking and swimming during the summer and for cross-country skiing in the winter. The ranch house was slowly restored and converted into a restaurant, The Ranch Restaurant, with full period effects, such as wall coverings, historic furniture and full restoration of the stately veranda. Visitors can sample authentic western Canadian food such as caribou or buffalo.

Fish Creek Provincial Park
Bow Bottom Trail SE
Tel: (403) 297 5293 or 225 3939 (restaurant).
Website: www.bowvalleyranche.com  
Free admission.

Further Distractions:

Canada Olympic Park
The Canada Olympic Park harks back to Calgary’s shining moment as the host of the XV Olympic Winter Games in 1988. Visitors are able to practice skiing and snowboarding, or try out luge and bobsleigh rides. The 90m (295ft) ski jump towering over the park is the highest point in Calgary. Fly down North America’s fastest zipline on a 500m (1,640ft) cable from the ski jump tower at speeds up to 140kph (87mph). From May to September, visitors can speed down the ‘Road Rocket’ bobsleigh track at 95kph (60mph) (no experience is required) or take to the 25km (16 miles) of mountain biking trails. Other attractions include the Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum, which offers interactive video displays and bobsleigh and ski jump simulators.

88 Canada Olympic Road SW
Tel: (403) 247 5452.
Website: www.canadaolympicpark.ca  
Admission charge.

Heritage Park
This 22-hectare (66-acre) historical village and theme park feeds visitors’ fascination with the ‘Wild West’ by recreating life in the Canadian West before 1914. This working museum comprises more than 150 restored buildings, each functioning as part of a specific type of community (such as a native village, a fur-trading post or a homestead) with characters in authentic heritage costume. Visitors can also ride aboard a steam locomotive or the SS Moyie, an early sternwheeler. In summer, a free pancake breakfast (0900-1000) is included in the entry fee. Brave wintry weather each December for Twelve Days of Christmas, a recreation of Christmas past. The park is otherwise only open from May to 1 September and weekends in September and October.

1900 Heritage Drive SW
Tel: (403) 268 8500.
Website: www.heritagepark.ca  
Admission charge.

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