In and Around Calgary, Alberta

After a four-month deployment with a Federal disaster relief agency, my wife and I decided a quick vacation would be a great way to reconnect.

It had been more than 15 years since I’d been to Calgary and my wife had never been so we decided it was just the place: interesting in its own right, and close enough for a day trip to Banff and Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies.

Calgary was named after Calgary Castle on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Colonel James Macleod, the Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, returned from the castle after a visit in 1876 and suggested its name for what became Fort Calgary. At the east end of the downtown area at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, it is now part of The Confluence Historic Site and Parkland.

Calgary is home to the (in)famous Calgary Stampede, which happens in early July of each year and features rodeo acts, concerts, alcohol sales starting as early as 6:30 a.m. along the route of the opening day parade, and other assorted forms of debauchery. Not our thing, but we were visiting in late September/early October, so we were spared.

The Calgary Tower

Like most cities of any size, there’s plenty to do in Calgary at virtually any time of year. Much depends on your taste, likes and dislikes, and budget.

There are a number of parks where visitors can walk or bike, including Prince’s Island Park, which is situated in the middle of the Bow River. It features a sculpture garden, picnic areas, a playground for kids, and a handful of restaurants and snack stands that are open seasonally. Prince’s Island Park is just north of the city’s China Town, which is another destination worth exploring.

Another downtown park, Olympic Plaza features several pieces of public art, open spaces, and winter ice skating. A collection of sculptures pays tribute to the Famous Five: a group of five women who successfully challenged the Canadian government’s interpretation that the word “person” was exclusive to males.

Two of the "Famous Five"

That interpretation relied on wording contained in the British North America Act of 1867 which used the word “persons” when referring to more than one, and “he” when referring to one. Many governments used the “persons” argument in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to keep women out of important positions, including the Senate of Canada. A Canadian Supreme Court decision in October 1929 clarified that women were indeed “persons” and October 18 is now celebrated as Persons Day in Canada.

Shopping abounds. There is the pedestrian mall called Stephen Avenue Walk, which starts at the southwest corner of Olympic Plaza and runs along 8 Avenue SE from 1 Street SE to 4 Street SW. The street is known for some of Calgary's finest restaurants, cafés, pubs and bars, along with stores ranging from small specialty shops to a branch of Canada’s major department store, The Bay. The Core shopping center is situated at the west end of the street with its own collection of shops and stores.

If you are truly a hard-core shopaholic, Edmonton and West Edmonton Mall – North America’s largest mall -- is about a three-hour drive north.

We love nice restaurants and discovered a number of them, including the Calcutta Cricket Club and its excellent Indian food. Read our review here.

Big breakfast fans, we were delighted to discover OEB Breakfast Company. With several locations around western Canada, the one within walking distance of our hotel was situated in an office building and did a land office business!

The Laks: Generous enough for two!

On our first visit, we split a traditional Eggs Benedict, which proved generous enough to share. Our next visit, we shared The Laks: cold-smoked salmon, green onions, fried capers, and fresh dill. Both were delicious and came out quickly. And the coffee was excellent as well.

The architecture in downtown Calgary ranges from Renaissance-revival buildings like the Fairmont Palliser to more modern and indeed avant-garde designs.

Telus Sky, a mixed-use office and residential tower

Among the notable features of downtown Calgary is a network of 86 covered walkways that connect about 130 buildings, enabling people to walk a significant distance without having to go outside. Called “Plus 15” because of the walkways’ height 15 feet above the ground, it is the world's most extensive pedestrian skywalk system with a total length of 16 kilometers. This network is most heavily used during the cold winter months.

During my first visit to Calgary, several colleagues and I took a day to drive to Lake Louise where we had a cocktail at the lounge at the Fairmont Château Lake Louise, which overlooks the turquoise-colored lake, then made our way to the Fairmont Banff Springs where we compared and contrasted cocktails. After that, we went into town and found a fondue restaurant where we had a pleasant dinner.

How things have changed!

This visit, we drove to Lake Louise amid mixed snow and rain showers … and crowds so large all the shuttles at the lake were sold out for the day well before the lunch hour. Only those with confirmed reservations at the Fairmont could park in the hotel’s lot; the rest had to use the public parking lot, then negotiate several hundred meters of pathway rapidly being covered in snow and slush. We hadn’t anticipated the weather and lacked appropriate footwear, so we never even got to see the lake.

Soldiering on despite my disappointment, we headed to Banff in the hope of showing my wife this charming little town.

Salad Niçoise

Although we’d left the snow and slush behind, the traffic heading into the main area made it clear that this, too, would be A FIGHT. Instead of wading directly in, we drove to the Fairmont Banff Springs and enjoyed a lovely lunch overlooking a portion of their nearby golf course.

Golf course nestled among the Canadian Rockies

Heading back into Banff, we found it practically overrun with people, despite it being a rather cool Tuesday in October and well past the peak of the tourist season. Rather than deal with the hassle of finding a place to park then wending our way along crowded sidewalks, we found the intersection of Moose and Squirrel (if you're old enough to remember Rocky & Bullwinkle), took the obligatory shot to show we’d really been there, then returned to Calgary.



Sharing our story about our less-than-successful quests, our restaurant server recommended Canmore, a small town a bit closer to Calgary and outside Banff National Park. Its location means one can visit without paying the national park admission fee and still enjoy a charming small town nestled in the stunning Canadian Rockies.

We went the next day.

Strolling around Canmore, we browsed several shops and stores, found the maple candies in the shape of maple leaves that my wife was determined to buy for the grandchildren, and had a very nice lunch in a small Korean restaurant. There were bars, restaurants and smaller diners offering a variety of different foods with something for everyone.

Downtown Canmore's pedestrian-only district

On our last day in town, we visited the Calgary Farmer’s Market West and wandered among a range of stalls offering everything from handmade clothing to organic grass-fed beef to cheeses, sausages and more. Several restaurants offered casual fare for their lunchtime offerings, and some even sold beer and wine to enjoy with lunch. Our visit resulted in our usual comment to each other: if we lived here, we’d be regular customers.

Heading back into town, we passed Canada Olympic Park, a ski hill and multi-purpose training and competition facility. It is currently used both for high performance athletic training and for recreational purposes by the general public. Canada Olympic Park played a prominent role in the 1988 Winter Olympics, as it was the primary venue for ski jumping, bobsleigh, and luge. The park is located in western Calgary, south of the Trans-Canada Highway.

A word of warning: The city of Calgary takes a very hard line with exceeding the speed limit. About three weeks after returning to the U.S., I was advised that one of Calgary's many traffic cameras had me doing 94 kph in an 80 kph zone. That's the equivalent of doing 58 mph in a 50 mph zone. Considering the mild weather, excellent road conditions and moderate traffic on a broad, divided highway, no officer I know would write someone up for that. However, Calgary's traffic cameras aren't programmed to listen to excuses or show any mercy. Drive extra-carefully!

There’s a lot to see and do in Calgary. Decide what interests you and go for it!

Visit my main page at TheTravelPro.us for more news, reviews, and personal observations on the world of upmarket travel.

Photos by Carl Dombek
Click on photos to view larger images

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