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Fairmont Palliser, Calgary

Things to do guide

The best things to do in Calgary

Updated 7 October 2026 · 16 things to do

Pictured: Fairmont Palliser

Calgary is where the prairies run out and the Rockies begin. From the top of its glass towers you can see both: wheat-coloured plains rolling east, and a jagged white line of mountains to the west. It is a young, confident, sunny city built on cattle and oil, where bankers wear cowboy boots without irony for ten days every July.

Most visitors treat it as the gateway to Banff, and it is a very good one. But give the city a day or two first. There are riverside paths to cycle, a brilliant museum of Canadian music, neighbourhoods full of good coffee and craft beer, and steak that will ruin you for the stuff at home. Then point the car at the mountains.

Don't miss

  1. 1Calgary Tower
  2. 2The Calgary Stampede
  3. 3Heritage Park Historical Village
  4. 4Studio Bell
  5. 5Banff National Park

The big sights

Downtown landmarks and the event that defines the city.

  1. Calgary Tower

    Landmark

    The Calgary Tower
    Photo: User:Thivierr, cropped by Qyd (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0

    The red-topped concrete tower has been the city's emblem since the 1960s. Newer skyscrapers now stand taller, but the observation deck still gives the view that explains Calgary: downtown at your feet, prairie one way, the Rockies lined up along the horizon the other. A section of glass floor lets you stand directly over the street far below, if your knees allow.

    Tip: Pick a clear day, or the mountains will not show. Late afternoon gives the best light on the peaks.

  2. The Calgary Stampede

    Activity

    The Calgary Stampede midway with downtown and the Calgary Tower behind
    Photo: Resolute, CC BY-SA 3.0

    For ten days each July the city turns itself into a celebration of the Canadian West. It begins with a huge parade through downtown and carries on at Stampede Park with a funfair, concerts, agricultural shows and fireworks, while the rest of town puts on free pancake breakfasts and country music. Everyone dresses the part.

    It is by far Calgary's busiest time, so if you want to be here for it, plan well ahead.

    Tip: Hotels fill up months in advance for Stampede. Book early.

  3. Stephen Avenue

    Neighbourhood

    Stephen Avenue in downtown Calgary
    Photo: RG Anderson, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Downtown's main street is a pedestrian stretch of 8th Avenue lined with handsome sandstone buildings from the city's early boom years. They now hold restaurants, pubs and shops, and on summer evenings the pavement tables are packed with office workers. It is the natural place to start a walk round the centre, with the Calgary Tower a couple of blocks away.

  4. The Peace Bridge and Prince’s Island Park

    Nature

    The red Peace Bridge over the Bow River in Calgary
    Photo: DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The Bow River curls round the northern edge of downtown, and its banks are the city's playground. Prince's Island Park is a leafy island of lawns and paths just off the shore, and a short walk west is the Peace Bridge, a bright red tubular footbridge designed by Santiago Calatrava that has become one of Calgary's favourite photographs.

    Hire a bike and follow the river pathway in either direction. It goes on for miles.

Museums and family days out

  1. Heritage Park Historical Village

    Museum

    The main street at Heritage Park in Calgary
    Photo: Thank you for visiting my page, CC BY 2.0

    One of the largest living-history museums in Canada, set beside the Glenmore Reservoir in the south of the city. It recreates the life of the Canadian West from the fur trade to the early twentieth century with real historic buildings, costumed staff, a working steam train, an old-fashioned funfair and a paddle steamer on the lake.

    It easily fills a day and is ideal for families, with plenty for adults who like vintage cars and old shopfronts too.

  2. Studio Bell

    Museum

    Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre in Calgary
    Photo: Craig Talbert, CC BY 2.0

    The home of the National Music Centre is one of the most striking buildings in the country, a set of curving towers clad in glazed tiles in the East Village. Inside are five floors on the story of music in Canada, with a great collection of instruments, from vintage synthesisers to a famous mobile recording studio, and lots to play with yourself.

  3. Calgary Zoo

    Wildlife

    The zoo occupies an island in the Bow River just east of downtown, with its own stop on the light rail. It is particularly strong on the animals of Canada's wild places, such as bears, wolves and bison, and has botanical gardens and a park of life-sized dinosaur models as well. A reliable day out for families with younger children.

  4. WinSport Canada Olympic Park

    Activity

    Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988, and you pass the ski jumps on the western edge of town on the way to the mountains. The park is still a training base and a public playground: skiing and snowboarding in winter, and mountain biking and other activities in summer. Fans of the film Cool Runnings will want to see where the story happened.

Neighbourhoods to wander

  1. Inglewood

    Neighbourhood

    Looking down on 9th Avenue in Inglewood, Calgary
    Photo: Greenwood714, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Calgary's oldest neighbourhood lies just east of downtown, across the Elbow River. Its main street is a run of brick buildings filled with antique shops, record stores, independent boutiques, live music venues and several of the city's best craft breweries. It is the place for an unhurried afternoon of browsing followed by a pint.

  2. Kensington

    Neighbourhood

    A street in Kensington, Calgary
    Photo: Thank you for visiting my page from Canada, CC BY 2.0

    Across the Bow from downtown, Kensington has the feel of a village: a couple of streets of bookshops, cafés, bakeries, pubs and small restaurants, popular with students and young families. Walk over from the centre on the Peace Bridge, stop for coffee, and wander back along the river.

  3. 17th Avenue

    Nightlife

    The Beltline's main drag is where Calgary goes out. Block after block of restaurants, bars, patios and shops run west from near Stampede Park, and on a warm evening the whole street hums. When the local ice hockey team is doing well it earns its nickname, the Red Mile, as fans in red jerseys take over.

Eat and drink

  1. Alberta beef

    Food

    This is cattle country, and Calgarians take their beef seriously. Alberta beef is known across Canada for its quality, and the city has steakhouses to suit every mood, from clubby old-school dining rooms to modern grills. Order a rib-eye, keep the sides simple and you will understand what the fuss is about.

  2. The Caesar

    Food

    A Caesar cocktail with a celery stick and a celery salt rim
    Photo: AirIntake at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Canada's national cocktail was invented in Calgary in 1969. It looks like a Bloody Mary, but it is made with a clam and tomato juice, which sounds alarming and tastes wonderful: savoury, spicy and salty-rimmed. Bars compete over the garnish, which can be anything from a celery stick to something approaching a full lunch. Have one at brunch.

Day trips

  1. Banff National Park

    Day trip

    The turquoise Moraine Lake in Banff National Park
    Photo: Tobias Alt, Tobi 87, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The reason many people fly to Calgary. Drive west for about an hour and a half and you are among the peaks of the Canadian Rockies, in the country's oldest national park. Banff town has the shops, restaurants and hot springs; beyond it lie the turquoise waters of Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.

    You can see a good deal in a long day, but the mountains deserve longer if you can spare it.

    Tip: Parking at Lake Louise and access to Moraine Lake are tightly managed in summer. Check the shuttle arrangements before you set off.

  2. Drumheller and the Royal Tyrrell Museum

    Day trip

    A Camarasaurus skull on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller
    Photo: Chris Woodrich, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Head north-east instead and the prairie suddenly falls away into the Alberta Badlands, a moonscape of striped hills, gullies and mushroom-shaped rock pillars called hoodoos. This is one of the great dinosaur fossil regions of the world, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum at Drumheller displays the finds magnificently.

    Dinosaur-mad children will talk about it for years. So will their parents.

  3. Kananaskis Country

    Day trip

    Mountains in Kananaskis Country
    Photo: Kiwibirdman, CC BY 3.0

    The locals' answer to Banff. Kananaskis is a huge area of mountain parks in the front ranges of the Rockies, closer to the city and noticeably quieter than its famous neighbour. There are trails for every ability, lakes, picnic spots and a good chance of seeing wildlife. The small mountain town of Canmore, nearby, is a pleasant place to end the day.

Where to stay in Calgary

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Calgary →

Getting around

Downtown is walkable, and in winter you can cross much of it indoors using the Plus 15 network of enclosed walkways above the streets. The CTrain light rail links the centre with the zoo, Stampede Park and the suburbs. For Banff, Drumheller and Kananaskis, hire a car or join a tour.

When to go

Summer is warm, bright and the busiest season, with the Stampede in July. Winters are cold and snowy, though warm chinook winds off the mountains can melt the snow for days at a time. Calgary is one of the sunniest cities in Canada whatever the month.

Questions about visiting Calgary

What is Calgary best known for?
The Calgary Stampede each July, its cowboy heritage, the 1988 Winter Olympics, and its position as the gateway to Banff and the Canadian Rockies.
Is Calgary worth visiting?
Yes. It is more than a place to land on the way to the mountains: there are good museums, riverside parks, lively neighbourhoods and excellent food. A day or two here fits neatly on to either end of a Rockies trip.
What is there to do in Calgary with kids?
Heritage Park Historical Village, the Calgary Zoo, the hands-on music exhibits at Studio Bell and a day trip to the dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.
How many days do you need in Calgary?
Two days covers the main city sights comfortably. Add at least another day for Banff, and one more if you want to visit Drumheller.
How far is Banff from Calgary?
Banff is roughly an hour and a half west of Calgary by car along the Trans-Canada Highway, which makes it possible as a day trip, though many visitors stay longer.

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