About Calgary
Looking at the mountains and prairies that provide the backdrop for Calgary, it is hard to imagine that the land under this bustling city of about 1 million inhabitants lay at the bottom of the sea several million years ago. In fact, dinosaurs once roamed the area; in considerably more recent times, the terrain changed drastically during a series of ice ages, the most recent of which was only 10,000 years ago.

The earliest human settlers were North American Indians—generally referred to in Canada as First Nation—including the Blackfoot and Blood tribes. Fur traders followed, but it was the coming of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, immortalized by Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot, that put the city on the map and opened it up as an important junction on a trade route to the Pacific coast.

It is hard to overstate the importance of the oil industry in the rapid expansion of the city in the latter part of the 20th century, spurred by shortages of oil from the Middle East. As a result, construction in Calgary has struggled to keep pace with the influx of new residents. The oil industry notwithstanding, Calgary is known as a green city and, in fact, was named the cleanest city in the world in 2007 by Forbes Magazine.

The abundance of outdoor activities is another draw for visitors and would-be residents. These include the area ski facilities and the nearby Banff National Park, with its hot springs and world-famous scenery. Those attractions became even more prominent at the time of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, during which Calgary hosted the downhill ski events. The city’s most famous tourist attraction is the 10-day Calgary Stampede and Exhibition, held each year in the first full week of July.

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• Test your tolerance for heights at the Calgary Tower glass-floor experience where visitors seem to step into space on a 36-foot glass-enclosed glass platform 525 feet above the ground.

• Venture onto the vast expanse of the Athabasca Glacier via a guided 90-minute Columbia Icefield Glacier Experience tour.

• Fly off Calgary’s Ski Jump Tower at Skyline at the Park, billed as the fastest zip line in North America at speeds of 84 miles an hour.

• Live out your cowboy fantasies along the Rocky Mountain foothills with equipment and guides from any number of the 150-plus suppliers in the Cowboy Trail Tourism Association.

• Tour the Big Rock Brewery and create a six pack of your favorite beers to take home. Note: If you are flying, the beer cannot be part of your carry-on luggage.

• Look years younger after a Botox, Restylane or chemical peel treatment at Sante Spa, or just relax with a pampering massage or manicure.

• See the sights from a helicopter from Springbank Airport, where outings can range from half an hour to a whole day.

• Rent a teepee at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre; the 7,000-year-old area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where you also can see performances of drumming and dancing.

• Spend a day on Bow River fly-fishing and canoeing with Foot & Chain Fly Fishing Exchange; the day includes lunch and storytelling.

• Compete in the Chinook Half Ironman Triathlon in June.

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• Watch the zany Chuckwagon Races during the Calgary Stampede, followed by the Grandstand Show, live music and fireworks.

• Wallow in virtual sports, dinner and a frothy brew at Flames Central, an interactive sports bar dedicated to the Calgary Flames hockey team. Tip: This is fun for men and women, as long as they are sports fans.

• Pick your own fruit at Fieldstone Fruit Wines, where you can also sample fruit wines and stay for a do-it-yourself picnic.

• Climb aboard for an Alberta Prairie Railway Excursion. Look out for staged train robberies and murder mysteries during your journey.

• Tuck into free breakfast (before 10 a.m.) at Heritage Park Historical Village, a 66-acre living-history village of the pre-1914 era.

• Catch a minor league Calgary Vipers baseball game, a team that plays 50 home games per season.

• Brave a Calgary Ghost Tour, a walking tour of so-called haunted sites downtown and in Inglewood.

• Rent a GyPSy Guide, a device that plugs into your car radio and automatically points out some 3,500 places of interest in Calgary and the Rockies as you drive around.

• Take the kids to the 15-acre Lacombe Corn Maze in summer, where slides, a hay mountain and a horse carousel will keep little ones busy all day.

• Try on a Canadian Mounted Police uniform at Fort Calgary, a reconstructed site that depicts life from 1875 to the1940s. Also, see the Deane House Historic Site and Restaurant and the 40-acre riverside park.

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• Join a guided tour into the Rocky Mountains, departing from downtown Calgary daily year-round.

• Get into the Christmas spirit during December at the Airdrie Festival of Lights about 13 miles from Calgary; the event also offers ice skating and train rides.

• It’s all happening at the Calgary Zoo, Botanical Garden & Prehistoric Park, where visitors can see more than 1,000 animals, including a number that are rare or endangered.

• Get to know Calgary’s Chinatown on a customized tour.

• Amuse small fry at the Creative Kids Museum, where interactive art programs are the order of the day.

• Save your appetite for a two-hour dine-around at five Calgary restaurants on Urban Safari Tours, from $75 to $125 per person.

• Laugh while you eat at the Jubilations Dinner Theatre, which combines interactive musical comedy with a four-course dinner, or try dinner and a show at Theatre Junction at the Grand, Western Canada’s oldest theater.

• Take in an exhibition of Calgary’s avant guard art scene at the TRUCK Contemporary Art museum, where artists are sometimes on hand to give a talk.

• Enjoy a performance by the Calgary Opera company at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium or the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.

• Learn about the development of Canada’s aviation and space exploration programs at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary.

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For more information, consult Tourism Calgary at www.tourismcalgary.com and Travel Alberta at www.travelalberta.com

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