Calgary

A weekend of the Peace Bridge, Studio Bell and Heritage Park

Saturday morning. Ride the lift up the Calgary Tower as soon as it opens, when the air is clearest and the Rockies show along the western horizon. Walk east to the Central Library, whose curved timber atrium is worth ten minutes, and on to Studio Bell in East Village for the National Music Centre's organs, synthesizers and guitars.

Saturday afternoon and evening. Pick up the Bow River Pathway and follow it west to Prince's Island Park, cross the red Peace Bridge and stop for coffee in Kensington. Head back over the river for dinner on 17th Avenue SW, where the steakhouses and cocktail bars line up for several blocks.

Sunday. Drive or take a bus out to Heritage Park on the Glenmore Reservoir and give it the whole morning: the steam train, the paddlewheeler and the rebuilt prairie town all run in summer. After lunch, choose between the Calgary Zoo by the Bow, a long walk in Fish Creek Provincial Park, or Inglewood's 9th Avenue for antique shops and a Caesar. During Stampede, swap Sunday for an afternoon at the chuckwagon races and the evening grandstand show.

Ginger beef, Caesars and 17th Avenue steakhouses

Order Alberta beef in Calgary: prime rib or striploin at the steakhouses on 17th Avenue SW and downtown. The city also claims ginger beef, first cooked in a Chinatown restaurant in the 1970s, and the Caesar, vodka with clam and tomato juice, mixed at a Calgary hotel bar in 1969. Beyond those, eat by street.

Beef is the matter of local pride. Alberta cattle ranches supply the city's steakhouses, and a thick prime rib or striploin is the default celebration dinner; the densest choice is on 17th Avenue SW and in the downtown core. Calgary also claims two Canadian classics. Ginger beef, strips of beef fried crisp and tossed in a sweet, sticky ginger sauce, was first cooked in a Chinatown restaurant here in the 1970s and is now on Chinese-Canadian menus across the country. The Caesar, vodka with clam and tomato juice, Worcestershire and a celery-salt rim, was mixed at a Calgary hotel bar in 1969.

Beyond those, eat by street. Chinatown on Centre Street does dim sum and Vietnamese pho, 4th Street SW in Mission has a run of bistros and brunch spots, and Inglewood's 9th Avenue mixes craft breweries with small restaurants. Kensington Road suits a slow coffee and pastry. The Calgary Farmers' Market in the south of the city is the place to stock up on Alberta cheese, bison and Saskatoon berry pies before a mountain road trip. Bernard Callebaut, the Calgary chocolatier, has shops around town if you need gifts.

Day trips to Canmore, Banff and the Drumheller badlands

The Rockies are why most people land in Calgary. Canmore is about an hour west, with cheaper rooms than Banff; Banff is roughly 90 minutes away and needs a Parks Canada pass; Lake Louise is 45 minutes further. Moraine Lake road is closed to private cars, so reserve a shuttle. The Drumheller badlands lie north-east.

The Rockies are why most people land here. Canmore comes first, about an hour west on the Trans-Canada, a former coal town under the Three Sisters peaks with cheaper rooms than Banff. Banff itself is roughly 90 minutes from the city, and a Parks Canada pass is required as soon as you enter the national park. Lake Louise is roughly 45 minutes further on. Moraine Lake road is closed to private cars, so reserve a Parks Canada shuttle or a licensed coach well ahead for summer. One day is enough to see Banff town and the Bow Valley, but the lakes deserve an overnight stay.

Kananaskis Country, south of Canmore, is quieter and has excellent hiking with no national-park pass needed, though Alberta's own conservation pass applies to vehicles. East of the city the scenery flips: the Red Deer River badlands around Drumheller, about 90 minutes northeast, hold the Royal Tyrrell Museum and one of the world's great collections of dinosaur fossils.

Weather matters for all of these. The climate here is dry, with only 10 to 20 mm of precipitation a month in winter, but June is the wettest month at close to 100 mm, often in sudden thunderstorms and hail. Mountain roads can see snow in any month, so check conditions before setting out in spring and autumn.