For years, I flew into Calgary International, rented a car, and drove straight to Banff. Every single time. It wasn’t until a girls’ trip a few years ago that my friend and I finally stopped, looked around, and realized we’d been completely skipping one of Canada‘s most interesting cities.
Calgary has plenty of neighborhoods worth wandering, a public art scene that catches you off guard, cocktail bars running intimate classes, and ice cream lines that are absolutely worth the wait. It’s about 90 minutes from Banff National Park, making it a natural start or end point for a Rocky Mountain trip. But it holds up on its own.
Give it two days before you head into the mountains and you won’t regret it.
Getting to Calgary
Calgary International has nonstop service from Seattle, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Most U.S. travelers will have to connect, so use GOING to track deals before they disappear.
The free version is useful; the paid subscription is where the actual steals live. (We booked an Ireland round-trip from LAX for under $500 each through it.)
You will need a passport unless you are a Canadian citizen. You’ll also be using Canadian dollars. You can exchange at the airport or hit an ATM when you land.
Where to Stay
Calgary has solid options at most price points. A few worth knowing:
- The Fairmont Palliser: Calgary’s grand historic hotel, opened in 1914. Fairmont service is consistently good.
- Residence Inn by Marriott Calgary Downtown/Beltline District . Good if you want extra space or a kitchen.
- Hotel Arts . Boutique, eco-certified, has a pool, allows pets.
- Westmount River Inn . Reliable value, free Wi-Fi and parking.
See all Calgary hotels on Expedia
If you’re visiting during the Calgary Stampede in July, book rooms months in advance. Hotels fill up fast and rates spike.
Getting Around
A rental car gives you the most flexibility, especially for any day trips to Banff or the Badlands. I compare rates on DiscoverCars.com.
Within the city, Calgary has one of the longest urban pathway systems in North America (60 miles of car-free paths), so renting bikes for a day is one of the better ways to move between neighborhoods if the weather is good.
What’s the Weather Like
Calgary summers are lovely with low humidity, highs in the 80s, and daylight until well past 10 p.m. Every restaurant patio fills up by late afternoon and stays packed until at least sunset.
Winter is colder than most U.S. cities, but drier than you’d expect. Temperatures drop into the 20s during the day and lower at night, but it’s not that wet, bone-chilling cold.
You’re also a short drive from some of the best skiing in Canada, as SkiBig3 at Banff, Lake Louise, and Nakiska are all within reach.
Neighborhoods Worth Your Time
Calgary has at least a dozen distinct neighborhoods. You won’t see all of them, but these are the ones that I’d prioritize.
Historic Inglewood
This is where I’d tell any first-timer to start. Inglewood is Calgary’s oldest neighborhood, established in 1875 at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers. It’s essentially where the city began. Today, it’s a walkable stretch of independent shops, good coffee, bike paths, and one of the better bird sanctuaries I’ve been to.
Smithbilt Hats is worth a stop if you’re even remotely in the market for a Western hat. They’ve made them for Queen Elizabeth II and the Dalai Lama, an unusual combination that tells you everything you need to know about their range.
Silk Road Spice Merchant is where to load up on interesting bitters and spice blends for your cooking, or in my case, cocktail making.
Plant people will want to pop into PLANT, which carries tropical varieties you won’t find at a standard garden center. HOWEVER, unless you are from Canada, you can not carry these plants across borders into other countries, so maybe look but don’t buy.
If you’re there for the Calgary Stampede in July, Cody and Sioux and The Livery Shop are the places to find modern Western wear that doesn’t look like a costume.
Oh, but don’t buy cowboy boots the day you arrive for the Stampede. I did this and my ankles bled so bad I had to wear flip flops the rest of the trip.
One note: many Inglewood shops are closed on Mondays.
17th Avenue
This is Calgary’s main strip for eating, shopping, and lingering. Analog Coffee is where I’d want to spend the afternoon. The cappuccino is excellent, the beans aren’t bitter, and it feels like a neighborhood regular spot rather than a hangout for hipsters.
If you’d rather have somewhere to work, Philosafy down the street is good for that.
For dinner, UNA Pizza + Wine on 17th Ave is the spot locals have strong opinions about, and after eating there, I understand why. California-style thin crust, a wine list that was thought through, an atmosphere that feels like someone’s living room if someone’s living room were also cool.
Just remember to make a reservation, or you might not get a table.
After dinner, the line at Made by Marcus for ice cream is almost always long, but it moves fast. I got the Lemon Curd Wild Blueberry in a waffle cone, which was amazing, but I did debate getting back in line to sample other flavors.
They have several locations now, so check madebymarcus.ca for current seasonal flavors.
For shopping: Steeling Home does Alberta-inspired gifts well. For vintage and consignment, Thrift Culture, Used House of Vintage, and Velour Clothing Exchange are all worth popping into for a browse.
East Village
Start your morning at the Simmons Building, a converted corset factory on the river that’s now home to Phil & Sebastian Coffee and Sidewalk Citizen Bakery. Get your latte from Phil & Sebastian, then walk to Sidewalk Citizen for something to eat.
Their menu skews Israeli-influenced, featuring brioche breakfast sandwiches, sourdough toasts, and grilled cheese on in-house-baked bread. The strawberry cardamom scone, when available, is worth a separate trip.
From there, you have a very good art walk ahead of you. Calgary’s public art program puts work directly in streets, parks, and public spaces, not in galleries. The river pathways have nine mixed-media murals (last I checked), and even the dog park has painted timber agility equipment.
Do not miss seeing “Wonderland,” a massive bent-wire portrait of a girl’s head by Barcelona-based sculptor Jaume Plensa, outside the Bow Building downtown. You can walk inside it. (Don’t climb it.)
Plensa also created the Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park, so if you’ve seen that, you already know the scale he works at.
Beltline
The Beltline is more contemporary, and happily, more cocktail-forward. This is where Shelter lives (more on that below) and where you’ll find the Chinook Arc, an interactive public art installation you can control from your phone. It’s got good art galleries, good food, and decent energy at night.
Kensington
Kensington is small but worth a wander. Just across the Bow River, it has good coffee and a metal sculpture called Dale the Origami Horse at 10th Street NW and Memorial Drive. You can pedal him like a bike to charge your phone. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s pretty fun.
The Calgary Central Library
I know putting a library on a girls’ trip list sounds like a joke, but the Calgary Central Library, which opened in 2018, is one of the most architecturally interesting buildings I’ve been inside.
The design by Snøhetta DIALOG used interwoven timber slats and a crystalline exterior to mimic a chinook arch, the warm, dry wind that rolls down from the Rockies and is specific to this part of Alberta.
Light pours in everywhere.
Inside, you’ll find 450,000 books, a café, a performance hall, and a teen-only zone with a recording studio that parents cannot enter. It also connects downtown to the East Village, making it a useful midpoint on any walking route.
Walk through even if you’re not a library person. It takes 20 minutes, and it’s worth the detour.
The Peace Bridge
Installed in 2012, the Peace Bridge was immediately controversial. Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava designed it, and Calgarians wanted to know why local designers weren’t hired.
Then it turned out the bridge was too short to span the Bow River, so local engineers had to design the white pieces at each end to connect it.
Despite all of that, it became one of the city’s most photographed spots, especially lit up at night.
Biking the Bow River Pathway
Calgary has 60 miles of urban car-free paths. The stretch along the Bow River is the best of it, and biking from East Village to Inglewood is faster than driving and way more pleasant.
Rent bikes for the day (your hotel front desk can point you to the nearest option) and head east from the Simmons Building.
Along the way, stop at Harvie Passage in Pearce Estate Park to watch kayakers work the rapids. You’ll find Class 3 on the left side, and Class 2 on the right. Even when no one’s paddling, it’s a good spot to stop for a few photos.
Look for the River Passage art installation by Lorna Jordan, right next to Harvie Passage. It’s a natural stopping point.
The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre is at the far end of the ride. It’s protected migratory birds for more than 80 years. Park your bike outside and walk the paths to stretch your legs in a different way.
More than 270 species of birds have been recorded here, along with 21 species of mammals. It’s a quieter, slower excursion, and a good counterweight to the rest of the day.
Shelter: Go to the Cocktail Class
Shelter is in the Beltline, designed to look like a stylish fallout shelter. You’ll find gas masks on the walls, deep-purple velvet couches, and over a thousand ceiling lightbulbs. This sounds like too much, and it probably would be in lesser hands, but it works with the cocktail bar vibe and the people who work there.
The Shelter cocktail class was one of the best things I did on this trip, and I do a lot of cocktail things in Calgary.
Classes run about 90 minutes and cover real bartender techniques, such as muddling, when to stir versus shake, how to smoke, glassware, and the history behind what you’re drinking.
The class I attended moved through a classic French 75, a smoked Old Fashioned, and a Northern Lights made with Victoria Gin, a Canadian gin that changes color as you add ingredients. The class ended with something called Blood in the Water, a pink drink with drops of olive oil on top. It was so, so good!
Classes typically include three cocktails, bar snacks on request, and a cocktail contest at the end. Public and private classes are available, usually at least once a month.
Shelter | 1210 1 St SW, Calgary | shelteryyc.com
If you can’t get into a class, the bar itself is worth a drink. Other Calgary cocktail bars to know: Proof, The Tea House, Milk Tiger, YARDARM, and Betty Lou’s Library (a speakeasy).
Browse cocktail and food experiences in Calgary on Viator
Mani/Pedis with Wine, Because Obviously
After that much walking and biking on your Calgary girls’ trip, yes, your feet deserve attention. Calgary has a handful of nail salons that pair wine with the service, mostly along 17th Ave.
Walk-ins are possible, but call ahead if you can. MetroPolish17 and ESMÉBeauty Boutique are both worth checking.
Summer in Calgary
Summer in Calgary means long days, packed patios, and a city that leans hard into the season.
Calgary Stampede
The Stampede is probably the best-known and most attended summer event. Ten days of rodeo, concerts, First Nations exhibitions, chuckwagon racing, and food that escalates annually in ambition and audacity (I had a dill pickle pizza last time I attended).
The vendors add new items every year, and the menu really is three pages long, including pickle ice cream, fried Twizzlers, bacon-wrapped onion rings, and baby octopus on a stick. Wear something with an elastic waist so you can sample it all.
Book Stampede tours and experiences on Viator
Floating the Bow River with Paddle Station
On a hot afternoon, Paddle Station runs guided raft tours down the Bow River, a glacier-fed river with no paddling required.
You float past the Peace Bridge, by Prince’s Island Park, and through the city for about 90 minutes. Guides point out the river surfers enjoying the standing wave at the 10th Street Bridge. If you are very, very lucky, you may even spot a beaver.
Solo rafts and kayaks are also available if you want to do it without a guide. One warning from personal experience: tandem kayaks are divorce boats. Get separate kayaks.
Prince’s Island Park
For a slower afternoon, locals typically head here to decompress. Brunch or lunch at River Café on the island is worth sitting down for.
The patio opens when it’s warm, and Alberta Canola oil crackers will come with your cheese board. If you have never had them, you will want to give them a taste. Canola oil is big in Alberta and one of their top agricultural products.
From late June through mid-August, Shakespeare by the Bow puts on free outdoor performances six days a week on the grass in the park. Pay what you can afford; the proceeds support emerging theater artists.
Concessions are located at the top of the hill.
More Summer Options
- Calgary Zoo (Wilder Institute): Conservation-focused, with Africa, Asia, and Wild Canada exhibits, including endangered species like the Malayan tapir
- National Music Centre (Studio Bell): 160,000 square feet of music history in East Village, including the Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Studio
- Heritage Park Historical Village: One of Canada’s largest living history museums
- Whitewater rafting on the Kananaskis River: More intense than the city float; good for people who actually want a workout on the water
- Calgary Tower: Observation deck with a glass floor and 360-degree views of the city and the Rockies
Winter in Calgary
Calgary gets overlooked as a winter destination, but it shouldn’t. You’re 90 minutes from some of the best skiing in Canada, and the city itself is more fun in winter than most people expect.
- Skiing and snowboarding: Banff, Lake Louise, and Nakiska are all day-trip distance
- Zoolights at the Calgary Zoo: Worth it if you’re visiting around the holidays
- Winterpalooza at Canada Olympic Park: The 1988 Olympic site still runs winter activities
- Calgary Flames NHL game: Canadians take hockey very seriously. Do not show up in Oilers gear.
- Ice skating at Olympic Plaza or Bowness Park Lagoon
- Johnston Canyon Ice Walk: One of the most scenic winter hikes in the region, just outside the city in Banff National Park
- Christmas markets for shopping and seasonal food
Browse guided day tours from Calgary on Viator
Day Trips from Calgary
Calgary is a really easy base for day trips:
- Banff National Park: About 90 minutes away; don’t skip it
- Jasper National Park: About 4 hours north and the best place in Alberta for Northern Lights (it’s a designated Dark Sky Preserve). It is a LONG day though, so I’d do at least an overnight here.
- Drumheller and the Badlands: About 90 minutes east, with hoodoos, Horseshoe Canyon, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum, which has one of the best dinosaur fossil collections in the world
- Edmonton: About 3 hours north, Alberta’s capital, and a completely different city
Quick Reference to Travel in Canada
- Currency: Canadian Dollar (CAD)
- Legal drinking age in Alberta: 18
- Tap water: Safe, filtered, and genuinely good
- Calgary to Banff: About 80 miles / 130 km
- Tipping: 15-20% is standard in restaurants
- Airport to downtown: Taxi, rideshare, or Calgary Transit Route 300 bus
Get Photos You’ll Actually Like
If you want real photos from the trip rather than phone shots, Flytographer pairs you with a local photographer. Calgary has good spots for it: the Peace Bridge, the riverfront, Inglewood. Save $20 with that link.
Before You Go
For the logistics side of trip planning, my vacation planner checklist and road trip planning guide are helpful starting points. If you’re crossing time zones, the jet lag guide is worth a read.
Calgary kept surprising us. You go in thinking you know what kind of city it is (an oil town, a hockey city, a gateway to Banff) and then you spend 48 hours actually there and realize none of those labels cover it. It’s worth your time on its own terms.
