Choose from 7 Fun Things to Do in Calgary
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Heritage Park
Heritage Park in Calgary, Alberta, is an open-air historical and learning museum that gives visitors the chance to experience what life was like on the Canadian Prairies from 1860 to 1950. Costumed interpreters and many hands-on, interactive exhibits help you go deeper into your fun-filled encounter with the living past.
The Basics
Canada's largest living history museum is divided into several sections, with something to interest pretty much every visitor of every age. If you are there in summer, you won't want to miss a ride on the midway rides, the steam train, or the wagons that criss-cross the park. The Historic Village houses many restored and original buildings. Gasoline Alley, open year-round, is where you'll find vehicles from the golden age of the automobile.
If you plan to visit several times in a year, an annual pass is a great value.
Things to Know Before You Go
- Heritage Park is perfect for families and history buffs who enjoy an immersive experience.
- The park operates in all weather, so dress appropriately.
- There are various on-site eateries, including restaurants, cafes, a bakery, an ice cream parlor, and other concessions.
- Gasoline Alley and the Heritage Square shops and restaurants are accessible to wheelchair users, yet the buildings in the Historic Village mainly are not.
How to Get There
Heritage Park is located southwest of downtown Calgary beside the Glenmore Reservoir. Most visitors drive; there is paid parking in the on-site lot. You can also take the route 502 bus between the Heritage C-Train station and Heritage Park, or a taxi or rideshare.
When to Get There
Heritage Park hours vary seasonally. From Victoria Day (first Monday preceding May 25) until Labor Day (first Monday of September), all areas of the park are open. After Labor Day until Canadian Thanksgiving (second Monday of October), the Historical Village is open only on Saturdays and Sundays; it closes for the season after the Thanksgiving weekend. Gasoline Alley and the Heritage Square shops and eateries are open daily throughout the year.
Heritage Park Ghost Tours
Rumors of things that go bump in the night have long haunted Heritage Park. In the fall, ghost tours (all ages or adults only) give visitors a chilling experience of the spirits who may or may not inhabit the park. Prior to Halloween, the ghosts and goblins come to play for more hauntingly good times at several special events.
Address: 1900 Heritage Dr SW, Calgary, AB, Canada
Admission: Varies
From $ 9
Heritage Park Historical Village
Heritage Park is a historical village in Calgary that showcases the history of Western Canada from 1860 to 1950. It is Canada's largest living museum, divided into four areas that each represent a different period of time.
Some of the area historic buildings still stand, while others have been brought in and restored. Traditional schools, homes, and saloons of the past give a sense of what life was like in each era. The park's staff stands dressed in period costume, while horse and carriage or vintage automobiles roam the streets.
Other historic working artifacts of make history come to life. Interactive areas demonstrate the evolution of Canada's industries, including fur trading, the Prairie Railroad, and the era of the automobile. Available activities include riding an authentic steam train or making your own old-fashioned ice cream. Visitors experience the history of Canada as it comes to life in nearly 200 available exhibits.
Practical Info
Heritage Park is located on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir, just southwest of the city of Calgary. It is open daily from 9 am to 4:30 pm. Entrance fees range from $10.25-$25.25 for general admission, depending on the season.
Address: 1900 Heritage Drive SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Canada
Hours: Open daily 9am-4:30pm
Admission: Starts at $10.25
From $ 9
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Much more than a static collection of sports memorabilia, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame honors the country's most remarkable athletes with an electric 40,000 square foot space that echoes with the roar of fans. Tucked into one of the buildings that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, interactive exhibits educate visitors about the rules and challenges of more obscure sports and offer the chance to throw pitches for clocked speed, shadow box with Lennox Lewis, attempt a wheelchair race or balance on skis on a virtual downhill slope.
There are sections dedicated to swimming and rowing, car racing, golfing and, of course, hockey, spread throughout 12 galleries. Over 1,000 culturally significant sports artifacts"”including the shoe that amputee Terry Fox wore at the start of his epic cross-country cancer awareness run"”are also on display. Each year new Hall of Fame honorees are inducted at a prestigious ceremony and featured, along with details of the more than 600 current members, in the Locker Room Gallery.
Practical Info
The center is located at 169 Canada Olympic Rd. S.W. in Calgary. It is open from 10am-5pm daily in July and August and from Tuesday through Sunday the rest of the year. Admission is $12 for adults and $8 for kids age 4-18, with discounts for seniors and groups.
Address: 169 Canada Olympic Rd. S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hours: July-August 10am-5pm daily; Tues-Sun the rest of the year
Admission: Adults: $12; Children: $8
From $ 10
Calgary Zoo
Possibly the city’s most popular attraction, Calgary Zoo has been caring for animals and animal lovers since 1929. Canada’s second largest zoo is home to animals from all over the world, from Asian elephants to African giraffes and Australian kangaroos.
Divided into geographical regions, the zoo’s highlights include the elephant encounter, Canadian wilds and Eurasia. For something different, Safari Brunch is served in Destination Africa.
The zoo is surrounded by lush botanical gardens featuring rainforest, arid gardens and a butterfly enclosure. Prehistoric Park is a favorite with kids, home to life-size dinosaurs and fossil displays.
Divided into geographical regions, the zoo’s highlights include the elephant encounter, Canadian wilds and Eurasia. For something different, Safari Brunch is served in Destination Africa.
The zoo is surrounded by lush botanical gardens featuring rainforest, arid gardens and a butterfly enclosure. Prehistoric Park is a favorite with kids, home to life-size dinosaurs and fossil displays.
Practical Info
Calgary Zoo is east of downtown on St George’s Island and the eastern bank of the Bow River. Buses run here or you can catch the C-Train to the Zoo stop.
The Canadian Wilds and Prehistoric Park are on the eastern bank of the river, linked to the other exhibits by bridges.
Address: 1,300 Zoo Road NE, Calgary AB T2E 7V6, Canada
Hours: Open daily 9am - 5pm, closed Christmas Day
Admission: CA$19
From $ 16
Calgary Stampede
Billing itself as the greatest outdoor show on earth, you can expect something special at the Calgary Stampede. And with everything you've come to love about rodeos, state fairs, grandstands, concerts and carousels, something special is what you get. Every year since 1923, this ten day event annually attracts more than a million people who come to see what happens when you offer the biggest payouts to rodeo contestants and marry it with chuckwagon races, blacksmithing competitions, midway, markets, dancing, singing, and a heavy native people's participation. It's an event of grand scale that kicks off with an opening parade featuring dozens of marching bands, over 150 floats, clowns, dancers, politicians and business leaders. It's extravagant, beautiful, dusty, and it smells like funnel cake and horses "“ in short, it's the defining event of Calgary, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
Practical Info:
The Calgary Stampede takes place around the second week in July at 1410 Olympic Way SE, Calgary, AB T2G 2W1, Canada.
Address: 1410 Olympic Way SE, Calgary AB T2G 2W1, Canada
Admission: General: $16; Children and Seniors: $8
From $ 33
Fort Calgary Historic Park
Visit the spot where Calgary was born at Fort Calgary, and explore the city’s formative years from 1875 to 1914. A wooden fort was built here by the North West Mounted Police in 1875, and today, the legacy of those times is re-created with interactive exhibits, replica barracks, guided tours and an interpretive center.
Dine in the former home of a Canadian Mountie, try on an authentic Mountie uniform and explore the fort’s extensive riverside grounds surrounding the meeting point of the Elbow and Bow rivers.
Practical Info
Fort Calgary takes up 40 acres (16 hectares) on the eastern stretch of central Calgary. It's about a 15-minute walk from downtown.
Address: 750 9th Avenue, Calgary AB T2G 5E1, Canada
Hours: Daily 9am–5pm. Closed Easter, Christmas and New Year
Admission: CA$5–CA$11
From $ 65
Calgary Tower
Calgary Tower is a city landmark, teetering over the city’s downtown skyscrapers since 1968.
Atop the tower’s shaft you’ll find ‘the pod’, home to an observation deck and revolving restaurant. From here you have stunning views over the city, all the way to the snow-capped mountains fringing the horizon.
Peer through the binoculars on the observation deck, walk out on the glass floor rimming the edge of the observation deck if you dare, and dine in the revolving restaurant, Sky 360.
During special events, the Winter Olympics cauldron on the tower’s summit is lit, re-creating the Games magic.
Practical Info
Calgary Tower is in the center of Calgary’s downtown, opposite Centre Street. On foot, you can access the tower in the eastern section of the city’s Plus 15 walkway network.
Address: 101-9th Avenue SW, Calgary AB T2P 1J9, Canada
Hours: Open June to August, 9am - 10pm and September - May, 9am - 9pm, closed Christmas Day
Admission: CA$14
From $ 54