Bgale

In Sept. I'm flying into Calgary and will pick up a tour that will take me out to the icefield, Banff, Jasper, etc. I've never been to Calgary and wondered if I should stay an extra day or 2 before flying back to the East Coast. I did a little research and found out about the Calgary Tower which sounds like something I would want to do. Also found reference to a walking tour and a walking-food tour that sound interesting. Any suggestions on must see/do things in Calgary would be appreciated.

Worldnomad

If you are rentinting a car and are interested in dinosours, I recommend the Drumheller Dinosour museum. It is a bit of a drive but quite scenic. http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/

AndrewDavid

ditto on drumheller, my favourite spot on a drive i did a few years ago from victoria to toronto.

the calgary zoo is quite nice also
cheers
AndrewDavid

kajtek

+1 on Royal Tyrell Museum and +1 on Calgary Zoo.
That's about it though. If your interested in doing some walks you might enjoy doing it along the Bow River, and hit a few small parks along the way.
Don't bother with the tower. You'd notice the taller buildings around it are actually trying to hide it just kidding. It's an experience too of course.

Bgale

Thanks for the comments/suggetions. I will not have a car and will only have 1 day. The hotel for the tour package is near the airport so I plan to use the Airport/City Centre bus I found via the airports website. Since I only have the one day I plan to do the Tower (because I love tall buildings that let you see forever!), maybe walk over to Stephen Ave area for lunch, maybe go to the Chinese Culture Center to see the Temple of Heaven, maybe take in an exhibit or two at Glenbow Museum. You will note I have lots of "maybes" because how much I do all depends on how tired I am from travelng the day before. Even if I only get a couple done, I will enjoy the city as much as I can in the time allowed. Thanks again.

ShelliDawn

If you love tall buildings, also check out The Bow tower the tallest building in Canada outside of Toronto.I'm not sure how complete it is on the inside but the public spaces may already be and if not, there's a good chance they will be by September.

http://www.the-bow.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bow_%28Calgary%29

Bgale

Thanks everyone for your replies. Since I'm only in Calgary basically one day, I was very interested in taking the 3-hr tour of the area I found at www.experienceouralberta.com
It seemed a good fit for me because it offered a driving tour providing an "overview" of the area and still gave me time to explore some on my own.

However, I recently contacted them about the tour on Tuesday, Sept 17 and was told they have suspended the tour and no longer offer it. Does anyone know of other tour companies or individuals that do something similar? Any suggestions appreciated.

tansay

September is darn gorgeous around here (Calgary.) The days are sunny and dry and the nights cool. Walking along the Bow River pathway in the afternoon sun, smelling fallen leaves and the sunlight sparkling off the water is a wonderful treat, even for those of us who live here;and it's easily accessible from downtown - just walk north and you'll run into the river -- well not INTO it per se if you keep your eyes open.People are (mostly) friendly, if you need directions.

TripAdvisor has lots of recommended Calgary restaurants; if you do walk to the Bow and are in Eau Claire, we enjoy Prego's upstairs there. Good Italian food and super staff in our view. If you are at the Glenbow you might want to see the 3rd floor exhibit. I've cut and pasted from the Glenbow website what that's about below:

the Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta
Mavericks presents the story of Southern Alberta in a dynamic and compelling way. Unlike a traditional history exhibition that lists dates, names, and events, Glenbow will provide visitors with an experience of what it means to be Albertan. The dynamic gallery tells our province's history through the stories of 48 mavericks – adventurous, hard-working and spirited men and women. This gallery sees the old “book on a wall” text panels replaced with interactive technology. Glenbow has also rolled dusty old cases away and replaced them with new hands-on environments built to recapture the maverick spirit that shaped, and continues to shape, Alberta.

Audio Guide A free multimedia handheld guide, the Mavericks Navigator, is available for this exhibition. Please see the Multimedia Handheld Guide desk on the 3rd floor.


I don't know of any tour companies -- we just drive our visitors around. Calgary is definitely a driving city.

here's a link to the tourism office with "things to do"
http://www.visitcalgary.com/things-to-do

Welcome!