Things to do · Calgary · Canada
16 best things to do in Calgary
16 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Craig Talbert, CC BY 2.0
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Quick answer
The essential sights in Calgary are Calgary Stampede, Calgary Tower and Studio Bell, National Music Centre. Of the 16 picks below, 7 are free, 5 work on a rainy day and 10 suit children. Allow about 2 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Calgary Stampede
- Free sights
- 7
- Good on a rainy day
- Studio Bell, National Music Centre
- Time to see the highlights
- 2 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Stampede | Stampede Park | 1–2 days | Mid-priced |
| Calgary Tower | Downtown | 1 hour | Mid-priced |
| Studio Bell, National Music Centre | East Village | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Calgary Central Library | East Village | 45 minutes | Free |
| Peace Bridge and Prince's Island Park | Downtown | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Calgary Zoo | Inglewood | Half a day | Mid-priced |
| Heritage Park Historical Village | Southwest Calgary | Half a day to a full day | Mid-priced |
| TELUS Spark Science Centre | Northeast Calgary | 3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Fort Calgary at the Confluence | Inglewood | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Stephen Avenue Walk | Downtown | 1 hour | Free |
| Devonian Gardens | Downtown | 30–45 minutes | Free |
| Inglewood Bird Sanctuary | Inglewood | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Nose Hill Park | Northwest Calgary | 1–3 hours | Free |
| Fish Creek Provincial Park | South Calgary | 2–4 hours | Free |
| Canada Olympic Park (WinSport) | West Calgary | 2–4 hours | Mid-priced |
| Lougheed House | Beltline and 17th Avenue | 1 hour | Low cost |
The 16 best things to do
Experience · Stampede Park
1.Calgary Stampede
Billed as 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth', the Stampede is a ten-day festival every July with professional rodeo, evening chuckwagon races, a grandstand show, a midway fair and a parade through downtown on the opening Friday. Free pancake breakfasts pop up across the city throughout the festival.
Buy grandstand tickets for the rodeo or the evening show well ahead, and go to a community pancake breakfast for a free taste of Stampede spirit.
- Time needed
- 1–2 days
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Hotels and grandstand seats sell out months in advance; book as soon as the dates are announced.
- Iconic
- Kids
- After dark
- Food
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Viewpoint · Downtown
2.Calgary Tower
The 191-metre tower, opened in 1968, has an observation deck with a glass-floor section and views across the prairie to the Rocky Mountains on clear days. A revolving restaurant sits just below the deck.
Go on a clear late afternoon for the best chance of seeing the mountains, and stay for sunset.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Views
- Iconic
- Kids
- After dark
Museum · East Village
3.Studio Bell, National Music Centre
This curved, terracotta-clad building houses Canada's National Music Centre, with a large collection of instruments and recording gear, including the Rolling Stones' mobile studio and the TONTO synthesizer. Hands-on zones let visitors play instruments and record, and halls of fame honour Canadian musicians.
Allow time for the interactive rooms on the upper floors; children and adults spend longer there than they expect.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Architecture
- Art
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Architecture · East Village
4.Calgary Central Library
Designed by Snøhetta and opened in 2018, the library wraps the CTrain line inside its wooden archway entrance and rises through a timber-lined atrium. It is free to enter, with reading rooms, a large children's area and views from the upper floors.
Stand under the cedar-lined entrance arch for the best photo, then take the stairs up through the atrium.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Photo spot
Park · Downtown
5.Peace Bridge and Prince's Island Park
Santiago Calatrava's red, helix-shaped Peace Bridge carries pedestrians and cyclists across the Bow River from downtown to Sunnyside. Next to it, Prince's Island Park is an island of lawns, lagoons and riverside paths that hosts the Calgary Folk Music Festival each July.
Walk across the bridge to Kensington for coffee, then return along the river pathway to the island.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Architecture
- Photo spot
- Couples
Zoo · Inglewood
6.Calgary Zoo
Run by the Wilder Institute on St. George's Island in the Bow River, the zoo is known for its Canadian Wilds area, a Prehistoric Park of life-size dinosaur models and an indoor gorilla and tropical habitat. In winter it hosts a large Christmas light display.
Arrive by CTrain (Zoo station) to avoid parking queues on summer weekends.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Nature
- Outdoors
Historic site · Southwest Calgary
7.Heritage Park Historical Village
One of Canada's largest living-history villages sits on the Glenmore Reservoir, with relocated historic buildings, costumed interpreters, a working steam train and a paddlewheel boat on the reservoir. Gasoline Alley Museum, open year-round, displays vintage cars and petrol pumps.
Village rides and the steam train run in the summer season; outside it, Gasoline Alley is the main indoor draw.
- Time needed
- Half a day to a full day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- History
- Outdoors
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Museum · Northeast Calgary
8.TELUS Spark Science Centre
Calgary's science centre has hands-on galleries on energy, the human body and engineering, a large creative-kids area, an outdoor Brainasium playground and a dome theatre.
Combine with the zoo, a short drive away, for a full family day.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Historic site · Inglewood
1.Fort Calgary at the Confluence
The North-West Mounted Police built Fort Calgary in 1875 where the Elbow River meets the Bow; the site is now parkland with an interpretive centre, a reconstructed barracks and riverside paths. It is where the city began and a pleasant stop on the RiverWalk.
The grounds and riverside paths are free to wander even when you skip the interpretive centre.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Outdoors
- Free
Street · Downtown
2.Stephen Avenue Walk
Eighth Avenue SW is a pedestrian street of sandstone buildings from the early 1900s, now filled with restaurants, pubs and shops. It is Calgary's main downtown gathering place for lunch and after-work drinks, and a National Historic District.
Look up at the sandstone façades between 1st Street SE and 2nd Street SW, rebuilt in stone after a fire in 1886.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- History
Garden · Downtown
3.Devonian Gardens
An indoor botanical garden on the top level of the CORE Shopping Centre, under a long glass roof, with tropical plants, a living wall, fish ponds and a children's play area. It is free and a warm escape in winter.
Reach it through the +15 skywalks in winter without going outside.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
Nature · Inglewood
4.Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
A riverside nature reserve on a bend of the Bow River with flat trails through cottonwood forest and wetlands. More than 200 bird species have been recorded, and deer are often seen at dawn and dusk.
Bring binoculars and go early in the morning, when bird activity is highest.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
Park · Northwest Calgary
5.Nose Hill Park
One of the largest urban parks in Canada, Nose Hill is a high plateau of native fescue grassland with views over the city skyline to the Rocky Mountains. Trails are open and unpaved, and the park is popular for sunrise and sunset walks.
Bring water and a windproof layer; there is no shade or shelter on the hilltop.
- Time needed
- 1–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Active
Park · South Calgary
6.Fish Creek Provincial Park
A long wooded valley across the south of the city, Fish Creek is one of Canada's largest urban parks, with paved and gravel trails, a swimming beach at Sikome Lake in summer and historic ranch buildings near Bow Valley Ranch.
Cycle the paved trail from Bow Valley Ranch along the creek for an easy half-day ride.
- Time needed
- 2–4 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Active
- Kids
Experience · West Calgary
7.Canada Olympic Park (WinSport)
Built for the 1988 Winter Olympics, the park on the city's western edge still has its ski-jump towers and bobsleigh track. In winter it runs a small ski hill and tube park; in summer, mountain biking and other activities take over the slopes.
Even if you don't ski, drive up for the view of the ski jumps and the city on the way to Banff.
- Time needed
- 2–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Active
- Outdoors
- History
Historic site · Beltline and 17th Avenue
8.Lougheed House
A sandstone mansion built in 1891 for Senator James Lougheed, now a museum of Alberta's early history with restored rooms and exhibitions. The surrounding Beaulieu Gardens are free and open to the public.
The formal gardens are a quiet spot for a break between 17th Avenue cafés.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Studio Bell, National Music Centre and TELUS Spark Science Centre |
| History | Heritage Park Historical Village, Fort Calgary at the Confluence, Stephen Avenue Walk and Canada Olympic Park (WinSport) |
| Views | Calgary Tower and Nose Hill Park |
| Outdoors and nature | Peace Bridge and Prince's Island Park, Calgary Zoo, Heritage Park Historical Village and Fort Calgary at the Confluence |
| Food and markets | Calgary Stampede and Stephen Avenue Walk |
| After dark | Calgary Stampede and Calgary Tower |
| With children | Calgary Stampede, Studio Bell, National Music Centre, Calgary Central Library and Calgary Tower |
| On a rainy day | Studio Bell, National Music Centre, Calgary Central Library, TELUS Spark Science Centre and Devonian Gardens |
What to book ahead
- Calgary Stampede: Hotels and grandstand seats sell out months in advance; book as soon as the dates are announced.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Calgary?
Calgary Stampede. Billed as 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth', the Stampede is a ten-day festival every July with professional rodeo, evening chuckwagon races, a grandstand show, a midway fair and a parade through downtown on the opening Friday.
+What can you do for free in Calgary?
Calgary Central Library, Peace Bridge and Prince's Island Park, Stephen Avenue Walk, Devonian Gardens and Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Calgary when it rains?
Head indoors to Studio Bell, National Music Centre, Calgary Central Library, TELUS Spark Science Centre and Devonian Gardens.
+What is there to do in Calgary at night?
Calgary Stampede and Calgary Tower are best after dark.