• Glenbow Museum: Western Canada’s largest museum tells the history of the people who lived here, both Aboriginal and European. Calgary.
• Alberta Birds of Prey Centre: Home to hawks, eagles, falcons and owls. Clients can tour breeding and rehabilitation facilities, see the new babies, hold a specially trained owl or falcon and watch flying demonstrations. Near Lethbridge.
• Canada Olympic Park: Year-round sports and tourist attraction and site of the XV Olympic Winter Games in 1988. Guided tours of the Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum and rides up to the top of the 90-metre ski jump tower. Calgary.
• Columbia Icefield Ice Explorer Tours: Ice Explorer tours on the Athabasca Glacier. In Jasper National Park along the Icefields Parkway.
• Provincial Museum of Alberta: The museum’s permanent exhibitions include the internationally acclaimed Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture, which showcases 11,000 years of Aboriginal history. Edmonton.
• Calgary Zoo, Botanical Gardens & Prehistoric Park: More than 900 rare animals in natural habitat enclosures. The Canadian Wilds exhibit features animals indigenous to the Alberta Rockies. Sixteen life-size dinosaurs are displayed in the Prehistoric Park. The Dorothy Harvie Gardens and conservatory feature countless stunning blooms.
• Reynolds-Alberta Museum: Outstanding collection of vehicles, aircraft, tractors and industrial machines that celebrate the “Spirit of the Machine.” Wetaskiwin.
• The Fort Museum of the North West Mounted Police: Founded in 1874, Fort Macleod, just west of Lethbridge, was Western Canada’s first NWMP outpost. Today travellers can view exhibits and take part in hands-on interpretive programs. Daily summer performances of the RCMP Musical Ride.
Events
• Jasper in January
• Ice Magic International Ice Sculpture Competition (January), Lake Louise
• Banff Arts Festival (May-August)
• Ponoka Stampede (late June to early July)
• Calgary Stampede (July)
• Capital EX (July), Edmonton
• Big Valley Jamboree (August), Camrose
• Edmonton Folk Music Festival (August)
• Fringe Theatre Festival (August), Edmonton.
Places
• Dinosaur Provincial Park: Alberta’s badlands boast some of the most extensive dinosaur bone fields in the world. Daily summer interpretive programs, digs and guided tours make it an ideal destination for families.
• Athabasca Oilsands: The Oil Sands Discovery Centre in Fort McMurray brings the history, geology, technology and the future of this area to life through displays, audio-visual and interpretive demonstrations. Syncrude’s Giants of Mining Display allows travellers to get up close to examples of the enormous machinery used.
• Heritage Park Historical Village: Canada's largest living historical village. Three different time periods are represented: an 1860's Fur Trading Fort, a 1880's Pre-Railway Settlement, and a 1910 Western Prairie Town. Near Calgary.
• Fort Edmonton Park: Canada’s largest living history park highlights the fur-trading days of the fort, the 1885 settlement, the new capital city of 1905 and metropolitan Edmonton in 1920.
• Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump: This UNESCO World Heritage Site in Fort Macleod is one of North America’s oldest, largest and best-preserved buffalo jump sites.
• Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park: An archaeological preserve within the park protects more than 50 petroglyph sites and the largest concentration of rock art on the North American plains.
• Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village: A look at Ukrainian immigrant life between 1892 and 1930 through costumed interpreters. East of Edmonton.
• Old Strathcona: This Edmonton neighbourhood, centered on Whyte Avenue (82 Street), was once its own city, and retains a unique character. More than 300 small shops, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs and lounges, plus live theatre and a popular farmer's market.
• Wood Buffalo National Park: Canada's largest national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Activities include wildlife viewing, hiking, fishing, canoeing and boating.
What’s New
• Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park: The largest First Nations-owned and operated interpretive centre in Canada opened 100 kilometres east of Calgary in July 2007. Visitors can experience Blackfoot culture first-hand by staying overnight in a traditional aboriginal tipi.
• Jasper-Edmonton Shuttle: Sundog Tours has launched a new daily service between Jasper and Edmonton, stopping at both the Edmonton International Airport and West Edmonton Mall.
• Edmonton’s Matrix Hotel: This hip, 85-room boutique hotel in downtown Edmonton features a modern, sophisticated design and boasts 21 luxury suites (including 8 penthouse suites), a fully-equipped business centre, fitness room, and on-site parking.
Fast Facts
Provincial Motto: Strong and free
Provincial Flower: Wild rose
Provincial Bird: Great Horned Owl
Geography: Home of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Alberta is a land of great contrasts. Flat grasslands and prairie to the south and east, boreal forests stretching across the northern part of the province and foothills flank the Canadian Rockies to the west.
Climate: Alberta enjoys four distinct seasons. The average summer temperature is 20 C, fall cools off to about 11 C, while winter temperatures dip to an average of –11 C and springs warm up to 9 C.
Scheduled Air Service: Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, Air Transat, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian North, CanJet, Central Mountain Air, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Edelweiss Air, First Air, Horizon Air, JAL, Lufthansa, Martinair, Northwest Airlines, Peace Air, Quickair, United Airlines, WestJet.
Contact: Travel Alberta 1-800-ALBERTA www.travelalberta.com