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Calgary Attractions and Things to See

Calgary is the biggest city in the Canadian province of Alberta, located in the southern areas, by foothills and prairie lands, about fifty miles from the Canadian Rockies that has grown into a marvelous destination for winter sports and ecotourism that include numerous mountain resorts close to the city, with the petroleum industry bringing in the most money for their economy, with agriculture and tourism following close on its heels, and now high-tech businesses are coming here to forge new inroads into the local economy. It would become the first Canadian city to host the Winter Olympic Games in 1988, and put this city on the winter sports map. The land has been occupied from over 11,000 years with the pre-Clovis people and Europeans wouldn't be seen here until the latter half of the 18th century, when the native way of life would be changed forever. In 1902, oil would be discovered and change the face of the landscape forever, and become so entwined with the local economies that it would began booming after the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, when the price of gasoline jumped from 29 cents a gallon to over a dollar and people would be seen fighting at gas stations for cutting lines or trying to take more than a fair share of gas. That boom would last until 2008, when the world's economy would begin a dreadful fall, after having been the fastest growing economy in the nation; and create interests in furthering the economies of tourism and high-tech manufacturing.

The nearby mountain resort towns of Lake Louise, Canmore and Banff, would become quite popular with tourists, welcoming over 3 million visitors a year now, and increasing other industries like film, transportation, services, light manufacturing and e-commerce. In 2007, Forbes named it the cleanest city in the world, and Mercer named it the world's first eco-city in 2010. The area's flora and fauna have brought hikers and photographers here for many years, although the city has been able to keep its traditional cultures like hotel saloons, nightclubs, western bars, football, hockey and country music, with many now calling it the Nashville of the North.

It contains numerous multi-cultural regions, that include Forest Lawn, many ethnic stores and restaurants, outstanding nightlife and cultural venues, along with the Calgary Public Library that contains 17 branches loaning e-books, audio books, DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays and more. The Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium that offers performing arts, culture and community affairs, as well as the Alberta Ballet, Kiwanis Music Festival, Remembrance Day, Calgary opera and a large number of theaters. These include One Yellow Rabbit that shares the EPCOR Center for the Performing Arts with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Theater Grand Junction, Theater Calgary and the Alberta Theater Projects, the art collective United Congress, and many art galleries in the downtown area that have many along the 17 Avenue and Stephen Avenue corridors, with the biggest being the Art Gallery of Calgary (AGC) and home to the Alberta College of Art and Design.

The city has a few marching bands that are based there, and a large number of yearly festivals and events. Quite a few museums are located here that include the Glenbow Museum that is the biggest in western Canada and houses an art gallery and First Nations Gallery, as well as the Chinese Cultural Center, the Military Museums, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum, the Aero Space Museum and the Cantos Music Museum. The city welcomes numerous film companies, with many motion pictures being filmed in the region, like the Tom Selleck movie called Crossfire Trail.

There are many sports and recreational areas around since it is close to the Rocky Mountains where winter sports are thoroughly enjoyed, and in the summer months, the Bow River has become a very popular place for fly-fishermen, and now golfing seems to be on the rise with many courses growing up in the region. There are many parks in the city like the Nose Hill Park that is the biggest municipal park in the country that offer walking, rollerblading, biking and more.  And besides all these, there are many more attractions located in the city that showcases a marvelous eclectic mix of public squares, bars, cultural venues, shopping spots and restaurants.