Hotels in Calgary

Calgary sits where the prairies meet the foothills, an hour from the Rocky Mountains and built on oil money, which shows in a downtown of glass towers connected by the Plus 15, a 16 km network of enclosed elevated walkways that lets you cross the core without going outside in January.

The Calgary Stampede in July is the city's defining event, ten days of rodeo, chuckwagon racing and free pancake breakfasts that shut down normal business entirely. Outside Stampede season, the East Village and Inglewood hold the best restaurants and independent shops, the Studio Bell National Music Centre is a striking building with serious content, and Prince's Island Park sits in the Bow River.

Most visitors treat Calgary as the gateway to the Rockies, with Banff 90 minutes west and Kananaskis Country closer still. The city's chinook winds are a genuine local phenomenon, capable of lifting winter temperatures by 20°C in a matter of hours.