Calgary : Gateway to the rockies

Calgary : gateway to the Rockies. “Cowtown” Calgary, the Stampede City. The second part of the journey, a road trip on the west coast from Calgary to Vancouver. We decided to rent a car (avis) on calgary to start the road trip and enjoy the way of the trans-canada road.

After the land we had just one day before take the car and start the tour. So only a few hours to get a sample of this city on a beautiful sunny day.

First step, find the motel from the aeroport to the 16th avenue. Then, a little walk around the city. Good surprise, near the motel the “c-train”, The light rail transit system in calgary (LRT) who can take you easily to downtown.

Very soon we can saw the Calgary Tower (191m/626f) between the skycrapers, and enjoy the Olympic Plaza ( yes, I almost forgot that Calgary hosted the winter olympic games on 1988).

The beautiful old building of the City Hall and the Municipal Building are very near and you can enjoy the contrast of two differents architectures close to other attractions.

The Stephen Avenue Walk: a major pedestrian mall in downtown, hotels, cafés, pubs and bars.

And the Barclay Mall towards Prince’s Park. Here and there you can see some aerial walkways from one building to another: fun fact, Calgary has the world’s biggest aerean net, like peatonal bridges, the “+15” because they’re 15 feet high.

Lastly, the Prince’s Park. Developed on an island on the Bow river, linked by three bridges to Eau Claire and Downtown and another one to the north. The park hosts many festivals, we enjoyed the Taste of Calgary Festival, a sample of food and beverages with live entertainment.