Winnipeg - 9 Cool Spots for Tourists

In the summer of 2006 my wife and I went to visit her sister's family for a week. Friends kept telling me it's not an interesting place as far as tourism goes, but we've got insider information, and we spend a week in the city without ever getting bored. So I decided to make a list of our favorite places to kick back and relax at the geographical centre of North America.

1. Bears On Broadway

Website: www.bearsonbroadway.com

During 2005-2006, 60 or so polar bear scultures were decorated by artists and placed around the city (mostly around Winnipeg's Broadway area), raising money for CancerCare Manitoba. When we arrived in the summer of 2006, we saw a number of them around the Golden Boy (provincial parliament building). Not only are they chick magnets (obviously), but some of them are quite fun and creative.














2. Golden Boy

Website: http://www.gov.mb.ca/legtour/golden.html

The "Golden Boy" is what Manitobans call their provincial government legislative building, referring to the glittering statue placed at the top. The architecture is neo-classical, which seems to be typical of provincial government buildings in Canada that I've seen. Good photo ops for photographers I guess. But my wife was more interested in the polar bear sculptures placed outside the back of the building.


Doing my best impression of a Manitoban bison...with mad cow disease I guess.



Some of the exterior sculptures were quite ornate for a provincial government building.



You just can't escape from bisons in Winnipeg. Two enormous scultures here guards the foyer of the building.



A statue of Louis Riel, a father of Canadian confederation, or traitor. Whichever version you prefer, this is one tough guy.


3. Lower Fort Garry

Website: http://www.pc.gc.ca/garry

This is IMHO one of the star attractions of Winnipeg, although technically it's outside of the city. This is the oldest existing stone fort in North America, restored to its original form and complete with costumed actors to bring visitors back to the early 1800's. Entrance cost $7.15 as of 2007.



Authentic mid-19th century trading fort in the Canadian frontier.



An interpreters in full costume welcomes visitors. This guy is a carpenter living in his tiny living quarter.



Trading house, where one could buy anything from leg-traps for fox hunting to fine china imported from Britain.



Office of the head trader, one of the few educated men in the fort.



This is the fur press, where beaver hides are packed into cargo cubes before shipping to Europe.



Grey foxes eerily hang from the dark ceiling. Hundreds of beavers, bisons, bears, and muskrats fill the rest of the room. It's almost surreal.























MORE COMING...WHEN I HAVE TIME...HAH!