Alberta Top Things To See
North America's largest entertainment centre and mall, the West Edmonton Mall (www.wem.ca), boasts theatres, restaurants, nightclubs, miniature golf course, ice rink, swimming pool, water park and amusement park, skateboard park, aquariums and bungee jump.
Historic site
You'll find Alberta's oldest surviving structure, the historic log cabin of Father Lacombe, in the town of St Albert, 30km (19 miles) northwest of downtown Edmonton. At one time it was the centre of a thriving French-speaking Métis settlement (people of mixed native and European heritage).
Wonderful wildlife
Elk Island National Park (www.pc.gc.ca/elkisland), which traces its roots to 1906, is home to over 44 different kinds of animals (including elk, moose, coyote and beaver), as well as massive herds of plains bison.
Wood Buffalo National Park
Vast expanses of boreal plains are yours to discover at Wood Buffalo National Park (www.pc.gc.ca/woodbuffalo) (Canada's largest national park, bigger than Switzerland), granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1983. It provides the perfect habitat for many rare species of wildlife, including the world's largest free-roaming bison herd.
Cowboy country
The heritage of ranching is alive and well in the town of Cochrane, west of Calgary. Country-and-western-themed shops pepper the downtown area and genuine cowboys still live and work in the region.
Lovely lakes
Alberta boasts characteristic Canadian views: stunning lake scenery in Waterton Lakes National Park, joined to Glacier National Park in Montana to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park; and Banff National Park in the heart of the Canadian Rockies.
Ancient fossils
You can study dinosaur remains on the banks of the Red Deer River, on the 48km (30-mile) Dinosaur Trail near Drumheller. Also near downtown Drumheller is the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, with hands-on exhibitions and one of the world's largest collections of dinosaur remains.
Native heritage
The name sounds horrific but the prairie views are unparalleled at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, west of Lethbridge. This cliff-top is an ancient jump site, used for 10,000 years to drive buffalo to their deaths, thus providing native people with food, shelter and clothing.
Calgary Tower
Calgary's most recognisable feature, the 191m (626ft) Calgary Tower, offers panoramic views of the city, local towns and the Rocky Mountains. Sky 360, the rotating restaurant at the top, is a popular treat.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
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