You don’t need to sin to enjoy the city of Calgary, even if you’re staying at The Dorian, Autograph Collection. At this inventive Canadian boutique lodging, inspired by the 19th-century Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, guests can use a unique in-room app to confess their misdeeds. The more scandalous the sins, the more grotesque the digital portrait of Dorian Gray in the hotel’s lobby becomes.
But beyond The Dorian’s entertaining literary inspiration, this diverse Alberta city, gateway to the Canadian Rockies, offers plenty of good, clean fun. We’ve put together an all-season guide to music, Indigenous culture, food and drink, and more of Calgary’s highlights.
Musical Calgary
Located in Calgary’s hip East Village neighborhood, the modern National Music Centre at Studio Bell is Canada’s official music museum, telling the stories of the country’s musical greats, including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Sarah McLachlan and many others. The center also highlights Indigenous musicians and programs a variety of musical events.
When the King Edward Hotel opened in 1905, it was the city’s top rhythm and blues destination for many years. Now reinvented as the King Eddy, across the street from Studio Bell, it’s a restaurant and music venue once again, offering a diverse lineup of concerts throughout the year.
A stretch of historic and contemporary music clubs and event spaces, Calgary’s “Music Mile” begins at Studio Bell and continues east into the Inglewood neighborhood. See what’s on stage at classic clubs like the Ironwood Stage and Grill, which programs jazz, blues, gospel, soul and more.
Stampeding Fun, Year-Round
Calgary’s biggest party is the annual Stampede, which brings parades, rodeo events, concerts and other festivities to the city every summer. But even if you aren’t in town for the celebration’s next iteration (July 4 through 13, 2025), you can experience Stampede culture at the recently opened Sam Centre, a museum and gallery space that showcases the history and personal stories behind the festival. Listen to members of local First Nations talk about their communities’ roles in the Stampede, hear recordings of notable performers and check out exhibits of classic hats and other Stampede wear.
Appreciating Indigenous Culture
For a unique Indigenous cultural experience, download the IndigiTRAILS app for a series of self-guided walks through outdoor galleries that local Indigenous artists or storytellers have created. In Prince’s Island Park, for example, a short stroll from downtown, you can follow the “Remembering Our Children trail,” made to explore the ongoing impacts of the residential schools that the Canadian government forced Indigenous children to attend. Seven striking virtual artworks appear when you point your phone at different locations along the island’s tree-lined paths.
To embrace nature and culture more deeply, visit Painted Warriors Ranch, about an hour’s drive north of the city. Owner Tracey Klettl draws on her Cree-Mohawk heritage to offer guided wildlife walks, horseback riding adventures and archery lessons that are vital to the region’s Indigenous peoples. If you’d like to extend your stay overnight, ask about the ranch’s newly constructed “comfort cabins.”
Back in the city, visit The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland. Once known as Fort Calgary, this history gallery is being re-envisioned to tell a broader story of the region’s people. Working with an Indigenous advisory council, staff is adding exhibits from the Stoney Nakoda, Blackfoot, Métis and other cultures, while an audio tour you can follow around the site’s perimeter shares stories from these communities. The first of these new exhibits is expected to open in the spring of 2025 and will continue evolving throughout the coming year.
Sipping and Supping
Calgary chefs offer increasingly diverse and inventive fare in settings that range from quirky to dramatic.
Start your evening with drinks at The Wilde on the 27th floor of The Dorian, which has expansive vistas across the city. Consider classic cocktails like a gimlet or Pimm’s Cup, or try the Wilde Sage with gin, yellow Chartreuse and sage-infused orange syrup.
If your goal is to wow, book a table at Major Tom on the 40th floor of a downtown tower, where the views extend to the Canadian Rockies on a clear day. You might graze on potato doughnuts with aged Gouda custard before digging into Alberta-raised prime rib or steak frites.
In a revamped industrial space along the river, lively Fortuna’s Row crafts original dishes that glean inspiration from across Latin America. Nosh your way from the salad-like tostada layered with oyster mushrooms, black beans and fresh greens to the chorizo-stuffed squid. And don’t miss the empanadas, a rich pastry stuffed with braised beef and brightened with an elevated, herby purée.
Chef Jenny Kang has created a vegetable-forward Asian-Mediterranean menu at Orchard, her plant-filled downtown dining destination. Beet salad with toasted hazelnuts, roasted gochujang broccoli or crab and prawn arancini might kick off a meal that continues with duck paired with purple cabbage or pan-seared Arctic char.
In another greenhouse-like space, Park by Sidewalk Citizen excels with a daily brunch that eases into the day with shakshuka, mushroom khachapuri or a watercress quinoa salad with fig vinaigrette. The same owners also run one of Calgary’s best bakeries, Sidewalk Citizen, in the East Village.
Little Chief Restaurant, part of the Grey Eagle Resort & Casino complex that the Tsuut’ina Nation owns southwest of the city center, serves contemporary cuisine that incorporates Indigenous ingredients from the region. Look for dishes such as warm Saskatoon berry soup served with bannock, juniper-braised short ribs or pan-seared salmon with sweet potato miso sauce and maple bacon jam.
The don’t-miss item at creative Vietnamese eatery Một Tô is the pho grilled cheese, a beefy, cheesy sandwich dip in a savory broth. Try it with an innovative cocktail like the Un-Pho-Gettable, which mixes gin, lime, Thai basil and pho broth, or a traditional Vietnamese egg coffee. With tables crafted from recycled chopsticks, this casual spot is conveniently between downtown and the Calgary airport, in case you need one more delicious taste of this Alberta city before heading home.
