by: Gerine Arroyo

If you didn’t get to go on your dream vacation this month for the cost of the airfare is too much, it’s okay there are still things that you can see and do in Alberta that will suit your budget.

Below are places that you might like to consider visiting, they’re only within a day’s drive anyway.

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Calgary Stampede

Each year, visitors come from across North America and around the world to experience the heart-stopping action of one of the world’s roughest and richest Rodeos, the world’s top Chuckwagon Races, the Grandstand Show, world-class agricultural activities and adrenalin-pumping rides at North America’s largest mobile midway and one of Western Canada’s largest music festivals.

In the Indian Village, visitors step back in time to share in authentic Plains Indians’ cultural practices. And, that’s just the big stuff. You can’t see everything, but each year, a million people try.

The Calgary Stampede is so large and so iconic it almost defies description. But in the world of all things cowboy, the 98-year-old downtown event, held in and around Stampede Park, is the top of the mountain. So take your pick: bull riding, barrel racing and more in the world’s richest, most competitive tournament-style rodeo; the world’s premier chuckwagon derby, featuring 36 teams of horses and drivers; or one of Canada’s largest music festivals, with five stages and 300 performers, including a slate of international country music headliners.

TELUS World of Science

Walk into the Creative Kids Museum, where curiosity grows. Explore the sights and sounds of an area that immerses children in a world of art, science and technology. Discover a floor that makes music or climb the Alberta Badlands. There are many hands-on activities for children to try.

Calgary Tower

Officially opened June 30, 1968, the Tower is the City of Calgary’s most famous and identifiable physical landmark. Rising 190 metres from the dynamic downtown core, the Calgary Tower offers a breathtaking 360-degree view of Calgary that is a must-see on every visitor’s itinerary.

Begin your Calgary adventure 160 metres (525 feet) in the air! On the observation deck you are treated to a spectacular 360-degree panoramic view, including the bustling city of Calgary, the majestic Rocky Mountains, the foothills of cowboy country, and the rolling fields of the prairies. The glass floor gives you a birds-eye view of the city streets below.

While you’re up here, enjoy fine Canadian dining at Sky 360, Calgary’s most unique restaurant experience. Or stop at the base of the Tower and enjoy New Orleans style cuisine at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Finish your visit by exploring our Spirit of Calgary gift shops.

Lougheed House

Built in 1891 and originally known as Beaulieu, French for beautiful place, Lougheed House is now a non-profit, National Historic Site located in the Beltline district of Calgary, Alberta.

Lougheed House is operated by Lougheed House Conservation Society, an independent, non-profit society, devoted to the restoration and public enjoyment of the historic House and its Gardens.

Today many thousands of visitors from around the world come to view and explore the building.

Calgary Zoo

From the splendour of the Rocky Mountains to the heart of Destination Africa, The Calgary Zoo takes you to see over 1,000 animals from around the world.  Trek through the gorilla’s rainforest, safari over the Savannah to watch the hippos swim, or climb the Canadian Wilds for a grizzly bear encounter!  Finish your world tour with a trip back in time in the Prehistoric Park or soothe your senses in nearly 6 acres of our Botanical Gardens.  Relax in the new ENMAX Conservatory and enjoy the butterflies and seasonal displays.

Heritage Park

Discover How the West was Once at Heritage Park Historical Village. The Park has a lot to offer both the history buff and the pleasure seeker, alike. It’s the perfect balance between historical fact, adventure, discovery – and of course, fun – that makes our story of western Canadian settlement so distinctive. With 127 acres, 180 exhibits, an antique midway, paddlewheeler and authentic steam train, there is more to explore!

Calaway Park

Calaway Park is the perfect family outing! Nestled on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, only 10 km West of Calgary on the TransCanada Highway. Calaway Park not only has something for everyone they also accommodate every budget.

Edmonton

West Edmonton Mall

Shop in one of the worlds largest entertainment centres-eight world class attractions and over eight-hundred shops and services at west Edmonton mall.

Muttart Conservatory

Pyramids may seem to belong to Egypt, but since 1976, Edmonton has been known for its glass monuments. In contrast to their natural setting along the North Saskatchewan River, the Muttart Conservatory’s 4 stark pyramids were designed to provide for plant height as well as create a stunning visual impact. The facility is popular for events and weddings, as well as providing colour and warmth during the long winter months.

One of the pyramids, the Show Pyramid, changes contents frequently. The Tropical Pyramid contains tropical rain forest with palms, fig trees, orchids, passionflowers, hibiscus and birds-of-paradise. The Temperate Pyramid has an environment which allos the plants to experience cycles of dormancy and active growth each year but with a twist: springtime begins in the middle of the Albertan winter. The Arid Pyramid contains plants from North America, the Mediterranean, Africa and Madagascar.

Royal Alberta Museum ^[2]
The Royal Alberta Museum has an inspired mission: “To preserve and tell the story of Alberta – the experience of people and places over time – and inspire Albertans to explore and understand the world around them.” And it certainly delivers.

The Syncrude Gallery

The Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture contains one of the largest exhibitions of First Peoples’ history on the continent. It includes stories spanning 11,000 years and 500 generations. Wild Alberta presents dioramas in a dynamic setting, capturing the latest environmental research and understanding of how ecosystems work in order to change visitors’ perceptions of untouched land. The Natural History Gallery explores Alberta’s rich mineral history. And the Bug Room is popular with grandkids and grandparents alike.

Fort Edmonton Park ^[3]
This park is a living history attraction set in four distinct time periods. Visitors can explore Edmonton’s history as a fur trade post, the 1885 Street, the 1905 Street and the 1920 Street. The park features over 75 structures, some of which are original. Costumed guides operate the site and provide an immersive experience for visitors.

And if they would like to make the experience last, tourists can stay at the Hotel Selkirk located in the park, built to emulate the original’s heyday in the 1920s. Antiques and reproductions furnish the rooms.

Alberta Aviation Museum ^[4]
Albertans’ fierce sense of history can be experienced in this aviation museum, home to over 27 aircraft and a repository for personal artifacts of airborne explorers. In 2006 it was host to a model contest and exposition for new and experienced plastic modelers alike

Old Strathcona

Old Strathcona is an historic and shopping district in the city. Its farmer’s market is open Saturdays year-round and provides access to 130 vendors, and local goods and produce. And in the summers the Calgary and Edmonton ( C & E ) Railway Station Museum provides a fascinating connection to the very first railway station in the community. An extensive collection of artifacts and historical photographs hearken back to the days when the steam engines first arrived, bringing thousands of settlers to the area.

Drumheller

There is nowhere quite like the Drumheller Valley! In the Heart of the Canadian Badlands in Southern Alberta, the Drumheller Valley offers visitors a unique combination of spectacular scenery and interesting things to do. Within easy driving distance of Banff, Calgary or Red Deer, a few hours on good all-weather highways will take you into another world – the world of startling contrasts between the deep past and the exciting present. Rolling fields suddenly give way to steep, dry coulees ridged with the strata of hundreds of years of erosion by time, wind and water. Through it all, the tranquil Red Deer River gently makes its way through parkland and myriad of recreational opportunities.

Royal Tyrell Museum

Touch a dinosaur-get up close and personal with paleontology and explore 40 dinosaur skeletons and more than 110,000 fossil specimens at the Royal Tyrell museum.

Banff

Banff National Park

Photograph wildlife-get the perfect photo of rocky mountain wildlife, while cruising on the largest lake in Banff National Park.

Eat and drink your way around the resort town of Banff or walk along the Banff Skywalk, an interpretive mountaintop walkway to the Cosmic Ray Station National Historic Site located at the summit of the Banff Gondola.

Lake Louise

Be awed by the surreal beauty of Lake Louise. This “jewel of the Rockies’ is one of the most photographed scenes in all of the Rocky Mountains.

Stand on an Ancient Glacier (Jasper National Park) Travel by massive Ice Explorer onto an ancient glacier, and stand on ice that’s as thick as the Eiffel Tower is tall on the Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure