Calgary is the largest city in the province of Alberta in Canada.
| Calgary | |
| Information | |
| Country |  Canada |
|---|---|
| Region | Calgary Region |
| Area | 825.29 km² |
| Population | 1,096,833 hab. |
| Density | 1,329.03 hab./km² |
| Postal Code | T1, T2, T3 |
| Phone Prefix | +1-403 |
| Fusher | UTC-07:00 |
| Location | |
| 51°2′43′ N 114°3′21′ W | |
| Official Site | |
Understand
Calgary is the largest city in the province of Alberta on the Canadian Prairies in western Canada. In fact, Calgary is located where the prairies end to give way to the mountains and is thus an ideal gateway for the Rocky Mountains and an interesting destination in itself. With a population of more than 1,210,000, Calgary is the heart of the largest metropolitan center between Toronto and Vancouver and the fourth largest metropolitan area in Canada.
History
Calgary was founded by the North West Mounted Police in 1875 and was originally named Fort Brisebois, but adopted the name Fort Calgary the following year. The role of the NWMP in western Canada was to ensure that Canada would not have a wild west like the Americans. In 1883 the railway reached Calgary. The city began to develop in all directions and became an important center for business and agriculture. The city was officially incorporated as a town (town) in 1884 within the Northwest Territories. In 1894, Calgary reached a population of 3,900 inhabitants and its status was changed to that of city (city).
Alberta's first oil and natural gas fields were discovered in 1914 in the Turner Valley, 60 km south of Calgary. Subsequent discoveries made the oil and gas industry remain active in the valley for three decades. Once the Turner Valley fields were exhausted, the industry moved to Leduc near Edmonton around 1947. However, Calgary was already well established as the business center for this industry. In the 1950s, the oil industry grew in Calgary and several major American companies opened offices there. The boom spanned two decades, bringing the city's metropolitan population to 720,000 in 1985. Downtown Calgary began to see its first skyscrapers, beginning with the Calgary Tower, in the 1960s. The fall in oil prices in the 1980s was a big blow to the city's economy.
In 1988, Calgary hosted the Winter Olympic Games. The city grew again in the 1990s. It suffered a huge flood in June 2013. However, less than a year later, visitors would find it difficult to see the traces of this flood.
Climate
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
Temperature Diagram in °C | |||||||||||
| -3 -15 | 0 -12 | 4 -8 | 11 -2 | 16 1 | 20 7 | 23 9 | 23 9 | 18 4 | 12 -1 | 1 -9 | -1 -13 |
| 12 | 9 | 17 | 24 | 60 | 80 | 68 | 59 | 46 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| Time. max. average annual in °C 10.5 | |||||||||||
| Time. min. average annual in °C -2.3 | |||||||||||
| Annual precipitation in mm 413 | |||||||||||
| Caption: Time. maximum and minimum in °C ・ Precipitation in mm | |||||||||||
Calgary's climate is generally sunny and dry with significant seasonal temperature differences. Summers are generally sunny and mild with average maximum temperatures around 23°C in July and August. June is normally the wettest month. Very hot temperatures, i.e. over 30°C, are rare, only arriving on average five times a year. In addition, temperatures drop drastically during wet days. Indeed, there are usually a few days in summer that barely exceed 10°C.
Winter varies a lot. Temperatures can be very cold, i.e. less than -20°C, between November and March and can go down to -30°C; that happens on average five times a year. Although the average maximum temperatures in January are around -2°C according to the averages of the last 30 years, there is nothing "average" in the climate in Calgary. Because chinooks arrive regularly, but unpredictably, there is no guarantee when cold temperatures will arrive. One of the coldest months of the last 10 years was March while January was rather mild. Temperatures can rise to 15°C for a day and drop below 0°C a few days later. A typical chinook occurs quickly and is very windy. The temperature increase caused by chinook lasts from a few days to more than a week. During the powerful chinooks, you can see a chinook arch to the west, that is, an arc of clouds with a clear sky below. Calgary can be very dry in winter.
No matter the time of year, temperatures drop rapidly at night. The average minimum temperatures in summer are around 8°C and in winter around -13°C. Snow falls can occur as late as June and as early as September. However, snowfall outside of the season is usually a small footprint that melts quickly.
Visitors must bring smoked goggles, even in winter, and be prepared at a very low humidity level by bringing, for example, lipstick; most of the locals are always on them in the winter. Dry weather in winter is also a challenge for those who wear contact lenses.
- Weather Forecast for Environment Canada's Next 7 Days
Go
By plane
- 1 Calgary International Airport (IATA: YYC) - The largest airport in the province. One terminal, but four "halls" bearing the letters A (doors 1 to 19), B (doors 20 to 28), C (doors 20 to 34) and D (doors 31 to 50). Well served by Canadian and international airlines. The airport has White Hat Volunteers who wear white cowboy hats and red jackets who are ready to direct you and answer your questions.
By train
Canada's national passenger train service, VIA Rail, has not served Calgary since 1990.
- Rocky Mountaineer - Luxury and panoramic train connecting Banff, Lake Louise, Vancouver and Calgary during summer.
By bus
- Banff Airporter - Year-round scheduled shuttle between Calgary, Canmore and Banff Airport.
- Brewster Banff Airport Express - Year-round scheduled shuttle between Calgary Airport, downtown Calgary, Canmore and Banff. In summer, it also connects Kananaskis and Jasper.
- Greyhound - The main terminal is located 1 km west of the outskirts of the city center (877 Greyhound SW Road). To get to the town center, take the pedestrian bridge to go to Sunalta station (just south) and board a train going to the town center.
- Red Arrow - Connects several Alberta cities, including Edmonton, with a slightly more accessible terminal located at the intersection of 9th Avenue and 1st Street.
By Car
Calgary is located on the Trans-Canada Highway which corresponds to Highway 1. It is connected to Edmonton to the north by the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (formerly Highway 2). From Montana, take I-15 (I-15 Freeway) on the east side and Highway 93 (U.S. Hwy 93) on the west side. From Idaho, take highway 95 (U.S. Hwy 95). Calgary is approximately 320 km north of the border.
From Edmonton, it takes about three hours and, from Banff, about 90 minutes by car.
Circulate
Detailed maps
- Map of the city center
- Map of downtown shopping center
- University Heights Map
On foot
Downtown Calgary is quite compact and easily accessible on foot.
- 1 +15 Downtown - The "+15" footbridge network, located 15 feet from the ground, links most buildings in the city center; these footbridges are accessible, free of charge, during the opening hours of the buildings, during the day.
Cycling
With 760 km of paved tracks and 260 km of street bike lanes, Calgary has the largest urban bike network in North America.
By public transport
It is relatively easy to get to most of the destinations of interest by bus or tram (light rail transit abbreviated in LRT).
By Car
Find an address
Calgary's addresses may seem very confusing at first glance. The "streets" (streets) are on the north-south axis while the "avenues" (avenues) are on the east-west axis. The city is divided into four parts: NE, NW, SE and SW, respectively, corresponding to the northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest quadrants. Center Street (Center Street) divides the east and west parts, while Center Avenue (Center Avenue) and Memorial Drive (Memorial Drive) (east of Deerfoot Trail) divide the north and south parts. Street and street numbers increase from Center Street and Center Avenue.
See
- 1 Calgary Tower 101, 9th Avenue SW (Corner of 9th Avenue and Center Street) - Offers a remarkable view of the city and its surroundings, during a day in the open sky, you can see the Rocky Mountains to the west. The tower has a gourmet restaurant that turns on itself, a bar and an observation terrace.
- 2 Saddledome - Located in the Stampede Grounds, it is Calgary's largest arena and hosts the Calgary Flames, a National Hockey League team, and other ice hockey and lacrosse teams. It also serves live music.
- 3 Stampede Grounds 1410 Olympic SE Road - The site of Calgary's famous Stampede.
Make
Events and festivals
- Calgary Stampede (Calgary Stampede) ,
+1 403-269-9822, +1 800-662-1767 (toll-free)
In July, lasts 10 days.. - During stampede week, the whole city goes into western mode. There are events all over the city, but the main ones are of course the rodeo and the chuckwagon races that offer the highest prices in the world for this kind of competition.
Learn
Work
Buy
Eat
The prices indicated on the menus are without provincial VAT, which is 5%. A tip of at least 15% of the bill is expected for all restaurants with a waiter.
Cheap
- 1 Flipp'n Burgers 330 10 St NW # 103 Calgary, Alberta, AB T2N1V8
between 7 $C and 15 $C.. - Hamburger shop located in the lively Kensington area.
- 2 Big Cheese Putinerie 738 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2S 0B7
13 $C.. - Putin shop, a large number of choices (including several vegetarian choices). The restaurant on 17th avenue is better than in Kensington. - Jerusalem Shawarma 204-30 Country Hills Landing NW Calgary, Ab, T3K 5P4 15 $C.. - Palestinian/Lebanese food shop: shawarma, falafels, kebabs.
- 3 Peter's Drive In 219 16 Ave NE, Calgary, AB T2E 1J9 between $4C and 10 $C.. - Drive-in renowned for its milkshakes (with a choice of 3 flavors among twenty). Payment in cash or debit card, but not in credit card.
Average Price
- 4 Deluxe Dinner 804 Edmonton Tr NE Calgary, AB T2E 3J6 between $25C and 40 $C.. - North American restaurant bohemian. Very long queue for brunches, which is of very good quality.
Luxury
Drink a drink / Go out
Stay
Cheap
Average Price
Luxury
Communicate
The regional codes for Calgary are 403 and 587. Calling between these two codes is not considered a long distance call if the phones are located in their local area.
- Calgary wireless hotspots
Manage daily
Hospitals
- Alberta Children's Hospital 2888, Shaganappi NW Trail,
+1 403-955-7211 - For patients aged 17 and under. - Foothills Medical Center (Foothills Hospital) 1403, 29th NW Street, +1 403-944-1110 - For patients aged 15 and over.
- Peter Lougheed Center (Peter Lougheed Hospital) 3500, 26th Avenue NE, +1 403-943-4555
- Rockyview General Hospital 7007, 14th SW Street, +1 403-943-3000
- South Health Campus 4448 Front Street SE, +1 403-956-1111
Security
Generally speaking, Calgary is a safe place. However, there are a few places to avoid at night, especially on foot, such as the East Village and the Victoria Park in the city center.
The surrounding area
- Banff
- Canmore
- Edmonton
- Lake Louise