Scroll down for a 3-day itinerary overview and my one gluten-free finds.
I decided to celebrate my birthday month and take a quick solo trip to Canada for the first time! Since I was planning on going to Banff, I found the closest “big” city to stay and venture around: Calgary, Canada! I stayed at the Residence Inn, which used to be Alberta Boot Company and is currently the largest in the world. I absolutely loved it and would highly recommend staying there.
Day 1: Calgary Tower, Stephen Avenue, Olympic Plaza, Wonderland Sculpture
It was a beautiful day in Calgary when I arrived, so I headed straight to the Calgary Tower. The tower has an observation deck with 360 views of Calgary, 217 feet up, and if you’re brave enough, you can even go on the glass floor, which reminded me of Chicago. At the top, you can walk around and learn the history of Calgary and the tower, once the tallest building in Calgary. You can also buy souvenirs on the first floor in the gift shop.
After I took in the views at the Calgary Tower, I walked to Stephen Avenue, which was just a 5–minute walk. Stephen Avenue is three blocks from downtown 8th Avenue and is Calgary’s only pedestrian mall with restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops. The street also houses some of Calgary’s best sculptures and artwork and has live music on weekends! (Tip for photo opp: If you go in on the Skywalk, above Stephen Avenue, you’ll see a big Calgary sign).
Since everything is very walkable (scooters are also available to rent) and close in Calgary, I decided to keep walking and walking through the Olympic Plaza. The Olympic Plaza was built in 1988 for the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary as the site of the medal presentation ceremonies and now hosts many special events & festivals throughout the year. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day, and there wasn’t much to see besides the foundation and some street art. The Wonderland Sculpture is also downtown, which you should definitely stop at!
It was dinner time, and I decided to have dinner at the Craft Beer Market. They had so many gluten-free options (they had a full gluten-free menu), including gluten-free beer, burgers, fries, pasta, pizza crust, and more! I decided to try the gluten-free beer and have the cheddar bacon burger and fries, which were both delicious!
After dinner, I returned to the hotel and got ready to go to Banff the next day.
(Day 2: Day trip to Banff. Here’s my separate post, which includes tips and tricks).
Day 3: Red’s Diner, souvenirs shopping at Steeling Home, 17th Street, Studio Hall, Calgary Zoo
I started my last full day in Calgary by going to Red’s Diner, which had SO many gluten-free breakfast options. Red’s Diner offers gluten-free eggs, benedict, gluten-free bread, and most items on the menu can be made gluten-free. I ordered the Traditional Benny on gluten-free bread (I don’t know when I ordered eggs benedict at a restaurant). It came with breakfast potatoes and was absolutely delicious!
Once I ate every crumb off my plate, I went to Steeling Home, which had the CUTEST local gifts and was the perfect place to pick up local souvenirs for my family and friends. Since the Calgary Stampede is one of the largest events in Calgary, most gifts are cowboy and western-themed, which made my Texas heart happy. They also have unique Banff gifts and posters. The store is on 17th street, which is also a popular street for restaurants, bars and shops.
I then went to Studio Hall, home of the National Music Centre and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Studio Hall offers five floors of interactive exhibits and extensive music history and was an amazing place to walk through, especially since I’m a huge music lover. It was also surprising how many famous Canadian musicians there are. Since Nickleback was inducted into the 2022 Canadian Music Hall of Fame, they had a whole section dedicated to their work and career.
After spending a couple of hours at Studio Hall, I ubered to the Calgary Zoo, the second-largest zoo in Canada, with more than 1,000 animals from all over the world and is the most visited zoo in Canada. The zoo is 125 acres, which means you can spend a lot of time there! When I went, they were having a flower festival, so I saw a special exhibit of giant animals made of flowers, which was super cool! I spent several hours walking around, seeing pandas, penguins, and bears. The grounds are very pretty and it’s very easy to walk around.
I finished the day at Social Beer Haus, where I had another burger and a local cider for my last meal in Calgary. I ended my trip by walking back to my hotel, taking pictures of street art and taking in everything Calgary had to offer. Calgary can easily be done in a long weekend trip, even by taking a full day trip to Banff.
3 Day Itinerary
- Day 1: Go to the top of Calgary Tower, Walk down Stephen Avenue and stop for a drink, look at the fountain at Olympic Plaza, take a photo with the Wonderland Sculpture
- Day 2: Take a day trip to Banff (full article here)
- Day 3: Go to the top of the Calgary Tower, Walk down Stephen Avenue, look at the fountain at Olympic Plaza, take a photo with the Wonderland Sculpture
My Gluten-Free Finds:
- Craft Beer Market – lunch, dinner, drinks
- Red’s Diner – breakfast
- Social Beer Haus – lunch, dinner, drinks