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Alberta boasts rich opportunities for recreation and entertainment. With major cities providing urban pursuits, and spectacular natural scenery, the Princess Province can appeal to anyone.

Numerous renowned museums reside in Alberta. In Edmonton, the Royal Museum of Alberta contains some of the best cultural and natural history collections within Canada. The Glenbow Museum in Calgary contains a tremendous collection of artifacts chronicling the history and culture of western Canada. The Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum, located in Banff, is dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of cultural artifacts of First Nations peoples in North America. History fans will appreciate the Alberta Railway Museum in Edmonton and the Sir Alexander Galt Museum and Archives in Lethbridge. Fans of science and nature will not want to miss the Calgary Zoo, the TELUS World of Science-Edmonton, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, complete with dinosaur fossils.

Many other cultural pursuits can be had for art and music lovers. Notable orchestras in Alberta include the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in Calgary and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in Edmonton. Edmonton also hosts the Citadel Theatre, which contains five separate performing spaces. The Alberta Theatre Projects group performs in the Martha Cohen Theatre in Calgary.

Alberta’s spectacular natural beauty offers countless outdoor recreation opportunities. The province is home to national parks, including the Waterton Lakes National Park, which joins Glacier National Park in Montana, U.S., to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The famed Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park and showcases the mountains, valleys, and glaciers of the Rocky Mountains. Jasper National Park, the largest and most northerly of the Canadian Rocky Mountain national parks, offers wild and scenic habitats for many species of wildlife, including grizzly bears and moose. Elk Island National Park, within an hour’s travel from Edmonton, offers protected land for plains bison, wood bison, moose, deer, elk, and many species of birds.

There are over 300 provincial parks in Alberta. Among these are the Dinosaur Provincial Park, a World Heritage site containing dinosaur fossils in the badlands of the province; Fish Creek Provincial Park, among the largest urban parks in North America; and Bow Valley Provincial Park with its remarkable scenery, among many other fine parks.

Alberta plays host to several festivals. Edmonton, known as the "Festival City," showcases the Grand Prix of Edmonton, the Yardbird Jazz Festival, and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Banff hosts the Banff Summer Arts Festival. The most famous event of all is the Calgary Stampede, or Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, held each July in Calgary. This historic festival displays rodeos and chuckwagon races, and is in fact the largest rodeo in the world.

With its splendid mountain backdrop, Alberta contains many superb ski getaways. Among the several ski resorts are Ski Norquay in Banff, Lake Louise Mountain Resort in Lake Louise, Marmot Basin in Jasper, and Sunshine Village near Banff.

Sports fans can appreciate National Hockey League teams such as the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, Canadian Football League teams such as the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos, and lacrosse teams such as the Calgary Roughnecks and Edmonton Rush.

Whether cultural or outdoor pursuits are desired, Alberta prides itself by catering to everyone’s recreational interests.

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