Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a vigorous and exciting city of 875,000 people located approximately 120 miles (192 km) north of the Canadian/US border. Calgary is home to Canada's largest oil and gas sector, as well as an important centre for engineering, telecommunications, environmental sciences, food processing, financial and many other industries. In fact, Calgary hosts more corporate head offices than any other city in Canada outside Toronto!

Calgary is located at the doorstep to the magnificent Canadian Rocky Mountains, and her citizens enjoy all the amenities and recreational opportunities the foothills and mountains have to offer. In addition, the Bow and Elbow Rivers wind through the city, adding the sparkle of clear running water to the landscape.

Calgary is well-known for its attractive and modern downtown which is studded with green spaces, parks and public art. The Bow River forms the downtown's northern boundary and at lunchtime workers and shoppers can be found jogging, biking, zipping up and down on roller-blades and just plain relaxing in the parks that line the river banks. Sandstone buildings from Calgary's early days still punctuate downtown streets, lending a feeling of stability and history. The state-of-the-art LRT (light rail transit) runs through the downtown core and out to both southern and northern suburbs and to the University of Calgary to the west. This system, one of the many legacies of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, whisks commuters and shoppers around town in comfort and ease.

Shoppers come to wander though Calgary's Plus 15 System of elevated walkways, which link most of the downtown's major buildings and shopping centres. These glass walkways enable pedestrians to park their vehicles in a covered parkade and traverse downtown without ever descending to street level, which is greatly appreciated during one of the city's infamous December cold snaps. They also serve as observation points for the streets below, as art galleries, and as venues for performers and events during festivals and celebrations.

Calgary has a wide range of cultural attractions and sporting events. The City is home to the Calgary Philharmonic, the Glenbow Museum, the Calgary Opera and a wide variety of live theatre groups, cultural and ethnic museums and art galleries. Sports teams, such as the Calgary Flames and Hitmen hockey teams, The Stampeders football team, the Calgary Cannons baseball team and the Mustangs Soccer team, have large and loyal followings. And of course no description of Calgary would be complete without mention of the world-famous Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, loved by visitors and local residents alike. Calgary comes even more alive during Stampede, with square dancers, Native dancers, and pancake breakfasts everywhere from the historic Stephen Avenue Mall in the heart of downtown to the suburbs and beyond. Stampede Park, where the famous 'Outdoor Show' takes place, is only a 5 minute ride on the LRT from downtown hotels.

Calgary's citizens come from a wide variety of ethnic, religious and national backgrounds, and this diversity finds expression in some of the city's most interesting and beautiful festivals, restaurants, public art and architecture; elements drawn from Chinese, Islamic, Eastern Orthodox, African and European tradition are evident as you travel city streets. In addition Alberta's First Nations People have contributed much of beauty and value to Calgary's character and history. Perhaps because of this mix Calgary has the reputation as the friendliest city in Canada! It's a city that welcomes many hundreds of thousands of visitors yearly, and does so in great western style!

Because of Calgary's many attractions and healthy economic climate its growth is expected to continue. Alberta is the only Canadian Province without a sales tax, and the business climate is exceptionally favourable. As more and more companies relocate their head offices to Calgary, growth is steady, and the population is expected to reach the 1,300,000 mark by 2021. New households are expected to more than double within that time. City planners are laying plans to expand the city's infrastructure to accommodate this growth, as increased demands on housing, transportation, educational and health facilties are anticipated.

Calgary is a very large city in area. From the northern boundary to the southern tip it's 44 kms. (27 1/2 miles). The city is divided into four quadrants, North-East and North-West, South-East and South-West. In the eastern quadrant the North/South dividing line is Memorial Drive, which runs along the Bow River immediately north of downtown. Memorial changes its name to Parkdale Avenue when it crosses Crowchild Trail west of downtown, and Highway # 1 assumes the role of dividing line shortly afterwards. The East/West Division is Centre Street. Unlike Memorial Drive, which is a major thoroughfare, Centre Street is a major traffic way only in the downtown. But if you know which quadrant your destination is in you are halfway there. All street addresses in Calgary end in the quadrant designation, as NW, SW etc.

Basically, Highway # 1 is the cross-Canada east-west route. It cuts right through the northern half of the city. Banff is west on Highway # 1. Canada Olympic Park is at the western edge of the city on Highway #1. If you're seeking the airport it's in the far north east quadrant of the city. Follow Barlow Trail north.

Highway # 2 is a modern expressway called the Deerfoot Trail. It comes in from the north and heads south to the US border. The Deerfoot is fast, so if you like to poke along and look at the scenery, this is not the road for you! It's not the road for anyone in bad weather, and keeps the hospitals and the car repair shops in business. If it's snowing or icy and you are unfamiliar with the eccentricites of the Deerfoot, take a slower and more sedate route!

Downtown is at the city's centre, and is marked prominently on our map. The city's famed Light Rail Transit system crosses the downtown core on 7th Ave. SW. It emerges from downtown to parallel Macleod Trail to the south, ending many miles later at Anderson Station at Anderson Road. The western leg heads out of downtown to cross the Bow River and ends at the University of Calgary. The eastern route parallels Memorial Drive until it heads north near 36th St. NE. It ends at the Whitehorn Station about 36th Ave. NE. Stampede visitors can take the LRT right to the Stampede Grounds. Get off at either the Victoria Park or Erlton Stations. The Victoria Park Station is at the northern end of the Grounds, Erlton is to the south.

The streets in the downtown core are almost all one way, so look for signs and at traffic flow before you turn! The Calgary Convention Centre is right downtown, across the street from the Calgary Tower, which is visible from almost anywhere in the city. The Stampede Grounds are just south of the downtown core, on Macleod Trail.