When you think of Calgary – if you think of it at all – you probably recall the sleepy city that hosted the Winter Olympics a generation ago and turned the Jamaican bobsled team into a symbol of can-do pluck.
But that was then. Now flush, and a little bit flashier, from a provincial oil boom, Calgary has become a podium-worthy destination in itself.
Flanked by the Rocky Mountains in the center of western Canada, Calgary mixes urban charms with spectacular outdoor adventures – often in the same tall-tale day. Trail-ride in the shadow of the “real” Brokeback Mountain (the movie was filmed mainly in Alberta), lunch al fresco at a four-star restaurant in the middle of a river, then shop and spa before bellying up to a genuine, rootin’-tootin’ cowboy bar, and two-step the night away.
Equal parts city-slicker sophistication and giddyup, Western-style fun, Calgary isn’t just some ol’ cow town anymore.
