Things to do in Yellowknife
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Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
A top-notch introduction to the NWT is at Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, off 48th St overlooking Frame Lake. Here, displays address natural history, European exploration, Northern aviation and, especially, Dene and Inuit ways. Particularly cool is the 30ft-long moosehide boat.
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Aurora World
Twice a week they do a two-hour boat tour on Great Slave Lake (around C$40). On demand there's also a basic, 2-hour bus tour of the city (around C$35); a weekly trip down Ingraham Trail to Cameron Falls (around C$60); and, in late summer through winter, aurora borealis viewing tours (around C$90). In winter they have multiday aurora packages, with dog-sled and caribou-viewing options.
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Air Tindi
Offers excellent 30-minute tours over the city, the Ingraham Trail and Yellowknife Bay (around C$230 for up to three people, around C$500 for four to nine people). There's also a dramatic four-hour tour to Great Slave Lake's cliff-flanked East Arm, with an hour-long stop for hiking (around C$1600 for up to three people, $3015 for four to eight people).
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Gold Range Hotel
In this huge, dim, infamous landmark, Northerners have been hooking up, breaking up, dancing up a storm, getting beat up, throwing up and just generally whooping it up since 1958. Predominantly a country-rock saloon, the 'Strange Range' has such notoriety that it's a must-see for visitors; some, it seems, never leave.
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Legislative Assembly
In 1993 the NWT government coughed up around C$25 million to build the impressive, igloo-shaped Legislative Assembly, which is off 48th St and near Frame Lake. You can learn about the territory's aboriginal-style government by joining a free hour-long tour. There's also excellent Northern art throughout.
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Bullock's Bistro
This fish shack is the city's most-revered eatery, despite (or perhaps because of) the irascible service. Only fresh local cod, trout and whitefish make the menu. The atmosphere is ultra-informal, the deck has bay views, and kitsch and countless photos bedeck the walls. Reservations are recommended.
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Bluefish Services
Bluefish takes fisherfolk out on Great Slave Lake to battle grayling, pike and lake trout. Prices range from around C$89 for 4½ hours up to around C$240 for 10 hours. They also offer simple one-hour boat tours and four-hour birdwatching excursions. Call for more information.
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Le Frolic Bistro Bar
This cheery establishment and the L'Héritage Restaurant upstairs are the token French eateries in Les Territories du Nord-Ouest. The usually delicious meals range from Montreal smoked-meat sandwiches (around C$13) to pan-fried Great Slave pickerel ($23).
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Northern Images
Jointly owned by Northern aboriginal art-and-crafts cooperatives, this excellent place carries the famed Inuit print collections from Cape Dorset, Pangnirtung and Ulukhaktok, along with Dene specialties such as birchbark baskets.
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Narwal Adventure Training & Tours
On hot, bug-infested days, the water's where it's at. Narwal Adventure Training & Tours, on Anderson-Thompson Blvd on Back Bay, rents canoes and kayaks, and offers tours and lessons. Call ahead.
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Black Knight Pub
Among the more straight-laced drinkeries, the local favorite is the Black Knight, which has an English-Irish-Scottish theme to its brews and decor. The Top Knight dance club is upstairs.
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Beck's Kennels
The Becks are the NWT's mushing royalty. In winter, go for an 8km guided dogsled tour (around C$50) or learn to drive your own team (around C$75). In summer the dogs pull wheeled sleds.
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Wildcat Café
A tourist trap that locals love too, this famed Old Town café operates out of a 1937 log cabin. A different vendor runs it each summer, so the menu, prices and opening hours vary.
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Old Town Landing
In a candlelit dining room almost overhanging Back Bay, enjoy grilled Arctic char (around C$32), musk-ox in a red wine demi-glaze (around C$45) or other Northern delicacies.
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Dawn Oman Art Studio
Dawn Oman, a nationally lauded Métis painter, renders Northern themes in vivid primary colors. Her work appears on canvas, silk, mouse pads etc at her at-home gallery.
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Birchwood Gallery
In the YK Centre Mall, the high-end Birchwood Gallery focuses on large-scale, local paintings and often features guest artists working inside the actual gallery.
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Gallery of the Midnight Sun
This gallery has an ample supply of aboriginal art, including ornately decorated Dene moccasins and jackets. It also stocks souvenirs made in southern Canada.
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Le Stock Pot
Yellowknife's delectable deli offers fresh sandwiches, wraps, salads, baked goods and cheeses. All this plus a sunny patio equals the best lunch spot in town.
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Diner
Around rickety tables, old-timers and deadbeats shoot the bull. Breakfasts and lunchtime burgers are greasy, but the flavor here is all in the patrons.
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