Must-see attractions in Alberta

  • A woman hiking above a vibrant turquoise lake in Banff National Park.

    Banff National Park

    Banff & Jasper National Parks

    Of all Canada’s top sights, Banff National Park justifiably ranks as many people’s number one. As much a piece of history as a natural wonder, Canada’s…

  • Jasper National Park

    Jasper Town & Around

    Jasper is a rugged beauty; it's more raw and less tourist-pampering than its southern cousin Banff, and hence host to a more ambitious, adventurous…

  • Lake Louise; Canada

    Lake Louise

    Lake Louise

    Considered by many to be the crown jewel of Banff National Park, Lake Louise is nearly impossible to describe without resorting to clichés. This…

  • Moraine Lake.

    Moraine Lake

    Lake Louise

    The spectacular, deep teal waters of Moraine Lake are one of Banff National Park’s most iconic sights. The lake’s rugged and remote setting…

  • A 360 degree panorama of the Columbia Icefields and Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada, just before the

    Jasper National Park

    Banff & Jasper National Parks

    Encompassing 11,228 sq km of Rocky Mountains wilderness, including jagged peaks, vast forests, glacial lakes and the magnificent Columbia Icefield, Jasper…

  • June 7, 2015: The red-white snowcoatch bus carrying tourists to Athabasca Glacier.

    Athabasca Glacier

    Jasper National Park

    The tongue of the Athabasca Glacier runs from the Columbia Icefield to within walking distance of the road opposite the Icefield Centre. It can be visited…

  • Red Rock creek in motion and canyon in Waterton Lakes National park, alberta, canada; Shutterstock ID 366870593; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
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    Waterton Lakes National Park

    Southern Alberta

    Here flat prairies collide dramatically with the Rockies, with a sparkling lake and a hilltop castle that may make you wonder if you've fallen into a…

  • Canadian Prairie at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump world heritage site in Southern Alberta, Canada; Shutterstock ID 97797887; full: 65050; gl: 65050; netsuite: poi; your: Barbara Di Castro
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    Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

    Southern Alberta

    The story behind this Unesco World Heritage site with the strangest name of any attraction in Alberta is one of ingenuity and resourcefulness – and is key…

  • CANADA - 2003/01/01: Canada, Alberta, Drumheller, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Interior, Dinosaur Skeleton, Stegosaurus. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

    Drumheller

    This fantastic museum is one of the pre-eminent dinosaur museums on the planet, made even better by a $5.9 million expansion project completed in 2019…

  • The altar inside the Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox Church in Alberta's Ukrainian Village. 
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    Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

    Alberta

    Walking into this open-air museum experience is quite literally like stepping back to the turn of the century. Staff aren't just in costume, they perform…

  • Miette Hotsprings in Jasper National Park during spring.

    Miette Hot Springs

    Jasper Town & Around

    More remote than Banff's historic springs, Miette Hot Springs ('discovered' in 1909) are 61km northeast of Jasper off Hwy 16, near the park's eastern…

  • CALGARY, CANADA - July 15: Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre on July 15, 2016 in Calgary, Alberta. The National Music Centre is a major new music venue and museum in Calgary.; Shutterstock ID 454978084

    National Music Centre

    Calgary

    Looking like a whimsical copper castle, this fabulous new museum is entirely entertaining, taking you on a ride through Canada's musical history with…

  • Whyte Museum of Canadian Rockies.

    Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

    Banff Town

    Founded by local artists Catharine and Peter Whyte, the century-old Whyte Museum is more than just a rainy-day option. It boasts a beautiful, ever…

  • Art gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Art Gallery of Alberta

    Edmonton

    With the opening of this maverick art gallery in 2010, Edmonton at last gained a modern signature building to counter the ubiquitous boxy skyscrapers with…

  • Bar U Ranch

    Southern Alberta

    Founded in 1882, Bar U was once one of the largest commercial ranches in the world, covering 160,000 acres. You can wander back in time through its two…

  • Frank Slide Interpretive Centre

    Southern Alberta

    This excellent museum overlooks the Crowsnest Valley and helps put a human face on the tragedy of the Frank landslide. Displays bring mining, the railroad…

  • Fort Edmonton Park

    Edmonton

    The riverside reconstruction of Hudson's Bay Company's log fort gives you a glimpse into life in a trading post in the 1840s, right down to the smell of…

  • Icefields Parkway

    Banff & Jasper National Parks

    The Icefields Pkwy is often referred to locally as the ‘world’s most spectacular road,’ and it’s tough to argue. Stretching for 230km north from Lake…

  • Details of the rock inside the Cave and Basin National Historic Site, Sulphur Mountain, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

    Cave & Basin National Historic Site

    Banff Town

    The Canadian National Park system was effectively born at these hot springs, discovered accidentally by three Canadian Pacific Railway employees on their…

  • Maligne lake

    Maligne Lake

    Jasper Town & Around

    Almost 50km from Jasper at the end of a stunning road that bears its name, 22km-long Maligne Lake is the recipient of a lot of hype. It's the largest lake…

  • Male Peacock displaying at Calgary Zoo, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

    Calgary Zoo

    Calgary

    More than 1000 animals from around the world, many in enclosures simulating their natural habitats, make Calgary's zoo one of the top rated in North…

  • CANADA - 2003/01/01: Canada, Alberta, Calgary, Heritage Park, Main Street. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Heritage Park Historical Village

    Calgary

    Want to see what Calgary used to look like? Head down to this historical park (the largest in Canada!) where all the buildings are from 1915 or earlier…

  • Icefields Parkway and Athabasca River, Canada

    Jasper Skytram

    Jasper Town & Around

    If the average, boring views from Jasper just aren't blowing your hair back, go for a ride on this sightseeing gondola. The seven-minute journey …

  • Peyto Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.

    Peyto Lake

    Jasper National Park

    You'll have already seen the indescribably vibrant blue color of Peyto Lake in a thousand publicity shots, but there's nothing like gazing at the real…

  • Fort Henry National Historic Site Cannon

    Prince's Island Park

    Calgary

    For a little slice of Central Park in the heart of Cowtown, take the bridge over to this island, with grassy fields made for tossing Frisbees, plus bike…

  • Calgary Tower on 9th Avenue, Calgary, Alberta

    Calgary Tower

    Calgary

    This 1968 landmark tower is an iconic feature of the Calgary skyline, though it has now been usurped by numerous taller buildings and is in danger of…

  • Elk Island National Park

    Alberta

    When Edmontonians want to get away from it all and retreat back to nature, Elk Island National Park is often their first port of call. Just 45km east of…

  • Upper Hot Springs Pool

    Banff Town

    Banff quite literally wouldn’t be Banff if it weren’t for its hot springs, which gush out from 2.5km beneath Sulphur Mountain at a constant temperature of…

  • Columbia Icefield

    Jasper National Park

    About halfway between Lake Louise village and Jasper Town, you'll glimpse the vast Columbia Icefield, covering an area the size of Vancouver and feeding…

  • Fairmont Banff Springs

    Banff Town

    Looming up beside the Bow River, the Banff Springs is a local landmark in more ways than one. Originally built in 1888, and remodeled in 1928 to resemble…

  • Cameron Lake

    Southern Alberta

    Backed by the sheer-sided slopes of Mt Custer, placid Cameron Lake is tucked tantalizingly beneath the Continental Divide at the three-way meeting point…

  • Mt Edith Cavell

    Jasper National Park

    Rising like a snowy sentinel over Jasper Town, Mt Edith Cavell (3363m) is one of the park’s most distinctive and physically arresting peaks. What it lacks…

  • Reynolds-Alberta Museum

    Alberta

    Over a hundred mint-condition vehicles are on display in this huge museum, beginning with a 1910s horse-drawn carriage and taking you through to 1950s…

  • Athabasca Falls

    Jasper National Park

    Despite being only 23m high, Athabasca Falls is Jasper’s most dramatic and voluminous waterfall, a deafening combination of sound, spray and water. The…

  • Lake Louise Summer Gondola

    Lake Louise

    For a bird’s-eye view of the Lake Louise area – and a good chance of spotting grizzly bears on the avalanche slopes – climb aboard the Lake Louise Gondola…

  • Upper Waterton Lake

    Southern Alberta

    Visible from all over town, this is the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies, sinking to a murky 120m. One of the best vantage points is from the Prince…

  • Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation

    Southern Alberta

    This is a working rescue sanctuary that takes in raptors, owls and other birds of prey and – ideally – releases them promptly back into the wild. However,…

  • Cameron Falls

    Southern Alberta

    At the west end of Cameron Falls Dr (a short hop from the center of town) is this dramatically poised torrent of foaming water, notable among geologists…

  • Atlas Coal Mine

    Drumheller

    Home to the last wooden tipple (a coal-loading structure) in Canada, Atlas Coal Mine closed its production in 1959. Today it's an engaging historic sight…

  • Morant's Curve Viewpoint

    Lake Louise

    Evoking oohs, ahs and countless shutter clicks from every traveler who passes near, this pullover and viewpoint on the Bow Valley Pkwy/Hwy 1A sits at a…