Winnipeg

Assiniboine Park in central Winnipeg is a gathering place for all who enjoy outdoor activity, beautiful gardens, trips to the zoo, and opportunities to get fit and play. Its conservatory and gardens house tropical plants, a fine formal garden, an English garden with winding paths and free-flowing flowerbeds, and an array of bronze sculptures amidst colorful blooms.

A mini steam train provides park tours for all ages, and the café offers breakfast and lunch at affordable prices. The nature playground for children has water and sand play, tunnels, net bridges, and a crow's nest. Joggers and walkers make year-round use of the park's Terry Fox fitness trail. Park-goers can enjoy bandshell concerts and a variety of stage performances. In winter, the park becomes a wonderland with an outdoor skating rink, tobogganing hills, and cross-country ski trails.

55 Pavilion Crescent, Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N6, Phone: 204-927-6000

The Royal Canadian Mint is open year-round and invites visitors to view the impressive high-tech production of Canadian coins. Tours are offered in both English and French, and reservations are recommended. The Winnipeg branch of the Royal Canadian mint produces all Canadian coins, as well as coins for seventy-five other countries of the world.

It is estimated that fifty-five billion coins have been made here, all of which were made using massive strips of metal punched by fifty-ton presses that create one thousand coins per second. Visitors can overlook the production line through an upper window and learn more about coins through interactive displays in the visitor's hall. A gift shop is available for those interested in purchasing freshly minted Canadian coins.

520 Lagimodiere Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R2J 3E7, Phone: 204-983-6429

Attractions for Couples

The Winnipeg Art Gallery, founded in 1912, houses collections of Canadian historic art and focuses particularly on Canadian abstract art by Prairie Artists, works by The Group of Seven, and paintings by renowned Canadian artist Emily Carr. The gallery is home to a sizeable collection of Inuit art, particularly sculptures.

Its international collection contains pieces from 15^th and 16^th century Europe, including tapestry and panel paintings. The gallery is building a significant Canadian photography collection, and owns a selection of Canadian decorative arts in ceramics, textiles, metal, and glass. The Winnipeg Art Gallery offers guided tours, family programs, art classes, and a summer art camp.

300 Memorial Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3C 1V1, Phone: 204-786-6641

The Forks National Historic Site is the junction of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, and has been a gathering place for thousands of years. Aboriginal people were here first, but European fur traders, Metis buffalo hunters, and Scottish settlers soon displaced them. Riverboat workers and railway pioneers toiled here and opened the way for the arrival of immigrants from all over the globe.

Today the Forks is a National Historic Site with parks, gardens, sculptures, restaurants, and shopping. The Forks Market started as stables in the early 1900s and is now a thriving farmer's market. Restored rail cars pay homage to the railway history of the area, and a festival stage is the performance site for most of the theatrical and musical artists who come to Winnipeg.

1 Forks Market Road, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4L9, Phone: 204-987-4368

The Manitoba Museum looks at the history of the province's peoples, plants, and animals. It closely examines the natural history of Manitoba, focusing on climate change and how it affects the diverse animal and plant species that grow there. The museum has a large collection of fossils, including those from the Ordovacian period 445-450 million years ago, and fossils of Ice Age mammals.

The museum's other emphasis is on the archeology and ethnology of Manitoba's people, covering 12,000 years of the province's anthropological past. Fossils and artifacts show how the population developed from the time of the last ice age until the arrival of the first European settlers in the province. The museum has outreach programs, summer camps andtours, and it welcomes school groups.

190 Rupert Street, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0N2, Phone: 204-956-2830

The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada underscores the importance of Manitoba pilots in the history of aviation. The collection of early bush planes dramatizes the challenge of vast distances and extreme weather that bush pilots overcame. Another focal point of the museum is Canadian innovation in aircraft and engine design, often undertaken by former bush pilots from Manitoba.

The museum owns several enormous floatplanes that were used for cargo shipment in the early years of far northern exploration in Canada. With the assistance of volunteers, many old planes are being restored in the museum hangar. The Royal Aviation Museum contains the largest aviation library and archives in Canada. Programs for family and school groups change seasonally, and tours are available.

Hangar T-2, 958 Ferry Road, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0Y8, Phone: 204-786-5503

Recommended Activities for Families

The Assiniboine Park Zoo is home to more than two hundred animal species from around the world. Its focus is on North American wildlife (particularly polar bears)that live in a large and stimulating enclosure. Visitors can marvel at American bison, Canadian lynx, harbor seals, and Arctic foxes in the Grasslands and Boreal Forest exhibit. The butterfly garden is a colorful place where bright blooms and multi-colored butterflies co-exist.

Endangered Amur tigers are the highlight of the Asian exhibit, which also houses Snow leopards and Bactrian camels. Emus and a family of red kangaroos and their offspring can be viewed in the Australian Walkabout exhibit. Children have the chance for hands-on learning in the Discovery Centre, which houses meerkats, bats, and a variety of amphibians and reptiles. The Assiniboine Park Zoo offers summer camps, school programs, and adult and children's programs.

2595 Roblin Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N7, Phone: 204-927-6000

Tinkertown Family Fun Park is an amusement park that the whole family can enjoy. It has rides specifically designed for youngsters, including a kiddie swing, a miniature drop ride, and cars to drive around a track. Older kids and their parents will enjoy the moderately speedy roller coaster, a lovely carousel, bumper cars, and a miniature steam train that offers rides around the park.

The fearless family member might try a round on the Ferris wheel or scream on the tilt-a-whirl. Families can cool off with water guns at a play castle, have a round or two of mini-golf, or clamber up the climbing equipment at the playground. Tinkertown has an antique hot dog stand, a candy store, and a main food concession, as well as stroller and wagon rentals. <

621 Murdock Road, Springfield, MB R3X 1Z6, Phone: 204-257-8095

The Manitoba Legislative Building is the meeting place for the government of the province. It is a stately neoclassical building that was completed in 1920. Tours are available daily from July until the September Labour Day weekend, and by appointment for the remainder of the year. The building is wheelchair-accessible, anda virtual tour of the Legislative Building is available online.

When parliament is in session, visitors are welcome to view the proceedings from the visitor's gallery of the Legislative Chamber. The building is most famous for the Golden Boy, a gold-covered bronze statue representing the Roman god Mercury thatsits on top of the domed cupola. The outstanding architecture and the bronze North American bison that flank the Grand Staircase draw visitors from around the province and worldwide.

Manitoba Legislative Building Tour, 450 Broadway, Winnipeg, MB R3C 0V8, Phone: 204-945-5813