Top 10 things to see and do in Winnipeg for summer

These can’t-miss city experiences will see you standing below swimming polar bears, embarking on a bison safari and hitting the chic streets of The Exchange District.

Journey to Churchill at Assiniboine Park Zoo

The world’s most comprehensive Arctic species exhibit is a real showstopper. Its vast terrain is home to muskox, Arctic fox, snowy owls, caribou, wolves and of course, the show-stealing polar bears. In fact, the polar bears are no longer the only stars at the zoo, as you can catch the veterinary team on the CBC television show, Arctic Vets. Also new to the zoo for summer is Aunt Sally’s Farm, a fun exhibit that features goats climbing rainbow bridges right over your head, along with pot-bellied pigs, llamas and mini donkeys. Dinosaurs Uncovered has also returned with 17 life-sized, animatronic dinosaurs in the zoo’s forested trails, along with museum-quality fossils in the rotating exhibit gallery.

Winnipeg Art Gallery

The WAG is home to the world’s largest collection of contemporary Inuit art, which now has an incredible home in the $65-million Qaumajuq (Inuit art centre). This architectural marvel—it straddles the south side of the WAG, hugging the building’s angular architecture with a façade that recalls an Arctic glacier—pays homage to the stark beauty of the Arctic landscape with thousands of works representing nearly every Inuit community. In the WAG proper, you can currently witness a collection spanning 24,000 works in a variety of medium—running from the late Renaissance to the present—with a particular emphasis on works by local, Canadian and Indigenous artists.

The Forks National Historic site 

For more than 6,000 years, The Forks has been a meeting place for Indigenous peoples, while today it is the most-visited tourism destination in Manitoba. To celebrate its Indigenous history, you’ll find numerous works of public art throughout. This includes Niimaamaa ("my mother’) a huge sculpture by KC Adams, Jaimie Isaac and Val Vint, along with signage in Cree, Ojibway and Michif all of which is part of “one of the largest collections of Indigenous-led public expressions in any historical site in Canada.” A central feature of the area is The Forks Market, brimming with shops, worldly food kiosks and a gorgeous indoor and outdoor wine and beer bar called The Common. The Common services one of Western Canada’s largest patios where you can sit with a drink and watch the boats go by in summer. For a great way to explore the whole 14-acre area, rent novelty bikes onsite from Bee-2-Gether Bikes.

FortWhyte Alive

Have you heard that Winnipeg is home to a huge urban bison herd? These grunting, munching beasts are always out and about at FortWhyte Alive, where experiences include encountering them on a safari. This beautiful, primarily outdoor centre has a mandate of connecting people with nature. Amongst its many trails, lakes and wetlands, you can do some birding, hiking, biking, sailing and canoeing. FortWhyte Farms, located right near the front entrance, provides produce for its onsite restaurant, The Buffalo Stone Café, which has a patio right on top of Lake Devonian. 

The Exchange District

Winnipeg’s hippest neighbourhood is home to North America’s largest collection of turn-of-the-20^th century buildings, all of them built when the city was the booming central transportation hub of the continent, with more millionaires per capita than any Canadian city. These handsome brick and marble facades are now home to some of the city’s best cafes, galleries, locally owned shops, restaurants (featuring splendid, umbrella-lined patios) and design firms. It all makes for a great spot to spend a day walking gorgeous streets that often stand in for New York and Chicago in Hollywood productions.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The building’s awe-inspiring architecture is visible from almost every area of the city, beckoning with its “glass cloud” façade. Within, visitors embark on a journey that physically climbs from darkness to light through 11 interactive galleries that present human rights stories from across the globe via artifacts, video installations and new media displays. It provides an experience that will shake you to your core, while it’s pinnaclle—The Tower of Hope—provides sweeping views of the surrounding prairie.

Thermëa by Nordik Spa-Nature

Winnipeggers take their spa-ing seriously, which is one of the many reasons why Thermëa has been such a hit since it opened in 2015. This open-air spa features numerous thermal pools, fire pits, relaxation rooms, heated hammocks, steam rooms and saunas, all serviced by an incredible farm-to-table restaurant and bar. You can (and people often do) spend all day here, leaving feeling like the total embodiment of relaxation.

Royal Canadian Mint

You can bet your bottom dollar that tours here are always on the money. During one, you’ll see how millions of coins are made each year for countries around the world, while interactive exhibits will test your currency knowledge and have you lifting a $600,000 gold bar (which is super heavy). The building itself is a stunner too, even when it serves as a stand in for an evil pharmaceutical company in the Ralph Fiennes classic, The Constant Gardener.

Manitoba Museum

This place does such an amazing job of mixing classic, somewhat-retro dioramas with modern new media displays to tell the story of the region. Its artifacts, fossils and specimens run from pliosaurs of the Cretaceous period (who once stalked the seaway where Winnipeg now stands), to the national treasure HBC Collection, to the life-sized (and ever popular) Nonsuch ship. New for summer is the impressive Prairies Gallery, an expansive remodeled space that makes you feel like you are walking out onto the plains. It contains fascinating species everywhere you look, whether they are burrowing under displays and hanging in the air, you’ll find countless fossils and artifacts, along with impactful reconciliation content. It’s all part of the new $20.5-million upgrades to the whole museum, which was completed this spring.

The Gardens of Assiniboine Park

Assiniboine Park on a warm summer’s day is a land of enchantment. Its English Garden beckons with paths and fountains that wind through stunning displays of flowers. Beside it is the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden, where hundreds of works from the master Ukrainian-Canadian sculptor can be found amongst the foliage. New for summer is the Gardens at The Leaf, a verdant 30-acre area that surrounds this wonderous attraction that is currently under construction.

Starting on July 6, visitors to the east end of the park can marvel within these gardens that include The Indigenous Peoples Garden, the Kitchen Garden, Sensory Garden, Performance Garden, Seasonal Garden and the Grove, all of which are connected via a series of pathways that showcase this dazzling horticultural exhibit.