Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, sits at the meeting point of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The city’s cultural landscape is broad and bold, Winnipeg being home to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, one of the oldest ballet companies in North America, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery, which houses the world’s largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art. Festivals also define the calendar, from Folklorama, where visitors can experience dozens of global cultures through food and performances, to Festival du Voyageur, a February celebration of French-Canadian heritage complete with snow sculptures, live music, and maple taffy made on ice.

Just beyond city limits, natural spaces invite quiet exploration. The nearby FortWhyte Alive nature reserve offers prairie trails, a bison enclosure, and kayaking on small lakes, while Assiniboine Park Zoo features the Journey to Churchill exhibit, which is home to polar bears, muskoxen, and seals in environments that mirror northern Manitoba. In the heart of winter the city turns its rivers into the world’s longest naturally frozen skating trail, winding over 10 kilometers and dotted with warming huts designed by architects from around the globe.