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Winnipeg Has Something For Every VisitorBy Habeeb Salloum
The city, which derives its name from Cree, meaning 'muddy water' (Win-nipee), has been a gathering place for more than 6,000 years. For millennia, the First Nations people met at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers to trade and hold celebrations. In 1738 the French fur-trader Pierre Gaultier de la Vérendrye, who was the first European to reach this historic trading spot, established a fort on the spot that later was to become Winnipeg. In 1812 the first permanent European settlement was founded and in 1870 when Manitoba joined the Canadian Confederation, the city became an important commercial town in Western Canada.
Believed by many to be the coldest and windiest intersection in North America, Portage Avenue and Main Street, the most celebrated intersection in Winnipeg, is the heart of the city’s financial district. Office towers full of modern-day traders and merchants edge the streets on all four corners. Underneath this most famous spot in Canada and the surrounding area in downtown Winnipeg, to keep the winter cold away, a whole underground city has been developed. There are extensive underground malls and a whole series of offices. Atop the malls there is a very efficient snow removal system that keeps the streets clean and this facilitates the movement of people to enjoy the many cultural activities, helping the winter months to pass quickly.
The Exchange District designated as a National Historic Site by the Canadian government due to its rich collection of turn-of-the-century terracotta and stone cut buildings is the centre of the city’s contemporary art scene. It is the home to dozens of galleries and antique shops and is a great place for shopping or people watching from one of the many edging cafes. The Osborne Village, a funky district located on the south side of the Assiniboine River, is another tourist mecca. Visitors come to this Village to find book outlets, craft shops, shops selling handmade chocolate, clothing boutiques and dine in the innumerable restaurants offering the best in food.
The focal point of Franco-Manitoban life in the province, St. Boniface is Winnipeg’s most unique venue for tourism. Appealing to travellers yearning for a European experience west of Quebec, the Quarter, with its historic architecture and French aura, enjoys the longest and most distinguished past of any community in Western Canada, hence, an attraction for travellers. Its historical landmarks, gives the Quarter a distinctive aura within Winnipeg’s borders.
These festivals plus the city’s numerous attractions give the city an inviting aura. On the other hand, there are a number of drawbacks. The crime rate is high; during the hot summer days it’s mosquito land; and bitter cold enshrouds the winter months. However, Winnipeggers take these in their stride and have developed their city to make sure that these annoyances are little felt by visitors. IF YOU GO Facts:
Important Not Mentioned Sites in and Around Winnipeg:Assiniboine Park – the largest urban forest park in Canada, it includes the tropical Conservatory, Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and Assiniboine Park Zoo. Lower Fort Gary – a half hour drive from the centre of Winnipeg, it is the only restored stone fur trade post in North America and the first training centre for the North West Mounted Police. The Manitoba Museum - the museum has seven galleries that show different interrelationships between people and the environment, and cover wildlife, geology, culture and history. The Mint – a striking reflective structure that is one of the most recognizable buildings in the city. Polo Park - Winnipeg's largest and oldest shopping mall, offering almost everything to a shopper. Union Station - its majestic, large rotunda has greeted travellers through the years and remains as impressive today as it was in 1911 when the grand, beaux-arts style station was built. Winnipeg Art Gallery – houses the world’s largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art. For Further Information, Contact: |
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TM
Situated near the 20 km (12.5 mi) west
of the longitudinal centre of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba’s capital has had a
great hand in defining Canada. Rising from the prairies in the west, Winnipeg is
a bustling city of more than 700,000. With the largest French Canadian
population west of Quebec, more than 50 ethnic groups and the largest aboriginal
population of any Canadian city, Winnipeg is a very cosmopolitan and
sophisticated metropolis. Today, one of Canada’s most modern and urbane cities,
it offers fine dining, well-kept parks, a vast range of artistic and cultural
options and is home to a number of outstanding museums.
Even though winter in Winnipeg can get
bitterly cold and the city is often referred to as 'Winterpeg', its inhabitants
have developed ingenious ways of dealing with the winter cold and these have
been heaven-sent for visitors.
Winnipeg is often regarded as the
cultural capital of the Prairies. There are thriving local arts communities, a
number of world-class orchestras, an opera company and a world-renowned ballet
company; and the city has a number of artsy, diverse neighbourhoods that offer a
variety of chic modern boutique shops and services.
For tourists, usually, the most
important first stop is the Forks - named for the forks of the Red and
Assiniboine rivers that here merge. A redevelopment project, which is the
city’s most popular destination, it is set on 56 acres of riverside property.
The project encompasses a park and recreation area with stores, markets,
restaurants, bars, the city’s main waterfront area with boat docks, as well as a
place to hold sports, leisure, cultural, and historical events. It includes The
Forks Market, Odena Circle, The Manitoba Children’s Museum, Johnston Terminal,
Manitoba Theatre for Young People, and spectacular paved paths that line the
rivers’ edges.
From the forks, a traveller can take a
stroll across eye-catching Esplanade Riel Bridge, linking two cultures; the
historically French St. Boniface and the historically English downtown areas of
The Forks and Exchange District.
At the top of these relics from the past
stands the French Romanesque Cathedral whose stone façade still towers above the
skyline even after it was destroyed by fire a number of times. Within the
Cathedral’s cemetery stands a statue and lies the grave of Louis Riel - perhaps
the most controversial figure in Canadian historiography.
For visitors year-round, besides eating,
shopping and sightseeing there is much to see and do. There are some 30
festivals held during the year, at the top of which is Folklorama held annually
in August. The longest running and the largest multicultural party in the world
celebrating diversity and promoting cultural understanding the Festival, which
has become part of Winnipeg’s history, offers something for everyone. In its
more than 40 pavilions, it highlights cultural displays, ethnic foods, souvenir
outlets and entertainment with nightly shows by national and international
performers.
Coming close second and no less
enjoyable is the annual Festival du Voyageur – Western Canada’s largest winter
festival. A ten-day party held in February in St. Boniface, it celebrates the
‘joie de vivre’ of the fur traders and is a reflection of Manitoba’s
French-Canadian heritage. Drawing over 150,000 visitors, the Festival brings to
life with merriment and revelry the 300 year-old voyageur traditions on the
prairies.