Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is a city of 650,000 people with a distinctly international cultural flavour. More than 43 cultural groups call Winnipeg home and have laid the cornerstone for the establishment of many unusual neighbourhoods. Unique food, arts, entertainment and genuine, friendly hospitality heighten the richness of this capital city. From its birthplace 6,000 years ago at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers where indigenous peoples first gathered for trade and commerce, to the thriving commercial centre and vital transportation/distribution hub it is today…Winnipeg is one great city!…and provides easy access for planes, trains, buses and automobiles. A convenient destination, Winnipeg also features first class accommodations with over 2,500 hotel rooms in the downtown area and 6,000 rooms within 15 minutes of the city centre.

It would take 30 months to dine at each of Winnipeg's 900 plus restaurants to experience the tastes of Greece, Japan, Ukraine, Thailand, Italy, North Africa and Mexico. Winnipeg's homegrown delicacies such as golden caviar and Winnipeg goldeye have gained much deserved attention worldwide!

Winnipeg is a vibrant multi-cultural, international city in the geographical centre of North America. Yesteryear's proud heritage that produced friendly, industrious people also produced today's industry leaders considered to be at the central business hub of textiles, agriculture, aerospace and transportation. While the hard working ethics of the pioneers remain today, Winnipeg also boasts many attractions and leisurely things to do. Gaming is on the right track with live thoroughbred racing at Assiniboia Downs or try your luck at the elegant Crystal casino in downtown Winnipeg for roulette, baccarat and blackjack or at the two state-of-the-art gaming centres featuring slot machines and bingo!

Famous for its collection of turn-of-the-century warehouse and commercial buildings, Winnipeg's exchange district derives its name from the many stock and commodity exchanges that developed here between 1880 and 1920 when Winnipeg was dubbed the 'Chicago of the north'. Today, the exchange is the centre of the performing arts in Winnipeg and unofficially known as the 'theatre district', offering an almost endless variety of world class entertainment. Along with the world-renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet - Canada's oldest professional ballet company - Winnipeg's performing arts paradise comprises 19 theatre companies, a contemporary dance company, eight ethnic theatres and three orchestras including the Manitoba Opera, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and the highly acclaimed Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. This neighbourhood is also the pulse of Winnipeg's visual arts community with numerous galleries, studios and workshops located in historic buildings complete with original facades.

Winnipeg is a shopper's paradise and source for native/Inuit arts and crafts. With a downtown shopping complex of 8.1 million square feet linked by 2.1 miles of indoor skywalks and nine major indoor malls, Winnipeg offers more than 4,900 stores within 20 minutes of each other.

Having earned the reputation as a city of festivals, Winnipeg hosts over 130 days of annual festivals year round and enjoys more than 2,321 hours of sunshine.

Manitoba

Visitors to Manitoba's north discover a great wilderness frontier. Northern lights or the aurora borealis dance across the skies, polar bears roam the ice-packed shore of Churchill in October, while beluga whales spend the summer in the warmer waters at the mouth of the Churchill river on Hudson Bay.

There are several convention resorts set amid pristine lakes and forests in Manitoba's parks. Golf can be played on some of the most challenging and scenic courses in Canada. Play tennis alongside a lake in a forest. Set sail on a crystal-clear lake or sunbathe on a powdery white sand beach. Take a photographic safari for wildlife and capture picture-perfect sunrises and sunsets. Fish in calm water in the early day and walk the hiking trails of the early explorers. Outstanding resort parks with meeting and incentive travel packages include Riding Mountain National Park, Hecla Provisional Park and the Whiteshell Provincial Park.

Explore Manitoba!

For more information please contact: Travel Manitoba, 7-155 Carlton Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 3H8. Tel: (204) 945-3777 Fax: (204) 945-2302 URL:http://www.gov.mb.ca/Travel-Manitoba