Things To Do in Calgary

In 1988, the top of the Calgary Tower was on fire. Nobody panicked, though, and no one tried to put out the flames. If they had, and succeeded, it would have been to the disappointment of athletes and spectators the world over, because that flame burned in honour of Canada’s first Winter Olympic Games. At 191 metres above the city, the light that fire produced—flickering from a gas-fired cauldron—served to unite the city around the games, to honour the spirit of sportsmanship, and to safeguard the event from Mothra attacks.

Today, visitors can see the city from just below where that torch burned. After a 63-second elevator ride to the top, guests can explore the observation deck, take a complimentary tour, and peer from high-powered binoculars at the Rocky Mountains, foothills, and prairies. Then they can step out onto the glass floor and stare down at the Olympic Plaza, the Glenbow Museum, and the bald spots on park monuments.

Yet the tower’s height isn’t its only draw. From the ground up, it strives to showcase the best of the city. At the base, the visitor information centre furnishes newcomers with city guides that point to popular attractions, and at 155 metres, the elegant Sky 360 restaurant fans romantic sparks as it completes its 360-degree rotation every hour.

At Teofista Bootcamps, a brawny sidekick of Teofista Boxing, trainers command classes that help boot campers burn calories and develop new fitness skills in a social setting. Beginner no-contact group boxing classes encourage new pugilists at any fitness level to show no pity for pleading heavy bags while building coordination with speed-bag drills and conquering quaking hills, stairs, and kettlebells. The Ultimate Total Body Conditioning course, a symphony of interval and circuit training, boxing, and calisthenics, cues the heart's a cappella version of “Eye of the Tiger” with rope skipping and jogging, and builds muscle matter during pushup and sit-up reps, all at the protoathlete’s own pace. In other sessions, participants bolster cores with progressive kettlebells and partner up to pound some pads, building confidence and an arsenal of right hooks and undercuts for their next tussle with a one-wheeled shopping cart. Classes are currently held Monday–Friday mornings, though times are subject to change.

Players duck behind the husks of one-storey huts, towers, and abandoned cars as they navigate a grassy labyrinth. Others dart between industrial concrete walls, firing at the enemy from behind padded barriers. On seven more outdoor fields, teams advance in tandem between towering spruce trees or over hills and valleys, seeking the refuge of wooden fortresses and the coziness of trenches. Whether competing on the Okotoks location's 80,000-square-foot outdoor field, the Calgary location's 28,000-square-foot indoor arena, or Millarville's 55 acres, visitors to Rampage City Paintball immerse themselves in a range of capture-the-flag scenarios. Experienced staff oversees each 15-minute game, and outfits players with Tippmann gear and protective bodysuits. They also supply gear upgrades such as semiautomatic Tippmann guns, goggles, and temporary-invisibility dust.

At Impact Combat Simulations, airsoft players sweep through the training space, ducking behind a van, peeking out from a pile of debris, or dashing in and out of the doorways of shelters constructed from giant wooden boards. It’s a realistic combat environment that can be customized to different scenarios.

Six independent banks of T4 fluorescent lights and four halogen lamps can be cranked up to create a bright, illuminated playing field or dimmed down for a dark, spooky setting. Broken down cars with cracked windshields join the teal van, making the game scenarios look more realistic than a B-movie monster whose extra arm keeps coming unglued.

Impact also keeps its players supplied with full-metal AEGs, gas blow-back rifles, and pistols, as well as an arsenal of BBs.

The staff at Caribbean Dreams Diving, a group of seasoned, affable, and PADI-certified scuba diving instructors, offers personalized programs for training would-be underwater explorers of all skill levels. In-pool dive training is available for every age bracket starting with 8-year-old tadpoles. Once you've gained some experience, instructors can help you prepare for Advanced Open Water certification, sans floaties, at some of the area's most beautiful and lucid bodies of water, including Forgetmenot Pond, Lake Minnewanka and Waterton Lake.

Samadhi Yoga and Wellness Centre Ltd's passionate instructors empower students to flex their way through more than two-dozen yoga practices seven days a week. Power Yoga trains breath to couple with movements, rather than run off in search of unfilled balloons, during a fast-paced class that strives to strengthen core muscles. The Relax and Restore class, meanwhile, calms yogis' bodies and minds through slow, gentle postures held for long durations. Fitness-focused practitioners can partake in the Yoga Fusion class, which peppers yoga poses with strength and cardio exercises, keeping bodies as strong and limber as a cowboy made of rubber bands. Additionally, Samadhi Yoga and Wellness Centre Ltd. pampers its practitioners with complimentary water, towels, and mats.