Banff offers all the fun and excitement of a major mountain resort town, high up in Alberta’s Rockies. At more than 4,600 feet, it’s the highest town in Canada. The peaks of Mt. Rundle and Mt. Cascade dominate the town’s skyline, with wide snowy streets that offer a great variety of shops, bars, and restaurants.

Off Banff’s snowy avenues, head into a pub or café to discover the warmth and friendly vibes of the Banff locals. The town is cradled by the Banff National Park, and you’ll most likely spot the approachable and curious mule deer on the outskirts. In the summer, you can take in the great outdoors. Ride into the Canadian Rockies on the Banff gondola, hike forest trails, raft rushing rapids, and kayak on placid lakes against fairy-tale-like scenery.

What to see & do in Banff

Featured stories & fun stuff

Where & what to eat in Banff

Where to shop & what to buy in Banff

  • 10 Best Places to Go Shopping in Banff

    This guide to the best places to go shopping in Banff includes some of the most popular malls and iconic shops in the mountain resort. This Canadian town is not necessarily known as a shopping destination, with the province of Alberta mostly attracting adventurers with its vast range of outdoor activities. However, the buzzing town of Banff has plenty to...

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Where to go & what to do at night in Banff

  • 10 Best Things to Do After Dinner in Banff

    This guide to the best things to do after dinner in Banff includes art hubs, stargazing, ice walks, and après-ski. Shrouded by high hills and jagged mountain summits, Banff is famed for its skiing and lakes, walking trails, and railway history. The town buzzes with hikers in the summer and gets even busier with winter sporters when the snow falls. Granted,...

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Useful information

  • Banff Travel Essentials

    Our Banff Travel Essentials lays out the essential information you need to help planning your trip to one of the most popular destinations in Canada. No matter how frequently you travel, some questions will always need answers: What’s the weather like? How can I get from the airport to my hotel? What currency and type of plug do I need?...

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Where to stay in Banff

More information about Banff

Whether you’re visiting in summer or winter, you’ll find a lot to like about Banff. This charming resort destination is laid across a dramatic landscape of jagged, snow-draped mountains and swaying woodland, in close proximity to glistening lakes and a wealth of historical sites. A combination of blue, green, and sparkling white, this alluring adventurer’s paradise is fantastic for food, drink, and a gentle splurge.

Where to stay

There are loads of places to consider when you’re choosing where to stay in Banff. In the heart of town on Banff Avenue, you can find an extensive row of hotels catering primarily to medium and small budgets. Most places provide ample space to store your ski equipment and you’ll have little bother with transport to the slopes. For something away from the centre, Tunnel Mountain Road has picturesque, rustic accommodation for pretty much all kinds of vacationers, while Spray and Mountain Avenues – to the south of the River Bow – are home to luxurious affairs ideal for a relaxing and indulgent country break.

Where eat

Banff boasts a delectable range of fantastic places to dine, whether you want the authentic flavours of the Rockies or something with an international lilt. Bear Street and Banff Avenue are crammed with delicious establishments that serve all sorts of quality fare, from experimental Greek to wild, rich, and rustic game. With plenty of novel fast food and dessert joints on offer as well, you should have no trouble finding somewhere memorable to chow down, no matter how much you want to spend. The hotels just out of town serve some of the most refined dishes around and are well worth a little extra cash.

Where to shop

For a mountain town, Banff is surprisingly great for a day out spending some money. As diverse as the cuisine, the shopping caters to all manner of tastes: the malls on Banff Avenue will cover your sporting needs and contemporary fashion, the Indian Trading Post has been selling Native American handicrafts for over a century, while the stores at Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel are ideal for some local art and jewellery. If this isn’t quite enough, you can always venture a 20-minute drive to Canmore, where you might find a farmer’s market stacked to the sky with fine local produce.

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