Banff

Established in 1885 after railway workers stumbled upon a steaming cave of mineral hot springs on the slopes of Sulphur Mountain, Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park and the centrepiece of the UNESCO-listed Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. Stretching across 6,641 square kilometres of jagged limestone peaks, hanging valley glaciers, spruce-and-larch forests and alpine meadows along the Continental Divide of Alberta, it is one of the greatest mountain sanctuaries on Earth.

What makes Banff world-famous is the surreal, electric colour of its glacial lakes: every summer, melting ice grinds bedrock into microscopic 'rock flour' (glacial silt) that stays suspended in the water and refracts sunlight into glowing shades of neon turquoise and emerald at Lake Louise, ten-peak-framed Moraine Lake, and wolf-shaped Peyto Lake along the Icefields Parkway. Anchored by the walkable alpine town of Banff and the Sulphur Mountain Gondola, the suspended catwalks of Johnston Canyon, and the cruises of Lake Minnewanka, Banff is effortlessly accessible without sacrificing wild alpine grandeur. Start with our before-you-go briefing and top things to do in Banff.

Calgary International Airport (YYC) is the gateway to Banff, located 145 kilometres (90 minutes' drive west on divided four-lane Trans-Canada Highway 1) from Banff Town. Year-round express coaches (Banff Airporter, Brewster Express, Vivo Green and seasonal On-It Regional Transit) run directly from Calgary Airport arrivals to Banff and Canmore hotels. Once inside the park, you must display a daily Parks Canada Discovery Pass on your windshield, while Roam Public Transit buses and Parks Canada Shuttles connect Banff Town with Johnston Canyon, Lake Minnewanka, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. See getting to Banff from Calgary and how park passes and shuttles work.

You have three distinct base options along the Bow Valley corridor: stay in Banff Town if you want a walkable mountain village with 70+ restaurants, breweries, the Gondola and direct Roam buses; stay 20 minutes east just outside the park gates in Canmore if you want 25% to 40% lower nightly rates, modern condo suites with full kitchens and supermarkets; or splurge on a lakeside stay at Lake Louise (40 mins north-west of Banff Town) to wake up on the water before the day-trippers arrive. Compare all three bases in where to stay in Banff and Canmore.

Stand atop the Rockpile viewpoint at Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, hike from the turquoise shore of Lake Louise up to the 1901 Lake Agnes Tea House and Little Beehive, ride the Banff Gondola up Sulphur Mountain and soak in the Upper Hot Springs, walk the steel cliff catwalks inside Johnston Canyon, drive the world-famous Icefields Parkway to Bow Lake and Peyto Lake, watch sunset at Vermilion Lakes and Lake Minnewanka, and cross the Continental Divide to Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. Full list in things to do in Banff.

Canadian Rockies mountain cuisine celebrates Alberta's ranching and indigenous heritage: AAA Alberta prime beef steaks, smoky grilled Canadian bison ribeye and burgers, wild Pacific salmon with Saskatoon berry glaze, elk tourtière meat pies, crisp Caesar cocktails (invented 90 minutes away in Calgary in 1969), BeaverTails fried pastries on Banff Avenue, and craft mountain ales at Three Bears and Banff Ave Brewing. Read more in our Banff food and craft brewery guide.

Long before the Canadian Pacific Railway built its grand chateau hotels in 1888, the Bow Valley was the sacred hunting and gathering homeland of the Stoney Nakoda, Blackfoot (Siksikaitsitapi) and Tsuut'ina First Nations, who named Tunnel Mountain Sleeping Buffalo.