Venture to the centre of Canada and be rewarded with a treat for your cultural heart. Winnipeg’s artistic soul meanders through music and movies (it’s a hub for production), galleries and museums, history and architecture and not to be overlooked—food!

Cultural Immersion: Let There Be Art and Light

Begin an eye-opening exploration at Qaumajuq where the planet’s largest collection of contemporary Inuit art lives. The three-storey glass vault, filled with a selection of pieces, will undoubtedly grab your attention—it’s called Iluvat and means “our relatives” in Inuktitut. Then amble to the Winnipeg Art Gallery for inspiring new exhibitions. For art’s sake, do not miss the gift shop.

It’s called The Leaf and the name couldn’t be more fitting. Four biomes offer endless colour, texture and fragrance inside this impressive horticultural addition to Assiniboine Park. Do a deep dive into botany with the daily Gardener Chat. Then grab a lunch of smoked Arctic char and chorizo spiced tacos at Gather, the greenhouse’s restaurant.

Rooms with a View

It’s impossible to miss the colourful vertical tubes that surround Mere, a boutique hotel, nestled in the east Exchange District. Style and simplicity here, with spacious rooms, sumptuous showers and real coffee cups! Take a few steps to Cibo Waterfront Café, order the pickerel fritto and watch the flowing Red River.

A City of GOOD Eats

There’s something about brunch, and Clementine does it right. So right, this year, the eatery in the Exchange District made the coveted Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list. Find pork belly chilaquiles, rhubarb jam with whipped vanilla goat cheese toast and really, really great coffee.

Meanwhile in the St. Boniface neighbourhood, Chef Dean Herkert draws on the old ways to bring something entirely new at Bistro on Notre Dame. With Metis morsels on the menu, start with Zaayoon, a herbed bison broth flavoured with caramelized onions and extra old red wine cheddar, then take your pick from Kanaar + Krep, that’s a plate of smoked duck leg wedged on a wild rice waffle or Pwasoon + Paataak, a decadent dose of crispy beer-battered whitefish with duck fat fries.

Feel the Vinyl

Hear the floorboards creak in the historic building that houses Into the Music, Winnipeg’s browsing bonanza for those who love to flip, flip, flip through the albums.