The extreme sports four-day event, featuring skiing and snowboarding competitions, such as Big Air, Slopestyle and Superpipe, has achieved global popularity since being first televised in 2002, attracting the world's best athletes.
As well as heart-stopping action on the slopes, the event includes a music festival, featuring big-name artists. X Games will be the highlight of Calgary's winter calendar, the perfect complement to its major summer event, the Calgary Stampede.
Calgary is a kaleidoscope of performing arts, modern cuisine, diverse cultures, and legendary events, all year round. Read on for four not-to-be-missed urban adventures in Calgary:
1. Become an Olympian for a day at Canada Olympic Park on the western edge of Calgary, the epicentre of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. Today it's part of WinSport, where Olympic hopefuls continue to train in state-of-the-art facilities and visitors can live out their own Olympic dreams. Grab a seat in the back of a bobsled and ride the course that made the Jamaican bobsled team famous.
2. Feeling brave? Jump on the Skyline Luge and hang on tight as it twists and turns for 1800 metres and plummets more than 100 metres to the finish line. Want more? Ride the fastest, longest single zipline in North America from the top of a ski jump, and spend some time at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame with its 12 galleries and hands-on exhibits.
3. Take a walk along the Bow River pathway system. Cross the river into pedestrian-friendly Kensington Village and slurp on a raw food smoothie or tuck into a more traditional sit-down breakfast; there are more than 40 restaurants and coffee shops to choose from. Ready? Let the shopping begin! After you've explored Kensington, head to the CORE shopping centre on Stephen Avenue, and take a stroll along 17th Avenue for unique, funky boutiques.
4. Take a ride to the top of the Calgary Tower, 1228 metres above sea level, where you can take a self-guided multi-media tour of the 360-degree observation deck and venture out onto a glass walkway, 190 metres above the downtown core.
The Glenbow Museum is home to the largest art collection in Western Canada and a great place to learn about its history. For more on Calgary's colourful past, visit Fort Calgary just 10 minutes away, established by the North West Mounted Police in 1875.
Hungry? Let your taste buds lead you to the traditional and cosmopolitan restaurants in nearby Inglewood, Calgary's oldest neighborhood, or along historic Stephen Avenue Walk downtown. After dinner, head to the Arts Commons for live theatre or attend the symphony at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. Afterward, head back to 17th Avenue or Kensington to immerse yourself in Calgary's nightlife in its lively bars, pubs, and clubs.
GETTING THERE
Air Canada offers daily direct flights to Vancouver from Sydney and Brisbane, with direct flights from Melbourne available three times per week. Year-round direct flights from Melbourne to Vancouver are also available, with connecting flights to the eastern provinces and northern territories.
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