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18 For more information or to arrange a media visit, contact Karen Goossen at 204.230.8728 or karen@tourismwinnipeg.com M a ri ag g i e T h e me S u ite Hot el Winnipeg Ideas Story Winnipeg Story Starters According to TripAdvisor, Winnipeg's Mariaggi Theme Suite hotel is listed as one of the world's most romantic hotels, where you can pick your theme from a Hawaiian getaway to an African safari. The romance doesn't stop there—Winnipeg was also home to the Harlequin Romance empire when it was founded in 1949. Winnipeg has the largest, mature urban elm tree forest in North America with approximately 170,000 elms. More than 60,000 of these trees are on public boulevards. Learn more about Winnipeg's musical past on a Magical Music History Tour, where you'll see the childhood homes of Neil Young, Randy Bachman, Terry "Seasons in the Sun" Jack, and Burton Cummings, along with other points of interest complemented with music, vintage photos and storytelling. The city's dark side can be explored on numerous ghost tours and vigils. It is said The Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre is haunted by a ghostly woman in a ball gown, a phantom diner and a mysterious ghost light that traverses the halls of this Grand Trunk Pacific Hotel. Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum is known for its connection to the spirit world where apparitions of children, nuns, nurses, patients and even a feisty voyageur have been known to roam the building's nooks and crannies. In 1970, American Woman topped international music charts and was the number one selling single in the world. Winnipeg rock'n'rollers The Guess Who, who penned the tune, went on to become one of Canada's largest cultural exports. That year they sold more albums than any other band in the world. One of the world's slickest spies has a direct tie to Winnipeg. Sir William Stephenson — the man they called Intrepid — was born in Winnipeg in 1897. His escapades in the Second World War would inspire writer Ian Fleming to create one of fiction's most suave and debonair characters — James Bond. Manitoba's capital city has a storied past that overflows with characters, anecdotes and happenings that have made us one of Canada's most intriguing and welcoming of cities. Here are a few fun "did you know?" stories to get your creative juices flowing. The Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre ? W innipeg S k y line: Da vi d Reede Sir William Stevenson statue