Tourism Winnipeg

www.winnipeggroups.com 2018 TRAVEL TRADE PLANNER 7 where you'll find hundreds of works from the master artist. There's also plenty to see indoors in the park all year round, including the balmy Conservatory — which is choke full of towering trees and an impressive array of flora and fauna; the Pooh Gallery inside the Pavilion — where you'll learn about the world's most-famous bear's connection to the city; Winnipeg Art Gallery at the Pavilion; and the Qualico Family Centre — a restaurant and event space overlooking the duck pond. In the afternoon, a trip to FortWhyte Alive — a picturesque nature reserve located right within the city — is surely in order. Here, your group can experience another Canadian Signature Experience, that being A Prairie Legacy: The Bison and its People. This tour gets you up close to a grunting, munching herd of North America's largest land animal, the bison (FYI: bison are heavier than polar and grizzly bears), while learning their importance in the history of the region's Indigenous peoples. You'll be regaled with tales in a Plains Cree Tipi, and either go snowshoeing in winter, or paddling on FortWhyte's lakes in robust Voyageur canoes in summer. DAY 3 Spend the day exploring two of the city's most-visited areas, those being The Forks and St. Boniface. Manitoba's number one attraction, The Forks National Historic Site, is a four-season destination. Some of its many features include: a world-class skate park; entertaining walking tours from Parks Canada; a bustling market — home to shops selling local wares and food kiosks by some of Winnipeg's best restaurants; river boat tours in the summer and the world's longest naturally frozen skating trail in the winter; and spiffy art installations like the Cool Gardens (summer) and Warming Huts (winter), which have been designed by some of the globe's most well-known architects, artists, and design firms. Immerse your group in French-Canadian culture by spending the afternoon in Winnipeg's French Quarter, St. Boniface. Begin with a guided walking tour of the neighbourhood, where you'll discover the unique architecture, atmosphere and charm of this vibrant community that reflects both the determination and joie de vivre of Franco- Manitobans. In the evening, head to the Manitoba Legislative Building, one of the most fascinating and impressive neoclassical buildings in Canada. Its primary architect, Frank Worthington Simon, was a freemason who secretly created a temple of hermetic knowledge using symbolism, Greek and Assyrian mythology, hieroglyphics and numerical architectural features — a fact that lay hidden in plain sight for over a century. On a Hermetic Code Tour – A Canadian Signature Experience often hosted by Dr. Frank Albo, the architectural historian who uncovered this mystery — this staggering building will be brought to life in an evening of intrigue that will ensure you never look at architecture the same way. Hermetic Code Tour: William Au Photo Courtesy of FortWhyte Alive

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