A Week in Winnipeg, Manitoba
A first time visitor to Canada!
My international travel game is a bit rusty
When my sister, Cali, and I decided to visit our neighbors to the north, I’ll admit we could have put more effort into the logistics of traveling by car across international borders. After years of talking about a trip to Canada, we were able to put it together somewhat spontaneously. The last time either one of us traveled outside of the country was a family trip to Mexico in 2015, so brushing up on international travel customs would have paid off.
When we were at the gate, speaking with a Canadian Border Patrol officer, he seemed kind of surprised when we told him it was our first time visiting Canada, and even more surprised that it was going to be Winnipeg. We initially started with three options — Toronto, Thunder Bay, or Winnipeg. The final choice came down to this: Cali thought Toronto would be too much, I thought Thunder Bay wouldn’t be enough, and Winnipeg seemed like it had a little of both of what we wanted.
After the Airbnb was booked, days of activities were planned — I thought, “We’re set.” Now, I don’t know if it was the fact that we’d be driving rather than flying that caused my brain to overthink some aspects of travel and completely forget others, but we were harshly reminded on day 1 that maybe making a to-do/prep list wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. From automobile document mishaps to faulty car batteries, the trip started with a 7-hour delay. Funny enough, the delay turned out to be completely pointless, thanks to a very stress-free crossing at the border.
Fun fact: If you want a Canadian stamp on your passport, you need to specifically ask for it. I was so excited for this trip, only for my passport to remain stampless…
galleries, gardens, beaches, and poutine
Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba, so it’s no surprise that there wasn’t a lack of things to do. The highlights for me include Assiniboine Park & Zoo, the Manitoba Museum, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, The Forks Market, and Lake Victoria.
Assiniboine Park & Zoo
The Assiniboine Park & Zoo is also home to The Leaf. An indoor botanical garden where you can explore different biomes, check out Canada’s largest indoor waterfall, and walk through a butterfly garden. Outside, there are acres of prairies, a sculpture garden, and a kitchen garden with all of the spices, herbs, and vegetables you’d ever need. It was pretty hot the day we went to the zoo, so a lot of the animals were taking shelter from the heat (as did we, and used it as an excuse to get more poutine).
Manitoba Museum
You’re going to want to carve out at least three hours of time if you want to have the full experience of the Manitoba Museum. This place is a beast! Aside from the artifacts and the amazing history and art, what really struck me, as a linguaphile, was the conservation effort to preserve the Anishinaabemowin language. They created a free online language game to support the language's learning and revitalization.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
If you happen to be in Winnipeg during the week, I’d recommend visiting the Winnipeg Art Gallery on WAG Wednesday. We enjoyed free admission to all of the galleries, including a unique motorcycle pop-up gallery. Motorcycles aren’t my thing, but there was certainly an audience for it. The WAG is also in the language-conservation game, and I’m very impressed by the effort they’ve put into preserving it.
The Forks Market
If you can’t find something to eat at The Forks Market, then I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t think a single flavor is missing here. In the gallery above, you’ll see the pulled pork poutine I scored from Weinerpeg. I could have gone with the more traditional version, but they had me at pulled pork. Greek, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Icelandic — your palate is bound to find something enticing!
Victoria Beach
Just over 60 miles north of Winnipeg is the small town of Victoria Beach. From mid-June to Labor Day, you can only travel via bike, golf cart, or on foot. From their central parking lot, it’s about a 10-minute walk before you reach the beach. The beach has soft, white sand, and the view is truly beautiful. Here, the saying “you don’t know what you don’t know” rang very true. A wagon and a giant umbrella would have made a massive difference. Notes for next time!
Final Two Cents
As a first-time visitor to Canada, I really enjoyed it. We only came across friendly people, the activities we planned were fun, and all the food we ate was good. Our Airbnb was in a quiet neighborhood with easy access to everything, so I really can’t complain. If there were any errors, those were self-inflicted. International travel is not like traveling across the country. It wasn’t until the day we left that we thought, “Wait! Are our phones going to work?!” It was small things like that that never crossed our minds. Luckily, if anything did go wrong, we weren’t terribly far from home. Even more lucky, the United States and Canada still have a good relationship, so it feels like traveling between the two is a bit more relaxed. Or it isn’t, and we really just got lucky.
I say all of this to say, Canada — I will be back (and more prepared!)
