Things to do in Winnipeg, Manitoba’s historic meeting place

At the point where the Assiniboine River and Red River meet, people have been gathering for more than 6,000 years. This is the centre of Winnipeg, a city that continues to be an important meeting place in Canada’s Prairies. Whether you’re making it a destination or just passing through, pause here as people have done for millennia and explore the many things to do in Winnipeg.

This guide to Winnipeg, Manitoba, will walk you through the city’s most popular attractions as well as some lesser-known destinations and activities. You’ll also find plenty of ideas for great places to eat and Winnipeg accommodations to enjoy during your visit. Have questions about planning your trip to Winnipeg? Join our Facebook community!

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The most popular things to do in Winnipeg

Visit one of the oldest meeting places on the Prairies, a city park with multiple attractions, and one of only two Canadian national museums located outside Ottawa. Here’s a look at some of the most popular things to do in Winnipeg.

Explore the Forks

The Forks, located on the north side of the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red rivers, is the heart of Winnipeg. Walk the same ground as humans have for 6,000 years as you explore this park and its many attractions.

Inside The Forks Market, you’ll find a food hall with locally owned vendors serving a range of cuisines, including Mexican, Sri Lankan, Greek, Filipino, and more, as well as outposts of Winnipeg favourites like Nuburger and Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company. Upstairs, shop local retailers such as McNally Robinson Books, Coal and Canary, and The Forks Trading Company, where you can browse creations by Winnipeg artisans.

A section of this park is designated The Forks National Historic Site and administered by Parks Canada. Here, you’ll find the iconic red chairs as well as monuments honouring this location’s centuries-long history. Families will appreciate the large playground and splash pad. If young visitors ask Parks Canada staff for a booklet and complete some activities, they can receive a Parks Canada Xplorers collectible medallion as a souvenir.

Check out another Parks Canada site with these things to do in Riding Mountain National Park >

The Forks Is also home to the Manitoba Children’s Museum, a summer festival stage, riverfront trails, and visitor centres for Travel Manitoba and Indigenous Tourism Manitoba where you can plan out your adventures through the rest of the province.

Explore more of Manitoba with our guide to roadside attractions in southern Manitoba >

Reflect at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

At the north end of the Forks, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights stands as Winnipeg’s most distinct structure. The architecture alone is stunning with its swirling panes of glass and towering spire. As you step inside this national museum, one of only two located outside Canada’s capital region, you’ll notice the design is intentional. Your journey begins at the bottom of the museum shrouded in darkness, and as you ascend through the exhibits you’ll find you eventually emerge from the clouds and into the light.

The topics addressed in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights are challenging, confronting, and deeply important. They range from global human rights catastrophes to Canada’s own dark history with colonialism, including residential schools for Indigenous children and the head tax leveled against early Chinese immigrants. Spaces are provided throughout for rest and reflection. At the top of the museum, complete your tour in the Israel Asper Tower of Hope to take in panoramic views of the Winnipeg city centre.

Visit Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park

When it’s a beautiful day in Winnipeg, Assiniboine Park is the place to be. This 1,100-acre park in the west end of the city is a hub of activity, especially in the summer. With numerous attractions to enjoy, Assiniboine Park deserves a full day on your itinerary.

Assiniboine Park Zoo

As home to more than 130 animal species, the Assiniboine Park Zoo has plenty to explore. The centrepiece is the Journey to Churchill exhibit, where you can view animals native to Manitoba’s north such as polar bears, seals, muskox, and Arctic fox. The polar bear exhibit has several viewpoints, so the odds are very good you’ll see them in action during your visit. They also occasionally take dips in the pools along with the resident harbour seals, which you can watch from outside or from the water tunnel below!

In addition to Journey to Churchill, the Assiniboine Park Zoo has an area dedicated to the Manitoba habitats of the grasslands and boreal forest. This is a great way to observe local wildlife such as bighorn sheep, plains bison, and wolves, especially if Winnipeg is your only stop on your visit to Manitoba.

The Leaf at Assiniboine Park

The Leaf, Winnipeg’s indoor botanical garden, is Assiniboine Park’s newest attraction. When it opened in 2022, it became home to Canada’s tallest indoor waterfall. Walk through each of the distinct biomes, including the Tropical Biome, the Mediterranean Biome, and the special exhibit space.

When you’re ready, ride the elevator to the top floor to visit the butterfly garden, where you can watch dozens of colourful butterflies flit among tropical flowers and plants. If you’re lucky, one may even land on you and pose for a photo! Don’t miss the beautiful outdoor gardens as well, including a kitchen garden, sensory garden, and Indigenous Peoples garden.

Assiniboine Park Steam Train

The Assiniboine Park Steam Train is a Winnipeg institution. This family-owned attraction celebrated its 60^th anniversary in 2024 and is the only coal-burning steam train operating in a city park anywhere in Canada. Just $4 per person gets you a 10-minute ride on this beloved piece of Winnipeg history.

Other points of interest in Assiniboine Park include the nature playground, the Lyric Theatre, the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden, the Terry Fox Fitness Trail, athletic fields, picnic areas, a section of the Trans-Canada Trail, and more.

Shop local at the Exchange District

Winnipeg’s Exchange District is a 20-square-block national historic site right in the heart of the city. Its many heritage buildings built between 1880 and 1920 were originally warehouses and financial institutions. Today, this neighbourhood is an arts hub featuring locally owned shops, art galleries, cafés, vintage clothing stores, and up-and-coming restaurants.

If your visit coincides with the first Friday of the month during the summer, check out First Fridays in the Exchange. During this free event, shops and studios stay open late to offer special events such as live music, DJs, sales, and hands-on workshops.

Drive to the Centre of Canada

Technically, this landmark is located roughly half an hour outside Winnipeg. But if you’re coming into the city from the east on the Trans-Canada Highway, it’s a must-see. The Centre of Canada sign, positioned at 96°48’35”W, marks the longitudinal centre of Canada. This is the exact halfway point between Canada’s eastern and western extremes. Whether you’re paying Winnipeg a visit or passing through on a cross-country voyage, this is a great spot for a selfie!

Dive deeper into unique things to do in Winnipeg

When you’re ready to go a little deeper and understand the city at its roots, check out these below-the-radar things to do in Winnipeg. Each one offers an opportunity to get to know the city a little better and gain a greater appreciation for the rich history behind the Gateway to the West.

Go for a paddle with Wild Loon Adventure Company

We met Garrett Fache of Wild Loon Adventure Company for a canoe tour at Winnipeg’s La Barrière Park. As he guided us along the La Salle River and talked about his Métis ancestry, he explained what makes this park so meaningful. Winnipeg is the birthplace of the Métis Nation, and La Barrière Park is named for the barricade built nearby by Métis resisters in November 1869 to prevent an Ottawa envoy from installing a local government. This led to the creation of Manitoba as a province under the leader of the resistance, Louis Riel.

Our three-hour custom tour was a great way to sample Wild Loon’s offerings and learn about this important part of Winnipeg history. But Wild Loon’s bread and butter is its wilderness excursions in the north of the province, where Fache and his team lead 4- to 14-day canoeing adventures on Manitoba’s wild and untamed rivers. Whether you’re ready to challenge yourself in the north or would prefer a shorter paddle in Winnipeg, Wild Loon Adventure Company delivers a great experience on the water.

Learn more about Métis history at Riel House National Historic Site

Before modern-day Winnipeg came to be, its predecessor, the Red River Settlement, was the birthplace of the Métis Nation. Riel House National Historic Site reflects on this aspect of the city’s history and the contributions of Louis Riel as leader of the Métis resistance and founder of the province of Manitoba.

This small and humble one-and-a-half storey home was owned by the Riel family, though Louis Riel stayed there only briefly himself. However, he laid in state in its living room for two days after he was executed for murder and treason in 1885, a government act that sharply divided Anglophones and Francophones in Canada’s earliest days. If you visit the house today, you’ll find it as it may have looked in 1886, in a state of mourning that invites you to reflect on Riel’s legacy.

Note that Riel House National Historic Site has a short season. It typically opens at the beginning of July and closes at the end of August, and closures may occur on certain days in between. Be sure to check the operating hours at Parks Canada’s website before you visit.

Step back in time at Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site

Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site, located on the banks of the Red River roughly 30 kilometres north of the Forks, is one of Canada’s premier living museums.

The fort was built in 1830 by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a trading post and supply depot for the Red River Settlement and the surrounding area. It was also the first training base for the North-West Mounted Police (today known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Treaty 1, the first treaty enacted between the Crown and Indigenous peoples, was negotiated and signed at Lower Fort Garry in 1871.

Visit the fort in July and August and you’ll be swept back in time to the middle of the 19th century, just before Canadian confederation. As you tour the faithfully restored stone structures, you’ll interact with costumed interpreters demonstrating what life was like on the fort, from the fur loft and warehouse to the blacksmith shop and residences. The sheer size of the fort, the walls and many historically accurate buildings, and the immersive experience provided by the interpreters make this one of the best historic fort experiences in the country.

You may be wondering: if this is Lower Fort Garry, is there an Upper Fort Garry? The answer is yes! Upper Fort Garry was another Hudson’s Bay Company trading post, located near the Forks at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. Today, the fort’s original gate and recreations of its walls are preserved within a small provincial park. It’s located across the street from the Fort Garry Hotel in downtown Winnipeg.

Fly through the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada

Winnipeg has a long history with aviation and aerospace. The city is home to the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian region of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Explore this heritage at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. This museum houses several historically important airplanes, including one of the world’s first commercial airliners in the Lockheed 10-A Electra, the same plane used by Amelia Earhart on her ill-fated attempt to fly around the world.

A Vickers VC2 Viscount airliner, which Air Canada flew from the mid-1950s until the 1970s, is open for viewing inside. The museum also has one of the world’s most significant collection of bush planes, including and the only surviving example in the world of the Canadian-designed Fairchild Super 71.

The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada is a short walk from the terminals at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. If you have some time before a flight, it makes a great diversion. Paid parking is also available just outside for those visiting the museum directly.

Winnipeg is home to a second aviation museum, the Air Force Heritage Museum and Air Park, which displays aircraft and artifacts related to the Royal Canadian Air Force. There are 14 aircraft on display outside in the park, including the only Challenger on display in Canada. This park is also located near the Winnipeg airport, and admission is free. We haven’t yet had a chance to explore this yet, but we’ll add more details here once we do.

You’d think this connection with aviation would have something to do with the name of the city’s NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets. However, it turns out that name was chosen because the team’s founder, Ben Hatskin, was a big fan of the New York Jets. That’s a fun bit of Winnipeg trivia!

Where to eat and drink in Winnipeg

If you think you know Winnipeg’s food scene, think again. Several innovative concepts have popped up in the last few years, from upscale restaurants to hip cafés. Explore this burgeoning and varied culinary culture at the hotspots below. Note that each restaurant listed can accommodate a gluten-free diet, and most have vegetarian and vegan options as well.

Nola

The outside of Nola, in the heart of Winnipeg’s St. Boniface neighbourhood, gives little hint of the culinary delights within. Step into the warm and elegant dining room, though, and you’ll explore an array of inspired shared plates by Chef Emily Butcher that celebrate her upbringing in the Pacific Northwest.

Fresh and colourful ingredients meld west coast and Asian influence with bold flavours and artful presentation. On top of being one of the top restaurants in Winnipeg, Nola has been named among Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants and EnRoute Magazine’s Best New Restaurants in Canada.

James Avenue Pumphouse

When you want to enjoy great food in a historic atmosphere, head to James Avenue Pumphouse. This heritage building in the Exchange District is a former pumping station that pulled water from the Red River to supply Winnipeg’s fire hydrants. Much of the original machinery can be seen through glass walls behind the dining area.

The menu ranges from sandwiches and salads to small and large plates, from curry and chow mein to banh mi, tacos, and schnitzel. And the bar mixes a mean mocktail, too!

Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar

Located inside The Leaf, Assiniboine Park’s newest attraction, Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar uses locally sourced ingredients — including from The Leaf’s own gardens — to create internationally inspired dishes in an inviting setting. The menu is divided into small and large plates ranging from tacos and burgers to salads, pasta and rice bowls. Browse the cocktail list to find innovative creations inspired by house-grown herbs and plants that feature in The Leaf’s botanical gardens such as coconut, cardamom, guava, and sugar cane.

Bonnie Day

Bonnie Day is a good idea! The name is a play on Winnipeg’s deep French roots: Bonnie Day sounds like “bonne idée.” This gem is located a little out of the way in a residential section of the city’s Wolseley area. It’s more of a neighbourhood restaurant around the corner than a tourist spot, which makes it all the more delightful to discover.

Burgers, pizzas, gnocchi and vegan galette are served on colourful and mismatched formal plates for an added bit of charm. Make Bonnie Day your dinner destination on a sunny summer evening to enjoy the beautiful patio.

Modern Electric Lunch

Here’s another great Winnipeg eatery with an interesting history. The building that houses Modern Electric Lunch today — 232 Main Street, not far from the intersection of Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg — was once the home of Winnipeg’s first restaurant with an electric refrigerator. This inspired the ethos at Modern Electric Lunch: a menu that’s a love letter to comfort food.

Modern Electric Lunch is exclusively a breakfast and lunch spot. Selections vary from traditional classic breakfast and Eggs Benedict to biscuits and gravy, chilaquiles, and a delicious eggplant shakshuka. Soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers highlight the lunch selections. And, of course, the coffee is a standout.

Little Bones Wings

Think you’ve tried chicken wings every which way? We promise you haven’t until you’ve been to Little Bones Wings. Located on Regent Avenue in the heart of Winnipeg’s Transcona neighbourhood, the name of this restaurant below the Royal George Hotel is a hat tip to Canada’s The Tragically Hip.

Nearly 100 different wing flavours are available, from classic Buffalo to eclectic options like blueberry pancake (with maple and blueberry syrup), Slava Ukraini perogy (with white cheddar, dill, onions, bacon crumble, and sour cream), butter chicken, poutine wings, pizza wings, and of course the Death wings with a claimed Scoville scale rating of 6 million units. Many flavours are also available gluten-free (breaded and cooked in a separate fryer) or on vegan wings.

Good Neighbour Brewing Company

Good Neighbour Brewing Company is Manitoba’s first all women- and +2SLGBTQ-owned brewery and one of only a handful with this distinction in all of Canada. Its taproom in Winnipeg’s West Broadway area slings pints and flights across a variety of styles, from a hazy IPA to a blueberry blonde, multiple lagers, and even a zero-alcohol fruited hop water. The taps feature a rotating selection of limited-edition runs with the proceeds of certain beers going to charity.

Oval Room Brasserie

The Fort Garry Hotel’s Oval Room Brasserie recently went through a renaissance. After the former Palm Lounge was damaged by a flood in 2019, the hotel’s owner Ida Albo seized the opportunity to return this space to its early 20th-century glory. Using historic photographs as a reference, the room was painstakingly restored with gold-painted plasterwork on the ceiling, art deco detailing on the walls, rich upholstery, and a grand chandelier as a centrepiece.

Today, the Oval Room Brasserie is a must-see Winnipeg destination. It’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or you can sit at the bar and order from the extensive wine and cocktail list curated by the hotel’s wine director and sommelier, Christopher Sprague. We took an excellent recommendation from Garrett Fache of Wild Loon Adventure Company and ordered the toffee negroni as a nightcap.

Grab a bite to eat at The Forks

The Forks has been a meeting place for millennia. Today, many people choose to meet for a meal at The Forks Market, where nearly two dozen locally owned eateries offer up their wares. Grab a sweet treat afterward at Neon Cone, Fro-gurts, or Mini Donut Factory, or perk up with a coffee from Harrisons Coffee Roaster or Fools & Horses Coffee Company.

Where to stay in Winnipeg

Whether you want to stay in the heart of the city or be ready for an early flight, we’ve got you covered with suggestions for Winnipeg accommodations.

Fort Garry Hotel

The historic Fort Garry Hotel is one of Canada’s grand railway hotels. It was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway as a luxury accommodation for wealthy travelers. Now more than a century old, the Fort Garry is the only building in its era’s châteauesque style found anywhere in Manitoba.

Room 202 at the Fort Garry Hotel is said to be haunted. The story behind this is undocumented, but according to local legend, a woman learned she had lost her husband in a car accident and died in the room by suicide. Her spirit is said to visit those who stay in the room today. Whether you choose to stay in this room or avoid it is up to you!

Grand Hotel Winnipeg Airport by Lakeview

For accommodations at the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, take a look at the Grand Hotel Winnipeg Airport by Lakeview. Located an easy walk from the terminal, this locally owned hotel has 101 spacious guestrooms with 50-inch smart TVs, an on-site restaurant, and complimentary Starbucks Keurig pods and wi-fi. It offers a great combination of technology-forward amenities and airport convenience.

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