Think of which cities in Canada are seen as inclusive, welcoming, open to the LGBTQ2S+ community: Calgary might not crack your top five. Since 1971, there has only been one provincial government elected that was not conservative and right leaning. And it seems this province’s priority is oil rather than allyship.
But things are not always as they first seem in this city of 1.3 million. Located in southern Alberta, around a four-hour flight from Toronto and an hour-and-a-half from Vancouver, Calgary ranked well for LGBTQ2S+ inclusion—right up there with San Francisco and Vancouver—in the 2022 report Open for Business City Ratings, which looks at how acceptance drives economic competitiveness. And while it lacks a visible gay neighbourhood like Montreal or Toronto, that is mainly due to the city’s urban sprawl—there is a lot of space to spread out west.
YYC (the city’s airport code) hosts a busy Pride Week each August, one of Western Canada’s largest bear weekends, Bearacchus, each spring, and monthly dance parties and events by promoter Detour YYC. The city usually holds an annual gay rodeo thrown by the Canadian Rockies Gay Rodeo Association, but it was cancelled for budgetary reasons in 2023. (See “Where to Party” below for more nightlife options.)
Calgary’s tight-knit, do-it-ourselves community spirit can, at times, feel overly optimistic. But the city takes pride in making sure even its mainstream festivals—like the Calgary Stampede, Sled Island Music & Arts Festival and international arts fest High Performance Rodeo—are welcoming and inclusive. This is driven by the city’s relatively young population (the average age in 2021 was 38). Queer and non-queer sports teams are a popular part of social life in the city, which hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics; a first date is as likely to involve going for a hike as it is going to dinner and a movie.
Calgary’s impressive bar and restaurant scene goes well beyond the province’s other obsession, beef. The pride in what’s local includes local craft beers and spirits, and an active cocktail scene—Calgary is, after all, where the Caesar was invented.
Here is a quick look at what to do while in the YYC.
Where to stay
Locally owned Hotel Arts has two locations. The first is a 19-room boutique property in Kensington (1126 Memorial Dr. N.W., Calgary), a neighbourhood on the north side of the Bow River. The hotel’s second and larger location, with 185 rooms, is in the Beltline neighbourhood (119 12th Ave. S.W., Calgary). It has a popular pool (covered by an inflatable roof in winter) that is perfect for lounging with friends while enjoying a drink or two.
The Dorian (525 5th Ave. S.W., Calgary), a boutique hotel that opened in 2022, shares the same building as the Courtyard by Marriott. Its whimsical decor—plush bedding and rich fabrics—is inspired by queer trailblazer Oscar Wilde and his works, including his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The hotel’s restaurant and lounge, The Wilde (located on the building’s 27th floor), offers signature cocktails that use Earl Grey Gin, which was made especially for the hotel by Eau Claire Distillery—Alberta’s first craft distillery, founded in 2013.
What to do
Studio Bell: The National Music Centre (300-851 4th St. S.E., Calgary) chronicles more than 450 years of Canadian music history with over 2,000 different objects in its collection. The centre, located in an eye-catching building with nine curved and interlocking towers, also houses the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Iconic artists like Bryan Adams, Neil Young and k.d. lang are represented in the collection. The centre is a short walk from The Calgary Central Library (800 3rd St. S.E., Calgary), another landmark modern building in the city with an Instagram-famous central staircase.
Calgary is home to the most extensive urban pathway and bikeway network in North America, with paths along the Bow River and Prince’s Island Park easily accessible from downtown. In the summer, the Bow is also a popular rafting location, with people lounging on inflatables as they let the current casually carry them downriver. Rentals are available through several companies, including Riverside Rafting (launch location is 1404 Home Rd. N.W., Calgary).
Ask a local what the best part of living in Calgary is, and they will likely respond with the Rocky Mountains, which, for the record, are about an hour’s drive west of the city—though they do look very dramatic on the horizon. The town of Banff, roughly a one-and-a-half-hour drive west of Calgary, attracts tourists from around the world with its natural beauty and mountain views. Starting at the castle-like Fairmont Banff Springs hotel (405 Spray Ave., Banff), the Bow River Trail is an easy wheelchair-friendly hike that stretches two and a half kilometres along the river. Remember that the weather in Calgary and Banff can change quickly and dramatically. In the winter a chinook, a warm wind that comes across the mountains from the Pacific, can cause the temperature to switch from minus to positive 20-degrees Celsius in a matter of hours. And in the summer, thunder and rainstorms can develop quickly.
Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo (210 St. George’s Dr. N.E., Calgary) is a popular spot close to downtown that stretches along the north bank and an island along the Bow River. Its Wild Canada exhibit was reopened in December 2023 after undergoing extensive construction; it includes animals from the Rocky Mountains to the country’s wetlands. Other exhibitions focus on Africa, with giraffes, hippos, big cats and an area where you can get up-close with lemurs. Asia is represented with red pandas and two snow leopards. Being Alberta, the zoo is also home to a Prehistoric Park with model dinosaurs.
For a more impressive dinosaur experience, consider checking out actual prehistoric fossils at the Royal Tyrrell Museum (1500 N. Dinosaur Tr., Drumheller), which is about an hour-and-a-half drive east of Calgary.
If visiting Calgary in the summer, time your trip so that it coincides with the Calgary Stampede (1410 Olympic Way S.E., Calgary), an annual rodeo, exhibition, fair and festival held over 10 days in July—it has a history going back more than 100 years. Stampede Park, where the events take place, covers a large area south of East Village and east of the Beltline. Between the chuckwagon races and the bull riding, the Stampede has for the last 10 years hosted a Pride Day at Nashville North, its onsite entertainment venue, which attracts thousands of local and visiting LGBTQ2S+ people.
Where to eat
Several of Calgary’s restaurants regularly make national best-of lists. Major Tom (700 2nd St. S.W., Calgary), located on the 40th floor of Stephen Avenue Place, is one of the newest on the scene. Go for the views from its floor-to-ceiling windows, stay for the menu of globally inspired dishes such as its crab and shrimp roll, or Alberta beef served with marsala mushrooms.
Nestled in among the trees on Prince’s Island in the Bow River, just north of downtown, the River Café (25 Prince’s Island, Calgary) is a perennial favourite and has made Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list. Open for weekday lunches, dinners all week and weekend brunches, their dishes are made using seasonal and regional ingredients—think Rangeland bison striploin, Haida Gwaii halibut and hog wild boar belly.
For contemporary Calgary fare, three local favourites are worth a visit—all located close to each other. Ten Foot Henry (1209 1st St. S.W., Calgary) has a vegetable-focused menu with some seafood and meat dishes. Native Tongues Taqueria (235 12th Ave. S.W., Calgary) is a cantina with an open kitchen serving Mexican cuisine made with locally sourced ingredients. Calcutta Cricket Club (1213 1st St. S.W., Calgary) was a staple on 17th Avenue until it moved to 1st Street, next door to Ten Foot Henry; they serve small-plate versions of classic Indian dishes.
Where to party
Located on trendy 17th Avenue, LGBTQ2S+-friendly Betty Lou’s Library (908 17th Ave. S.W., Calgary) is a flapper-era speakeasy that will make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. You need to make a reservation in advance and will get a password texted to your phone that you need to provide on arrival. Drink in the velvety atmosphere while sipping some of their original cocktails like the Zelda Fitzgerald, made with vodka, Aperol, St. Germain, yellow chartreuse, Earl Grey tea syrup and lemon juice. Go on a Wednesday night to see the burlesque show.
For a more active evening out, head to Sweet Loretta (715 11th Ave. S.W., Calgary), a queer-run disco bar that also serves small plates, like whipped feta, lemon pepper fries and lamb skewers. There’s a lounge, a main floor and a basement space with different DJs playing disco, house, funk and world grooves.
Paper Lantern (115 2nd Ave. S.E., Calgary), located in Chinatown, is a fun and intimate basement bar where you can dine on small sharing plates of skewered caramelized pork belly, salmon spring rolls and other Vietnamese street food while sipping classic tiki drinks, cocktails, hi-balls or tall boys. Can’t find it? Just look for the red lantern down the steps from the Ho Won Restaurant located above it.
One of the largest queer bars in the city, Twisted Element (1006 11th Ave. S.W., Calgary) is open Fridays through Sundays, with drag shows, dancing and other events. On a weekday, try Dickens (1000 9th Ave. S.W., Calgary), a queer-friendly pub that hosts everything from metal nights to drag shows and trivia.
The Backlot Bar (209 10th Ave. S.W., Calgary), the oldest LGBTQ2S+ bar in town, is known for its happy hour specials and inclusive philosophy. “It’s a very ‘West Hollywood’ style bar,” declares the website. “We’re not fancy but we’re full of history, acceptance, and a lot of laughs.”