"My teachers and classmates were very encouraging. I found the hands-on elements of the class to be the most helpful." - Latchmin S., CDI College Graduate
Winnipeg is a great city to live, work, and study. The capital and largest city of Manitoba, Winnipeg mixes urban arts and culture with a dash of Wild West attitude. With an abundance of festivals, events, parks, and museums, there's plenty to keep you occupied in this prairie city.
Sports and Outdoor Activities
Winnipeg is home to one of Canada's largest urban nature parks. The Assiniboine Forest is made up of 700 acres of forest and marshland. The park is a great place to bird watch, hike or picnic. It also features the Assiniboine Park Zoo, which is home to more than 400 species of animals from all over the world. Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre is also a wonderful place to view wildlife. Visitors can hike or canoe through the park to view snakes, eagles, and songbirds.
Sports enthusiasts will love Winnipeg. Winnipeg is home to several golf and country clubs including Bel Acres, Crescent Drive, and the Harbour View Golf Course and Recreation Complex, which also offers miniature golf, horseshoes, paddleboats, volleyball, and ice skating. Winnipeg's skateboarding parks are among the best in the world. The Plaza skateboarding park at The Forks is among the best and boasts $2.5 million in street-style features like rails, ledges, and benches.
Local sports teams include: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL team), the Winnipeg Alliance FC (Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League), the Manitoba Moose, (American Hockey League team) and one of the world's best curling teams.
In the winter, Winnipeg is still a great place to get active. Cross-country skiing, outdoor ice skating, tobogganing, and snowmobiling are all popular activities. There's also the Canad Inns Winter Wonderland at Red River Exhibition Park, which features a drive-through winter light show. You can also take part in the Festival du Voyageur, Western Canada's largest winter festival. The festival features music, dancing, ice sculpture and Franco-Manitoban culture.
Arts and Culture
For an historic day out, the Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site of Canada is a 19th century fort where you can see history come alive. Spend an afternoon touring the Governor General's house and the oldest fur trading post in North America. Fort Gibraltar and the Maison du Bourgeois are great places to relive 19th century history and the Air Force Heritage Museum is the perfect place for history to take flight.
From modern and edgy to traditional Aboriginal art, Winnipeg has galleries and museums to suit everyone. The Winnipeg Art Gallery is Canada's oldest public art gallery and home to the world's largest collection of Inuit art. For something a bit more avant-garde, head over to Ace Art Inc., a gallery showcasing experimental and non-commercial art, or the Graffiti Gallery at The Skate Plaza. Winnipeg has plenty of music and theatre venues and is home to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.