Photo: Thamyris Salgueiro/Shutterstock

9 Experiences to Have in Winnipeg Before You Die

Student Work Insider Guides
by Lauren Williams Oct 14, 2015

1. Hook some dead frogs to your line and wait for 30-lb. catfish to come to you.

Become a Master Angler on the Red River. Hook up with rock ‘n’ roll fisherman Todd Longley, jump in his boat and speed down the river to a quiet fishing spot. If you catch one bigger than 34”, you become a Master Angler. Virgin fishers beware — you have to put your hand inside the fish’s gills to pick it up.

2. Follow the smell of TGP’s bread baking slowly with affection through the old stables.

Indulge in the best bread in town at Tall Grass Prairie. Head on down to The Forks. Meet your buds. Eat until you are sick.

3. Go back on your word when you said, “I’m not that into museums.”

Learn about the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. This ain’t no ordinary museum — the entire building has been built and created with so much love and care that you’ll need a guide just to learn about the architecture, let alone the exhibits.

4. Eat the shakshouka, all of the shakshouka, at Miss Browns.

Dropped by at @missbrownswpg for some breakfast.

A photo posted by Jacquie Choi 🌿 (@jacquiecooks) on

And then wash it down with the creamiest earl grey tea on the planet. You’ll be forgiven if the lure of sandwiches the size of breeze-blocks tempt you back for lunch, too.

5. Say hi to Hudson the polar bear at Assiniboine Park.

And then stand under his massive paws in the underwater walkway. No bear hugs allowed.

6. Cheer on the Jets at the MTS Centre.

The work leading up to the season opener continues! #GoJetsGo

A photo posted by Winnipeg Jets (@nhljets) on

They’ve made the playoffs. Drink beer, get rowdy, drink more beer. GO JETS GO!

7. Start at the Albert Street Cocktail Company to fill your belly with thick rum, bracing absinthe and a Charlie Chaplin before staggering down the stone steps and entering into any dive bar that sells cheap beer.

Bar crawl the entire Exchange district. Drink. Puke. Drink more. Find your new best friend in a Jets jersey and rant about the upcoming season for the rest of the night.

8. Chill out at the Thermea Spa.

A great b-day surprise from my lovely wife @dree78 Thanks babe, this was amazing! #thermeaspa #relax

A photo posted by Drew McOuat (@drewmc78) on

So you’ve stuffed your face with bread and bar-crawled the city. Now it’s time to sweat out those toxins with a eucalyptus steam. Let the haze wash over your body and fill your brain with nothing. Follow this with a bracing dip in a plunge pool before collapsing in a hammock big enough for three with the fall leaves drifting onto your robe. Finish off the night with a glass (okay, bottle) of 2012 Blue Mountain Pinot Noir. Just to be sure you’ve not got rid of all those toxins.

9. Become a member of the Intrepid Society.

The real James Bond is from Winnipeg. As in, the man who Ian Fleming based his books on. The gadgets, the spies, the girls. It’s all real. If you’re enthusiastic enough, join the Intrepid Society, or just corner one of its members to fill you in on it all. Don from Heartland Travel knows it all. Find him.

This content was produced in collaboration with Travel Manitoba.

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