Branding itself as “Canada’s Middle Child” in tourism marketing campaigns, Winnipeg is often not at the top of the list of travel destinations, but it’s absolutely a great “second tier city” to plan a long weekend visiting at any time of year. The summer is full of festivals and great outdoor patio opportunities, while winter boasts unique experiences like skating trails and soaking in hot springs while the snow falls from the sky around you.
Top Things To Do in Winnipeg
Visit the Leaf & Gardens at Assiniboine Park
Summer or winter, these botanical gardens are 100% worth a visit. Step into some tropical humidity at The Leaf and marvel at the incredible species of plants that surround you. Wandering through these gardens is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon, there are some gorgeous flowers and trees, and there’s even a butterfly garden you can walk through. The Leaf is well-worth the price tag, and the onsite restaurant, Gather Kitchen & Bar, serves up lovely cocktails and delicious food — read more about their poutine in my post about the best restaurants in Winnipeg.
Eat, Drink, and Shop at the Forks Market
The Forks is a fabulous food hall that sits in a beautiful, historic building. Situated at where the Assiniboine and Red River fork apart, it’s always bustling with people stopping in to enjoy a drink, a meal, sometimes live music, shopping, and a lively atmosphere. There’s a brewery, coffee shop, and tons of different food stalls.
During the summer months, there is an extensive outdoor patio on the riverfront, and during the winter time there are designated ice skating rinks. No trip to Winnipeg is complete without a meal enjoyed at The Forks; some of my favorite include Wienerpeg (hot dogs) and Basta Filipino Restaurant. There are a lot of great shops here too — ideal for holiday gifts, and the wine shop, Ellement, is fantastic.
Tour the Canadian Museum for Human Rights
An impressive architectural focal point along the river is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and it’s an attraction well worth spending an afternoon exploring. It contains historical and sociological background on the struggles for human rights around the world, not just in Canada’s history. With compelling exhibits and displays, you can learn a lot while wandering the various levels of this museum. The building itself is also quite impressive, with very cool design features that would be of interest to any architecture student or enthusiast.
Go to a Winnipeg Jets Game
I was super lucky with the hockey schedule in 2025; the Jets played the Minnesota Wild the day before my birthday, making it a fun addition to a birthday weekend in Winnipeg. It was a nail-biter of a game, too, with the Wild scoring a tie in the final minute of game play, going into overtime, and resulting in a massive upset with the Wild winning after being down for a majority of the game! Buy your tickets in advance as hockey is a huge thing in Canada, and games can sell out. It’s not a cheap activity, even our seats way in the nosebleeds still were over $100 apiece after fees.
Enjoy a Spa Experience at Thermea Spa Village in Winnipeg
If you’re visiting Winnipeg during the winter months, this is an absolute must-do. The Spa Village by Thermea offers various hot pools, cold plunges, saunas, steam rooms, and more. It’s so relaxing, with a great onsite restaurant and bar for dining, and relaxation rooms to hang out in. It was magical to sit in hot water while surrounded by snow. You receive towels and robes when you check in, and get a personal locker with a key for your stuff. Bring all your toiletries that you want to use, but they do have a lot of stuff available in the locker rooms.
Next time I visit, I would plan to go a few hours before a meal time, enjoy the soaking experience, shower and get ready, and eat in the restaurant before departing. They have really great food and the Nordic atmosphere is just lovely. It’s not a cheap experience but it’s worth the splurge, especially when you need to warm up.
See the Art at Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)
Museum enthusiasts will be happy in Winnipeg; there are quite a few here that are worth a visit. The Winnipeg Art Gallery is home to many different permanent and rotating exhibits, from indigenous artists to European and beyond. I spent a few hours here wandering the galleries, enjoying the vast displays of sculptures, murals, and more. Check their website for information on the traveling galleries, but the permanent displays are also well-worth seeing.
Ice Skate the Nestaweya River Trail
Every winter, the temperatures in Winnipeg are consistently cold enough to freeze the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, and a significant portion of both are plowed and shaped by the city into a skating trail. You can skate miles up and down the rivers, a really unique contrast to typical skating rinks where you just go in circles. Start at The Forks, lace up your skates, and explore in any direction. You can check this page for updates on the conditions of the trail, and to learn which sections are open.
See the Northern Lights
If you happen to be visiting Winnipeg in the winter, and you have a vehicle to get outside the city and away from light pollution, AND you happen to be here during a geomagnetic storm or solar flare, or other event that causes the Aurora Borealis to be visible, you have won the lottery of seeing natural phenomena in real life. Winnipeg is a great city for a chance to see the Northern Lights because, well, it is very far north, but also because you can really get away from the city and light pollution very quickly – in less than a 20-minute drive you can find yourself in a much more rural area. Note that the Aurora looks much more brilliant in photos than it does to the naked eye, but it’s still a really cool thing to see in real life.
Where to Stay in Winnipeg
The Fort Garry Hotel
Located in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, the Fort Garry Hotel is a historic and iconic institution dating back to the early 20th century, the only surviving hotel from the era of “Grand Railway Hotels,” constructed by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The bar and restaurant here is beautiful, worth sitting in and sipping a cocktail for a moody evening experience. It’s not a cheap hotel, with prices starting around $200/night, but it will put you right in the heart of the city with easy access to all the major sights, the best restaurants, and near the river.
This is far from a comprehensive guide to everything there is to do in Winnipeg, but I hope it’s a solid start for your trip! Winnipeg is a great long weekend getaway from the Twin Cities, Grand Forks, Fargo, or other smaller cities in Manitoba. I’d recommend a trip here for winter enthusiasts if you really want to see how you handle the cold, or for a summer visit to attend a festival.
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