Where to purchase gluten-free baking and gluten-free food products, plus how to preserve flavour and nutrients when eating gluten-free.
Celebrate May's long weekend by paying tribute to Queen Victoria and her legacies.
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Fairview lives up to its name with its stellar vistas of the Rocky Mountains. The southeast community offers residents large yards, friendly neighbours, relatively low taxes and access to good shopping. Fairview is also near Glenmore Trail and Deerfoot Trail, and has convenient access to buses.
Despite its name, the southwest community of South Calgary is actually close to downtown and features many charming heritage and character homes. Residents have access to a library (Alexander Calhoun Branch), a community hall and an outdoor swimming pool. South Calgary also earns points for having a high number of daycare centres.
This northwest neighbourhood has inner-city appeal, historic charm and suburban sensibilities. Established in 1914, Hillhurst is a tree-lined community with great access to buses, friendly neighbours and curb appeal. The river hugs the community to the south and Hillhurst, which aims to promote and support local arts and entertainment, is home to the trendy Kensington shopping district and is one bridge-length from downtown.
Calgary’s two rivers meet up in Inglewood, making river access one of its main attractions. Located within walking distance to downtown in the southeast, Inglewood, Calgary’s oldest community, bustles with an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants and boutiques, and is also home to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, an urban wildlife refuge.
With the Elbow River flowing to the east, and bordered by Marda Loop, Garrison Woods and Elbow Park, Altadore is an uptown girl living near a downtown world. The southwest community also contains many playgrounds and top-notch recreation facilities.
The northwest community of Brentwood is the intellectual centre of Calgary. Boasting schools of every level and type, including a university and college, as well as Catholic, Christian, French and public schools for elementary, junior high or high school, they are either here, or within a few C-train stops of Brentwood Station. Just need to read? Visit the Nose Hill branch of the public library or explore the massive MacKimmie Library Tower on the University of Calgary campus to the south.
Bounded by the Elbow River and Stanley Park to the north, Elboya residents enjoy large yards, convenient river access and many walking paths nearby. This established neighbourhood is also positioned between Elbow Drive and Macleod Trail, making for convenient commuting.
One of the oldest and wealthiest neighbourhoods in Calgary, Elbow Park residents enjoy short commutes to work and school, river access and low density. The central location of the southwest community provides access to the amenities, stores and restaurants that come with downtown living, paired with more suburban-style large yards and nearby parks and pathways.
The northwest community of Silver Springs gives residents and visitors stunning views of the Rocky Mountains and Canada Olympic Park. Bowmont Park Natural Area borders the community to the south and the Silver Springs Community Centre runs various sports, fitness and social activities. The community also has quick road connections to both Crowchild and Stoney Trails, allowing easy commutes.
A separate town until it was annexed into Calgary in 1964, the northwest community of Bowness celebrates its centennial this year. Residents of Bowness enjoy a community centre, excellent river access and Bowness Park, which sits between the Bow River and a lagoon. And Canada Olympic Park is right on its doorstep.
Residents of this southwest community appreciate and enjoy convenient access to buses, friendly neighbours and a low crime rate. Chinook Park’s central location means major roadways like Glenmore Trail, Elbow Drive, 14th Street S.W. and Heritage Drive are all nearby. Rockyview Hospital is just northwest of the community; Heritage Park is immediately to the west.
Located in the southeast, Willow Park is a shopaholic’s dream with both Southcentre Mall and Willow Park Village housed within its boarders. A golf course, library, recreation facility and excellent road access round out the perks of living here.
In addition to having the sweetest-sounding name on the list, the northwest community of Mount Pleasant has some sweet attractions, too. They include close proximity to downtown, Confederation Park and a community Sportsplex and swimming pool that help to keep residents active. One of Calgary’s oldest neighbourhoods, Mount Pleasant also has a vibrant community hall and the North Mount Pleasant Arts Centre is nearby.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a cyclist or a driver, the rat race gets shorter when you move to West Hillhurst. The river pathway system, Memorial Drive and Crowchild Trail are within a few blocks of this classy northwest ’hood, so beating your boss to work is easy.
For devoted downtowners willing to sacrifice a backyard and a few extra square feet to live and work next door to where they play, this energetic neighbourhood is perfect. As an added bonus, this neighbourhood ranked highest as a good investment, so a quick sell is easy if you decide to trade for a more suburban setting. The short-term pain of West LRT construction promises long-term gain with quick access to even more of the city.
It’s not quite the Paris of the Prairies, but Acadians can brag about having some of the city’s best shopping outside of the downtown core. Restaurants, grocery stores and retail fill the nearby Macleod Trail S.E. strip, while Southcentre Mall and Chinook Centre are only a few stops either way from the Southland C-train stop.
This suburban Shangri-La is within easy reach of urban amenities like the Westside Recreation Centre, Westbrook Mall and the future 69th Street C-train station, but living here is really about jogging in the forested pathways around the neighbourhood and spending warm summer evenings on the sandy beach of nearby Edworthy Park.
Edgemont overlooks the city on the northwest slope of Nose Hill Park, boasting magnificent views of the mountains and downtown. The generous tracts of parkland that weave around its curvy crescents are the envy of neighbouring communities, while convenient shopping is available at Country Hills Village, the Hamptons Co-op and Dalhousie Station (which also has the closest LRT station).
These gritty, postwar, inner-city bungalows in the northeast look tough on the outside, but on the inside they house some of the friendliest people in Calgary. Combine that edgy congeniality with excellent proximity to downtown and an abundance of daycares (who knew?), and Winston Heights is irresistible for young professionals looking to start a family.
The ridge overlooking downtown and Prince’s Island is often packed with people on a sunny day, which speaks to both the beauty of the view and the area’s predilection for pedestrian travel. Founded initially as a separate village in 1908, a legacy of human-scaled architecture and a charming small-town character has persevered despite its annexation by the city in 1911.
Tuscany proves family life can be better in the suburbs. With mountain views, big, beautiful homes and almost no crime, Tuscan children grow up in a safe and clean environment not far from two of the city’s oldest and most popular natural playgrounds along the Bow River, Baker Park and Bowness Park.
Arbour Lake’s Crowfoot Crossing has almost every type of restaurant, coffee shop and entertainment option you could possibly want, without the hassle of fighting traffic just to catch a flick. Work in an office? Hop a train at Crowfoot Station and you will be at Bankers Hall in less than half an hour.
The benefit of living in Canada’s first community built around a man-made lake is it only gets better with time. Now in the centre of a commercial shopping district and bordered by expressways into the core, this beautiful 1960s-era suburb has bloomed into an urban oasis in a city with no nearby natural swimming holes.
Despite being overshadowed by trendy Inglewood, Ramsay has quietly become one of the most livable inner-city neighbourhoods. It has a wealth of attractive character homes strung along tilted tree-lined streets, all within walking distance of Inglewood’s arty 9th Avenue strip, the Elbow River, Stampede Park and the cultural district.
Those who move to Sunnyside tend to stay in Sunnyside, and why not? Some of the best restaurants, cafés and pubs can be found along 10th Street N.W. and Kensington Road, while a central C-train station and scores of bike paths makes car-free access to and from downtown a cinch. The quirky heritage homes — with residents to match — endear and entice new residents every year.
Help us determine next year's best neighbourhoods by completing the 2012 Best Neighbourhoods Survey
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