Calgary, Cowtown, Texas of Canada, “Heart of the New West” - Calgary is many things. It is one of Canada’s busiest cities. Centre of the Canadian West’s oil and gas industry, Calgary is a city proud of its present and fond of its rough past. By North American standards, Calgary is not old. Nevertheless, it offers visitors – both for business and pleasure, much to do and plenty to see.

The arrival of the railway in 1883 together with the ideal location surrounded by foothills, rolling hills and prairie land, made this city the perfect place for cattle ranching. By 1884 the population of this ‘cow town’ had boomed to 6,000 people and was officially designated a city.

In the late 1800’s sandstone was discovered in the banks of the Bow River. Both practical and attractive, new sandstone buildings started to appear quickly and Calgary became known as ‘Sandstone City’. This image helped draw even more inhabitants and by 1912, Calgary had over 47,000 residents.

Today the city is a thriving metropolis, not a cow shed in site and home to the largest number of head offices in Canada, per capita. The city skyline boasts a number of skyscrapers and the famous Saddledome, (a building that is built in the shape of a saddle) with a Rocky Mountain background.

The city is continuously growing, with a population of over one million, and is young; the average age of residents being just 37.5 years.

The city is also a favourite for tourists, not least due to its prime location close to the Rocky Mountains and a number of annual events, averaging over four and a half million visitors per year.

One of the most famous annual events, the Calgary Stampede is the richest rodeo in the world and celebrates its centennial in 2012.

For ten days, over one million visitors don white cowboy hats and western attire and participate in a number of themed events in the city. The world’s best rodeo athletes compete, by invitation only, and go head to head to win the biggest one day prize in professional rodeo.

With other large annual events in the city such as Folk Fest, the International Film Festival and the Fringe Festival, it’s no surprise that there are over 80 attractions, 70 hotels and more than 1,600 restaurants here!

With its thriving economy and young, cultured population, it is still a desired place to live and consistently occupies the Economist’s ‘Top 10 Most Liveable Cities in the World’ list.

In addition, it has a desirable climate; with more hours of sunshine than any other major Canadian city.

It’s certainly no surprise that this ‘Cow Town’ has gracefully emerged into ‘The Heart of the New West’.

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