Winnipeg sometimes startles visitors with its canopy of trees contrasting visibly with the surrounding treeless prairie. There is no mistaking the junction of Portage and Main, reputedly the widest, windiest, coldest street corner in Canada. But downtown avenues curve with the Assiniboine and Red rivers, giving some buildings delightfully quirky angles and avoiding the West’s usual rigid street grid.

Outstanding green swathes are a feature in Assiniboine Park. Behind the pavilion is the new Lyric Outdoor Stage for performances, including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s annual Ballet in the Park. Also in the park are the tropical palm Conservatory, and the Zoo with over 1200 creatures, including polar bears.

Winnipeg is also an old city in a young land. The first Europeans to build on this site were French fur traders who constructed Fort Rouge in 1738 near the flood-prone confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, silt-laden waterways which eventually gave the city its Cree name of muddy water.