Banff Information: Tickets, Venues, Events and More

‘Banff’ is one of the biggest cities in the Banff National Park of Rockies of Alberta in Canada. It is the first incorporated municipality within a national park in Canada. This Canadian town is situated with highest elevation at 1,463 m. It is surrounded with the mountains of Mount Rundle, Sulphur Mountain, Mount Norquay and Cascade Mountain. It is situated above the Bow Falls near the junction of the Bow and Spray Rivers.

At 126 km west of Calgary and 58 km east of Lake Louise on the Trans-Canada Highway, Banff is a member of the Calgary Regional Partnership. The city is renowned as a resort town and most popular tourist destination of Canada. It is famous for the mountainous surroundings and hot springs. It is a best destination for the outdoor sports like extensive hiking, biking, scrambling and skiing. Famous ski resorts Sunshine Village and Ski Norquay are located here.

Banff was settled in 1880 beside the transcontinental railway. Canada established a federal reserve of 26 km² around the hot springs in 1885 to promote this area as an international resort and spa. The reserve area was increased to 673 km² in 1887. It later became Rocky Mountain Park. This was an initiative of the National Park system of Canada.

Former Canadian Pacific Railway Director, Lord Steven named this area to Banff in 1884. Banff began to develop near the railway station as a service centre for the tourists visiting this park. Banff has become the first and the only incorporated municipality within the Canadian national park. The United Nations declared Banff National Park one of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks and a World Heritage Site in 1985.

Banff still remains the most popular tourist destinations in Canada. As per the municipal census reports of 2007, the permanent population of Banff is 8721 alongside its seasonal shadow population of more than 1000.