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Flights to Banff

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Banff is a world-famous town situated in the Canadian Rockies and within Banff National Park in the province of Alberta. This attractive town has a number of attractions itself, and of course the beautiful Rockies surrounding it have countless opportunities to enjoy the scenic beauty.

The closest airport to Banff for international visitors is Calgary. Calgary International Airport (airport code: YYC) is one of Canada’s major airports and as such it is well linked for flights from the UK. Although you cannot get a flight to Banff directly, the town is within easy reach of Calgary and the journey by car should take about an hour to an hour and a half, or if you’re not picking up a rental car at Calgary you can take one of the three airport shuttle bus services to Banff.

Most flights from the UK are with scheduled airlines. From London options include direct flights with British Airways, Air Canada and BMI. Alternatively an option is to choose an indirect flight with one stop such as Lufthansa, United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, American Airlines and KLM.

The Tourist Attractions of Banff

As mentioned, Banff is nestled in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and is surrounded by stunning natural beauty, some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, and although most visitors will be visiting Banff in order to see the bigger picture, Banff is a famous stop off and a very popular place to stay. For this reason, if you are looking to stay in Banff for a night or two you should book your accommodation as early as possible and certainly not leave it to chance as the chances are there will be nowhere to stay in the middle of the peak summer season!

Let’s not forget that Banff is also a prime destination in the winter too, popular with skiers, snowboarders and visitors who just want to experience the Rockies in the winter.

Here are some of the attractions you can experience all year round…

Banff Gondola – The Banff Gondola is one of the town’s premier attractions. This is a sightseeing gondola which takes you up Sulphur Mountain on an 8 minute journey. The views as you climb are spectacular, but the views from the top are even better. You can see Banff town plus the surrounding Rockies and at the top there is also a restaurant and gift shop (one of many in Banff!). If you have the time and are feeling energetic you could walk the trail up Sulphur Mountain, then take the gondola down. The trail is manageable for those who are relatively fit and should take about 2 hours.

Cave and Basin National Historic Site – This is where the Canadian national park system was born when some Canadian Pacific Railway workers came across some natural hot springs in the mid-1880’s. The railway had already made it to Banff but the discovery of the hot springs prompted further development of the area into a tourist resort.

Banff Upper Hot Springs – This is the site for Banff’s hot springs now, which visitors can swim in and enjoy. Best to try in the middle of winter when there’s snow all around you!

Museums – Two museums worth visiting in Banff are the Banff Park Museum National Historic Site and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel – You may not be able to afford to stay at the world famous Banff Springs Hotel but you should at least visit this spectacular place as there are not many hotels like this left in the world!

Winter Skiing in Banff

The closest ski resort to Banff town is Ski Norquay, on Mount Norquay, but for better snow conditions Sunshine Village is recommended in favour though it is slightly further away from Banff.

When Should You Visit Banff?

When you should visit Banff depends on what you’re coming here for! Obviously if it’s for skiing come in the winter – Sunshine Village is at a higher elevation than Ski Norquay and hence has a longer season, but remember the whole of Banff is at a high elevation. This is the highest town in the whole of Canada! Summertime highs average at 22C in July, whilst December highs are -5C.