Visit Value | Winnipeg

Visit Value | Winnipeg

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Preamble

I went to Winnipeg, Manitoba for a few days last week. This wasn’t my first time in Winnipeg, but it was my first real visit where I saw more than the inside of a hotel room or a Robin’s Donuts. I’ve shared my spending on previous trips to Oslo, San Francisco, and Vancouver. These help me get a better idea of where my money goes when I travel, and it shows you how much travel can cost. You could spend a lot more than I did, or you could spend a bit less.

The prices listed are in Canadian $ and are accurate as of May 2023 when I took this trip. You can visit xe.com to see prices in your local currency.

Pre-trip Costs

I booked a direct flight to Winnipeg on Flair Airlines, an ultra low-cost carrier in Canada. A ticket on an ultra-low cost carrier includes a seat on the plane (it costs extra to reserve a specific seat), and a personal item like a purse. For my ticket I paid extra to bring a carry-on bag each way. I also got Travel Flex, which allows you to make changes to your flight up to a certain period.

I also prebooked my hotel and paid for it in advance. I booked 3 nights at the Radisson downtown with a single queen bed. The hotel itself is centrally located. I pretty much walked everywhere I needed except getting to/from the airport.

Roundtrip Flight with a carry-on bag each way and Travel Flex: $210.90
Hotel (Prepaid for 3 Nights): $474.98
Total Pre-trip Cost: $685.88

Day 1 – Sunday, May 14

My flight to Winnipeg was in the morning. I researched the best way to get from the airport to my hotel. I could either pay $50+ for a taxi, or take a bus from Winnipeg Transit for $3.15 one-way (you’ll need exact change). I went for the second option. You can go on their website to plan your route. The airport serves route 15 or route 20. The route 15 bus has a stop on Portage Ave right across from the Radisson downtown, so that’s what I took. The bus ride took about 25 minutes.

I arrived too early to check into the hotel, but I did store my carry-on bag for a few hours while I went out. My first stop was to visit the Winnipeg Art Gallery Qaumajuq (WAG). Admission is free the 2nd Sunday of the month, which is when I happened to be there. WAG has the largest collection of Inuit art in the world. The art was very impressive, but I don’t have a lot of context with art, especially when it comes to Inuit and Indigenous art. While at WAG I stopped at the museum café. I’d only eaten a a granola bar that I brought from home, and I was hungry. I got a coffee and bannock (a type of flatbread) with rhubarb butter. Whipped butter with rhubarb mixed in? Hell yes. It was so good.

Various displays of Inuit sculptures at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Various displays of Inuit sculptures at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. I’d recommend visiting WAG if you’re in Winnipeg.

I decided to visit The Manitoba Museum since the next day (Monday) museums close in Winnipeg. Also, I knew I wouldn’t have time to visit on Tuesday (my last full day in Winnipeg). I walked about 20 minutes to the museum. The Manitoba Museum has three paid parts to it. Admission to the Museum Galleries is $15, and they cover the history of Manitoba, from prehistoric times to modern day. There’s also a Science Gallery (adult admission is $8.40) and a Planetarium (adult admission is $8.40). If you have the time you can visit all three for $23. I didn’t have time for all three so I just did the Museum. I was there for about 2 hours and enjoyed my visit.

The highlight of my visit to the museum was going on the replica of the Nonsuch, a merchant ship that originally sailed in the 1600s.

After the museum I went to Brown’s Social House for a bite to eat. It was happy hour so I got a social soda and an appetizer. I then went to the Dollar store to buy sunscreen, something I didn’t bring with me. I know that usually May in Winnipeg isn’t this hot, but it got close to 30C while I was there. Sunscreen was needed. I didn’t do much else after I checked in the hotel aside from walking to a Tex-Mex fast food place a few hours later to get some dinner to go.

Admission to the Winnipeg Art Gallery: $0 (normally if I’d been there another day it would be $18)
Coffee and Bannock with Rhubarb Butter: $9.12
Admission to Manitoba Museum (Museum Galleries Only): $15
Social Soda and Spicy Fried Chicken and Fried Pickles from Brown’s Social House: $20.50
Pork Asada Burrito Bowl and Salsa and Chips from Quesada: $17.00
Day 1 Total: $70.28

Day 2 – Monday, May 15

As mentioned in Day 1 museums in Winnipeg close on Mondays. My plan for Day 2 was to wander about. My first stop was breakfast at Tim Horton’s. I then went to the Dollar store to grab some granola bars, gum, and some junk food for snacking at the hotel. After dropping most of that off in my room (save for a couple of granola bars and the gum) I walked to Millennium Library. This is main branch of the Winnipeg Public Library, and I wanted to see the musical instrument lending library they have. The nonprofit I work for will be opening our own instrument lending library. My quick visit there was out of curiosity to see how they had things set up.

After that I walked to The Forks. This is a historic area that was a meeting place for Indigenous peoples dating back 6000 years. It’s at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers (hence the name). The Forks is now is the site of an indoor market (The Forks Market), park space with trails (a National Park in Canada), the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and more. It’s a great area of Winnipeg, and has its own hotel (The Inn At The Forks) if you want to stay close.

Inside The Forks Market.

I went to The Forks Market, and wandered around the shops. I went to the arcade they have and played 2 games of Addam’s Family pinball, which I wasn’t very good at (it’s been a while since I played pinball). For lunch I got a pulled pork sandwich from Wienerpeg, and a cookie butter cookie sandwich from Jenna Rae Cakes. Both were great. There’s also has a lookout spot on the 6th floor so I went up for some views of the rivers and the city.

This day was actually quite hot. As I was walking back toward downtown I started feeling some stroke coming on. I’d been drinking water (brought a refillable bottle), but I decided it would be best to go back to my hotel for a couple hours to cool down. After that I made my way over to The Exchange District. This is an area close to downtown that has a variety of historic buildings, some of the highest concentration of them in the country. Many of them are down in the Beaux Arts Style, which is also known as Chicago Style.

Wandering around The Exchange District.

I was at The Exchange District around 5pm when it most stores and restaurants were closing, except one. Into The Music is a new and used music store with records, CDs, tapes (yes) and DVDs. I was mostly there just browsing for fun with no plans to buy anything. That is until I went to the DVD section and found a Kate Bush 2-disc DVD with interviews and live performances of some of her song . I went down the rabbithole of Kate Bush’s music about 10 years ago, and became a big fan. While I didn’t expect to be buying a DVD in Winnipeg before this trip that’s what happened.

For dinner there was one place I wanted to visit; Mitzi’s Chicken Finger Restaurant. Now, this restaurant has Chinese food and chicken fingers, obviously. And maybe you’re thinking are you sure? But what Mitzi’s is known for is inventing Honey Dill Sauce. This is a very regional sauce, just found in Manitoba, and it’s popular throughout the province. It’s apparently combination of honey, dill, mayo, and some lemon juice, and I wanted to give it a try. The restaurant is only open for takeaway right now (not sit-down service). I went and got the chicken finger combo that comes with 5 chicken fingers, honey dill sauce, fries, and root beer and took it back to the hotel. The chicken fingers were great, and I can totally see why honey dill sauce is popular here.

Chocolate Almonds, Veggie Chips, Granola Bars and Gum from the Dollarama: $9.12
Breakfast Sandwich, Hash Brown, Coffee from Tim Horton’s: $7.61
2 Plays of Addam’s Family Pinball: $2.00
Pulled Pork Sandwich from Wienerpig: $9.98
Cookie Butter Cookie Sandwich from Jenna Rae’s Cakes: $4.75
Kate Bush Rare T.V Collection 2 Disc DVD Set from Into The Music: $22.60
5 Chicken Fingers with Honey Dill Sauce, Fries, and Root Beer from Mitzi’s: $20.60
Day 2 Total: $75.88

Day 3 – Tuesday, May 16

My big plan for the day was to visit the Canadian Museum For Human Rights (CMHR), but first I needed breakfast. I went to The Original Pancake House at the Forks. They’re known for having a giant baked apple pancake, and that’s what I did for breakfast. Except I got the baby version (which was still the size of a medium plate), bacon, and coffee. This was the priciest meal I had on my trip, but it was good.

Next was the 8-minute or so walk to the CMHR. This museum is all about human rights, but with a Canadian lens on things. To say I was extremely impressed with this museum would be an understatement. This is one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. Although admission is $18 I spent about 4.5 hours here, and I didn’t get to everything. It’s my top recommendation of things to do in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg sign with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in the background. I’ll definitely be writing more about my experience there.

After that I head back to The Forks for a bite to eat for lunch. I went to Fusion Experience and got some Okonomiyaki, which is a savoury Japanese pancake. It’s one of my favourite foods. I also stopped at the Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company to get a cinnamon bun to go. I could smell cinnamon buns when I first walked into The Forks Market, so it was a no brainer to buy one.

Next to the market is the Johnston Terminal, which has several different shops and a restaurant. I went down to the Antique Mall to wander about. I wasn’t planning on buying anything, especially travelling with carry-on only. Then I saw some vintage postcards and I figured if I found one from a place I’ve visited I’d buy one. So that’s how I ended up with a postcard of Copenhagen.

The rest of the day I wandered around the park at The Forks, then across the rivers on the pedestrian Forks Bridge. I walked along the paths toward the French neighbourhood of St. Boniface. It’s cathedral, St. Boniface Cathedral, is a landmark of the city. It also has a cemetery with the grave of Louis Riel.

The history of Louis Riel is complicated, but here’s a short version if don’t know Canadian history. Louis Riel was born in St. Boniface. He was Métis (person of European and Indigenous descent) who became a leader and activist. At this time only Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were provinces in Canada. The area of present-day Manitoba was under the administration of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Riel led uprisings against the Canadian government of time. This eventually lead to the creation of the province of Manitoba. The Canadian government executed Riel for treason in 1885. To many he was a hero who helped to champion the rights of Métis peoples. For others he was a traitor who prevented the expansion of Canada (let’s be clear the expansion of white, English speaking, colonialism) west.

If I’d been visiting at the right time of year I would have gone to Le Musée de Saint-Boniface (St. Boniface Museum). It used to be a convent and has an exhibit about Riel and the history of St. Boniface. The museum is seasonally run and wasn’t quite open when I was there. So I wandered for a bit before heading back toward downtown on the Esplanade Bridge. On my way back I realized I’d be walking by Mitzi’s, so I stopped for an order of chicken fingers and honey dill sauce (plus extra sauce). I actually still had fries from the night before so I finished those up as well.

Coffee, Bacon, and a Baby Apple Pancake from The Pancake House: $30.22
Admission to the Canadian Museum For Human Rights: $18.00
Okonomiyaki from Fusion House: $17.24
Cinnamon Bun from Golden Prairie Bakery: $3.70
Vintage Copenhagen Postcard from Johnston Terminal Antique Mall: $2.05
6 Chicken Fingers & Extra Honey Dill Sauce: $17.81
Day 3 Total: $89.02

Day 4ish – Wednesday, May 17

My flight was at 10am in the morning so I packed my bags (most I packed before) and checked out of the hotel. I then took the 15 bus to the airport. I got to the airport early because I had issues with my check in. Long story short when I checked in online the day before everything looked fine. I took a screenshot of the boarding pass (always do this and you’ll see why). When I went to access my boarding pass the next morning it said my flight had departed (the was hours beforehand) or my reservation wasn’t correct. I checked the email confirmation, and I noticed it had confirmed me for the flight to Winnipeg, even though that had departed days before. It also gave a different seat number than the one I was in. So I went to the airport early to make sure I was checked in and my flight was good. It was, but it was a stressful 30 minutes on that bus wondering what the hell happened.

After security I stood in a massive line at Tim Horton’s not because I’m Canadian, but because I needed a coffee and it was closer to my boarding gate. I got a breakfast sandwich, donut, and coffee. Before boarding I decided to gate-check my bag, which was also a hassle because the gate agent didn’t tell me where to pick up my bag. She also put me in the line for preboarding, which I guess must be a thing if you gate-check a bag on Flair, but I didn’t really intend to preboard. I went for it anyway, but ended up going to the bathroom beforehand to dump my coffee. I only took a few sips cause my stomach couldn’t handle it. I think on travel days when I need to be at an airport I’m too stressed for my stomach to handle coffee and I should avoid it.

Unlike my previous flight I didn’t luck out with an empty seat in the row, so I was stuck in the middle. The flights only 2 hours so it was fine. At Edmonton’s airport my gate-checked bag was waiting for me at the bridge so I picked it up and got a ride home from my mom.

Bus from Downtown to the airport $3.15
Breakfast Sandwich, Donut and Coffee from Tim Horton’s (post-security): $9.32
Day 4 Total: $12.47

Takeaways

Overall, I spent $933.53 during my trip to Winnipeg. My flight was relatively inexpensive. The hotel while a bit more than I usually spend on a trip alone, was worth the money for its central location. On the flight back the man sitting next to me said he paid $65 for a cab from St. Boniface. If I booked an Airbnb or guesthouse it would have been further out in the city and I would have been paying more for cab fair and to get around. I should have brought sunscreen and granola bars from home so I didn’t have to buy any in Winnipeg. Manitoba has provincial sales tax whereas Alberta doesn’t so that would have saved me a bit. I also didn’t have to buy that Kate Bush DVD (I can’t even figure out how to get our DVD player to work). Still I actually really enjoyed Winnipeg. I told my friend I would go back for a visit (though definitely not in the winter I know what they’re like). And next time I’d opt to rent a car for a few days to visit some attractions further out from the city centre.

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Things To Know
While in Winnipeg, I stayed at the Radisson Winnipeg Downtown which cost me about $475 for a room with a single queen bed. This hotel is right downtown, and about a 15-minute walk to The Forks. If you want to stay right in Winnipeg, there are plenty of hotels you can book here.


Have you been to Winnipeg, MB? What would you do there?

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