Regina

Saskatchewan's capital, with the RCMP Academy and Heritage Centre and Wascana Lake park surrounding the Legislature; nearby Moose Jaw's tunnels tell tales of the Prohibition era.

Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan, Canada, set in the heart of the Great Plains amid endless wheat fields and prairie. The city grew up with the railway in 1882 and is the birthplace of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and home to its only training academy. At the city's core is the roughly 930-hectare Wascana Centre, where the Legislative Building, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, the MacKenzie Art Gallery and the Saskatchewan Science Centre cluster around the lake — a day's visit on foot or by bike. On the west side of the city are the RCMP Heritage Centre and the Depot Division training academy, where you can watch cadet parades in summer; downtown, Victoria Park and the Cathedral Village neighbourhood are good for strolling and dining. Two classic day trips: about 70 km west to Moose Jaw for the Tunnels of Moose Jaw theatrical tours and a soak in mineral hot springs, stopping to see bison at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park on the way; or about an hour northeast into the Qu'Appelle Valley to visit Echo Valley Provincial Park and Fort Qu'Appelle. The climate is continental, with long, bitterly cold winters often dropping to -30°C; Jun–Aug is warm and sunny with long days, the peak season for RCMP events and festivals. Regina International Airport has flights to Calgary, Toronto and elsewhere; getting around the city and region is mostly by car. Plan on 2–3 days. In summer, catch a Saskatchewan Roughriders football game to feel the passion of prairie fans.

Top sights

• RCMP Heritage Centre – The national museum of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, telling the 150-year story from the North-West Mounted Police to the modern force.
• Saskatchewan Legislative Building – A Beaux-Arts provincial legislative building on the shore of Wascana Lake, its dome mirrored in the water. Free guided tours are available.
• Wascana Centre & Wascana Lake – One of North America's largest urban parks, circling a man-made lake and linking the legislature, museums, an art gallery and a university.
• Royal Saskatchewan Museum – A provincial museum of natural and Indigenous history. Its star exhibit is the T. rex skeleton 'Scotty'.
• RCMP Academy, Depot Division – The only training academy for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police across Canada. Guided tours include the parade square, the chapel and the t…
• MacKenzie Art Gallery – Saskatchewan's first public art gallery, known for its contemporary Indigenous art and prairie school collection.
• Saskatchewan Science Centre – An interactive science museum in a converted old power station on the east shore of Wascana Lake, with the Kramer IMAX Theatre attached.
• Government House – A Victorian-era official residence built in 1891, with rooms and gardens preserved in their original state and free to visit.
• Mosaic Stadium – Home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, where the team's green jerseys and “watermelon helmets” are the symbols of prairie fans.
• Victoria Park & Downtown – A downtown green space surrounded by Scarth Street Mall, a farmers' market and historic buildings, ideal for an urban stroll.
• Cathedral Village – A historic residential district around Holy Rosary Cathedral, with independent cafés, restaurants and boutiques along 13th Avenue.
• Casino Regina – A former 1912 Union Station converted into a casino and performance venue, preserving its classical facade and grand hall.
• Regina Floral Conservatory – A small tropical conservatory run by community volunteers, where flowers bloom even when temperatures drop to minus 30 degrees in winter.
• Tunnels of Moose Jaw – Underground tunnels in the small city of Moose Jaw, 70 km west of Regina, where costumed performances recreate the history of prohibition-e…
• Buffalo Pound Provincial Park – A provincial park in the Qu'Appelle Valley where you can see bison herds, hike prairie trails and walk boardwalks through lakeside wetlands.
• Qu'Appelle Valley (Echo Valley & Fort Qu'Appelle) – A glacial meltwater valley cutting abruptly through flat prairie, with a string of lakes, lakeside towns and provincial parks.
• Motherwell Homestead National Historic Site – A stone farmstead from the late 19th century built by prairie homesteaders, where costumed interpreters demonstrate farm life of the era.

Where to eat

• Bushwakker Craft Brewpub – Regina's first all-malt brewpub when it opened in 1991, housed in a century-old warehouse and serving house-brewed beer…
• Italian Star Deli – A downtown Italian deli run by the Giambattista family since 1966, whose focaccia sandwiches are a Regina classic.
• The Diplomat Steakhouse – An old-school steakhouse on Broad Street, open for more than forty years, with walls lined with portraits of past Canad…
• Ginger Garlic Nepalese Restaurant – A rare Nepali restaurant in Saskatchewan, open since 2019, whose momo dumplings and curries rate highly on TripAdvisor.