Regina



Regina is the capital city of the province of Saskatchewan. With about 215,000 people (2016), it is in the southeastern part of the province on the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1). Wascana Centre, created around the focal point of Wascana Lake, remains one of Regina's attractions and contains the Provincial Legislative Building, both campuses of the University of Regina, First Nations University of Canada, the provincial museum of natural history, the Regina Conservatory (in the original Regina College buildings), the Saskatchewan Science Centre, the MacKenzie Art Gallery and the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts.

Understand
Regina is pronounced with a long "I" in the middle. It's home of the RCMP Training Academy and the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders. Before Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces, Regina was the capital of the Northwest Territories. Louis Riel, founder of Manitoba and the leader of the Métis peoples, was executed in the city.

Residential neighbourhoods include precincts beyond the historic city centre are historically or socially noteworthy neighbourhoods – namely Lakeview and The Crescents, both of which lie directly south of downtown. Immediately to the north of the central business district is the old warehouse district, increasingly the focus of shopping, nightclubs and residential development; as in other western cities of North America, the periphery contains shopping malls and big box stores.

As demand has risen for Saskatchewan's agricultural and mineral resources, Regina has enjoyed a period of strong economic growth.

History
The site had been called Wascana ("Buffalo Bones" in Cree), but was renamed "Regina" (Latin for "Queen") in 1882 in honour of Queen Victoria. This decision was made by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise, who was the wife of the Governor General of Canada, the Marquess of Lorne.

Unlike other planned cities in the Canadian West, on its treeless flat plain Regina has few topographical features other than the small spring run-off, Wascana Creek. Early planners took advantage of such opportunity by damming the creek to create a decorative lake to the south of the central business district with a dam a block and a half west of the later elaborate 260-metre (850-ft) long Albert Street Bridge across the new lake. Regina's importance was further secured when the new province of Saskatchewan designated the city its capital in 1906.

In 1912, the Regina Cyclone destroyed much of the town; in the 1930s, the Regina Riot brought further attention and, in the midst of the 1930s drought and Great Depression, which hit the Canadian Prairies particularly hard with their economic focus on dry land grain farming. The predecessor of the New Democratic Party (the main left-wing political party in Canada), formulated its foundation Regina Manifesto of 1933 in Regina.

Tourism information

 * Tourism Regina website

Airport

 * Direct flights to Regina within Canada include from Calgary (1.5 hours), from Edmonton (1.5 hours), from Winnipeg (1.5 hours), from Toronto (3.25 hours), and from Vancouver (2 hours).
 * Direct flights to Regina within Canada include from Calgary (1.5 hours), from Edmonton (1.5 hours), from Winnipeg (1.5 hours), from Toronto (3.25 hours), and from Vancouver (2 hours).

Airlines
Canadian airlines operating to Regina:



Bus route 24 connects the airport to downtown Regina on M-F from 6AM to midnight.

Major highways

 * Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) − Regina sits along the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1 in Saskatchewan) and is a 40-minute drive east of Moose Jaw. Calgary is 7 hours to the west on Highway 1, and Winnipeg is a 5-hour drive to the east on Highway 1.
 * Highway 6 (CanAm Highway) - Highway 6 runs north-south through the city along Albert Street, the main street, and runs south to the U.S. border (Raymond and Plentywood, Montana), which is about 90 minutes away; this port is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Going north it eventually leads to the parklands in central Saskatchewan and is one of four routes to Prince Albert (the others being Highway 11, Highway 2 via 11 and Highway 20 via 11).
 * Highway 11 (Louis Riel Trail) − Saskatoon is 2½ hours to the north on Highway 11, and it continues to Prince Albert. Edmonton is 8 hours to the northwest via Highways 11 and 16.
 * Highway 39 - Highway 39 runs diagonally from northwest to southeast from Moose Jaw to the U.S. border (North Portal and Portal, North Dakota), about 2½ hours away; this port is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Highway 39 passes through the cities of Weyburn and Estevan and accessed via Highway 6 at Corinne, about south of Regina. The CanAm Highway transitions from Highway 6 to Highway 39.

Minor highways

 * Highway 33 runs to southeast Saskatchewan and is an alternate route to Weyburn and Estevan.
 * Highway 46 is a short commuter highway to Pilot Butte and Balgonie.

By bus

 * Routes stopping in Regina:
 * from Edmonton (9.75 hours). Daily. Includes stops along the way in Vegreville, Vermilion, Lloydminster (6.25 hours), North Battleford (4.75 hours), Saskatoon (2.75 hours), and Davidson.
 * from Edmonton (9.75 hours). Daily. Includes stops along the way in Vegreville, Vermilion, Lloydminster (6.25 hours), North Battleford (4.75 hours), Saskatoon (2.75 hours), and Davidson.



By train
There is no Via Rail service to Regina.

Get around
Regina is pretty navigable, especially its inner city area where roads are on a grid, like most other cities around the region. Regina also has a Ring Road, though it is only a half ring road and can take you around most of the city.

Parks
Regina has more parks and greenspace per capita than any major city in Canada.

Shows
Regina is home to many performing arts venues.

Cheap theatres
These are theatres that show movies after their main theatrical run at a discount. Tickets are usually under $5.

Events

 * Downtown Ice & Fire Winter Carnival (15-18 Feb). Winter Carnival activities include snow sculptures in Victoria Park, evening lantern procession and a masquerade ball.
 * RCMP Sergeant Major's Parade (year round). A demonstration of the inspection of the troops, followed by a march through the Parade Square or the Drill Hall. The Sergeant Major's Parade occurs M-F at 12:50PM, statutory holidays excluded. RCMP Depot Division
 * RCMP Sunset Retreat Ceremonies (Jul-Aug). Colourful 45-minute ceremony centred on the lowering of the Canadian flag. It features RCMP Cadet Band and Cadet Troops wearing the traditional scarlet tunic of the world-renowned Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Also in attendance uniformed members mounted on horses and carrying lances. RCMP Depot Division
 * RCMP Sunset Retreat Ceremonies (Jul-Aug). Colourful 45-minute ceremony centred on the lowering of the Canadian flag. It features RCMP Cadet Band and Cadet Troops wearing the traditional scarlet tunic of the world-renowned Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Also in attendance uniformed members mounted on horses and carrying lances. RCMP Depot Division

Golf
There are many public golf courses throughout the Regina area. The Royal Regina is a semi-private course. Joanne Goulet, Tor Hill & the Murray are municipal courses. The city also runs a par 3 course at Lakeview. The surrounding area boasts championship courses at Deer Valley Estates and Emerald Park.

Buy


Eclectic, locally-owned shops and boutiques can be found clustered in the pedestrian-friendly Cathedral Village or https://www.warehousedistrict.ca/ Old Warehouse District].

Visitors to Regina will also find all the indoor shopping malls and big box power centres endemic to most North American cities:
 * North West commercial area anchored by Walmart, Superstore, Home Depot and Sobeys. Do not attempt if you are not driving.
 * Vic East commercial area anchored by Walmart, Superstore, Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot and Victoria Square Shopping Centre on Victoria Avenue East. Do not attempt without a car.
 * North West commercial area anchored by Walmart, Superstore, Home Depot and Sobeys. Do not attempt if you are not driving.
 * Vic East commercial area anchored by Walmart, Superstore, Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot and Victoria Square Shopping Centre on Victoria Avenue East. Do not attempt without a car.
 * North West commercial area anchored by Walmart, Superstore, Home Depot and Sobeys. Do not attempt if you are not driving.
 * Vic East commercial area anchored by Walmart, Superstore, Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot and Victoria Square Shopping Centre on Victoria Avenue East. Do not attempt without a car.

Eat
Saskatchewan is known for having one of the largest per-capita ratio of restaurants to citizens, so there is a wide variety of places to choose from. Regina's downtown alone has approximately seventy eating establishments. Aside from the regular chains, here is a list of local favourites:









Drink
The legal drinking age in Saskatchewan is 19 years.

For those looking to check out a bar or night club in the evening, Regina's Old Warehouse district is the place to be. There are 6 bars and clubs on Dewdney Ave between Albert and Broad Sts:

Casual pubs




Bed and Breakfasts
Staying at bed and breakfasts is a great way to meet local people. Prices in Regina start at $70 for single and $85 for double occupancy.



Stay safe
Much like Saskatoon, Regina has a higher-than-average crime rate per capita (at one point being known as Canada's most dangerous city), but unless you go out looking for trouble, nothing is likely to happen to you. The downtown area is quite safe, though you may run into the occasional panhandler or drunken person at night.

The two main neighbourhoods to avoid in Regina are the North Central and Heritage/Chinatown districts, (which are located northwest and northeast of the downtown core), and where most of the crime and prostitution is concentrated.

Go next

 * Moose Jaw - Chief attractions are the excellent Western Development Museum (one of four in the province) near the intersection of Main St. and the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway #1). This museum's focus is on transportation, which fills it with excellent, bright displays of antique trains, automobiles, and aircraft, with even one prairie boat thrown in! Another notable tourist attraction is the pair of "tunnels of Moose Jaw" tours, which take visitors through a set of winding tours above and below the downtown core of "the Friendly City." The tours have two themes: the Chinese immigrant experience, and the bad old days of the 1920s, when Chicago mobster Al Capone allegedly took a ride to the northwest terminus of the Soo Line Railway in Moose Jaw to hide out whenever the "heat" was turned up in Chicago.
 * Regina Beach - 60 km (35 miles) northwest of Regina, north of Hwy 11. This beach community and several others sit on Last Mountain Lake.
 * White Butte - 10 km east of Regina on Highway 1 or 46.
 * Fort Qu'Appelle for decades, has been another summer getaway, with several shallow lakes in the vicinity lined by rows of cottages and boat houses.
 * Rouleau, a small town about 45 minutes south of Regina, is a popular destination because it was used as the filming location for the popular TV sitcom Corner Gas from 2004-2009. (The studio where the rest of the series was filmed is near Broad Street and College Avenue in downtown Regina.)