MastaHanky

Hi all,

There's a concert happening in Winnipeg that I'd like to attend. It's at the Centennial Concert Hall. Unfortunately it's in January, which I'm guessing isn't the most pleasant time to be bumming around Winnipeg.

A couple of questions:

- I'm trying to avoid getting a rental car, despite the temperatures that time of year. I'm assuming the area around the concert hall is fairly walkable if I were to get a nearby hotel/AirBnB?
- Is there anything of interest in the surrounding area that's walkable, or would I be stuck in my hotel room?
- Do I need to just suck it up and get a car?

TechnoTourist

MTS centre is 15 minute walk away for a Jets game. If you're dressed well you'll be fine.

It all depends on what you're used to. If you're from Edmonton you'll know what to expect and likely have appropriate attire. Someone from Vancouver would probably not be accustomed to the wind and temperatures.

Badenoch

I wouldn't want to like any musical performer so much that I would visit a place where the AVERAGE daytime temperature is -13/9F dropping to -23C/-9F at night. Then there's the wind. But as Winnipeggers will tell you "It's a dry cold!"

Get a car. Make sure you plug it in at night.

YZF_Elite

I would say don't get a car. I haven't spent a lot of time in Winnipeg in the winter, but I have lived in the Canadian Arctic and know what a pain it can be to have a car in those temperatures. Needing to find somewhere to plug it in so it will start in -35/-40 temperatures, needing forever to warm it up for a short ride, etc. Take a cab for the few little rides you may need if you can't walk. Winnipeg isn't always frigid in winter, but if it is -35, even a half mile can be a difficult walk if you don't have layers on both your lower and upper body. It is a city of over 500,000 people, the cold weather doesn't mean anything other than needing to dress appropriately and think smart.

Antonio8069

Do NOT even think of renting a car. Winter driving in Winterpeg (!) can be very bad - think frozen tires.

EmailKid

Ha, ha, it's been so long since I lived in Edmonton that I forgot about that

Ya, when it's really cold, the tires are NOT round until they warm up from being driven

And Winnipeg is a little too far east to get those lovely Chinooks we used to get in Calgary (still do, I'm just not there anymore).

fairviewroad

Agree about not needing a car if you end up in a downtown hotel. If you go with an AirBnB you'll probably be outside the downtown core, making a car more of an attractive option. Bus service is decent along some of the major arteries, but not so much in the dispersed residential neighborhoods.

Except during the coldest of cold snaps, I wouldn't worry about any of the aforementioned problems with cars. The rental companies at YWG won't give you something that can't handle city driving in the winter.

I go to Winnipeg once or twice a year...in fact, just last year I was there in January. In some ways, it's nicer at that time of year than in July (when it's muggy and buggy).

Your concert venue is close to The Forks, which is positively hopping in the winter. If you like ice skating, you'll be in heaven. Even if you don't, the river should be frozen over and there are groomed trails for both walking and skating. They even open up a temporary restaurant on the ice, although I don't think it opens until the end of January and you'll probably need reservations.

You will also be close to the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which is next to The Forks. I haven't been yet, but have heard it's pretty good. Obviously an all-weather attraction if it's too cold to be outside.

There's also a pretty decent railroad museum located within the neighboring Union Station, if you're into trains.