Labelled as one of the sunniest cities in Canada, visitors to Winnipeg can expect clear blue skies and sunshine almost all year round (even when we're experiencing a treacherous wind chill of up to -40 C #ColderThanMars). This makes it easy to enjoy the impressive number of outdoor festivals and activities offered throughout all four seasons— but every once in awhile, the storm clouds roll in with heavy rainfall and can ruin our outdoor fun.
Rather than stay inside and start up Netflix (again), check out the dozens of rainy day activities available for you and your fam in Winnipeg:
Tours
There are a handful of tours that will show you the city while sheltering you from the rain! Winnipeg Trolley Company offers a one hour, 45-minute Heart of the Nation city tour aboard its historically-inspired bright orange trolley that takes you all the way from the French Quarter of St. Boniface to Neil Young’s childhood home in River Heights—and everywhere in between.
Learn about famous Winnipeg personalities, discover the city’s origins, and see many of its top sites and attractions with Wonderful Winnipeg City Tours — a one hour, 45-minute city tour aboard a 24-passenger mini-bus.
For an unforgettable tour of magic, mystery, and architectural wonder, sign up for the Hermetic Code Tour of the Manitoba Legislative Building where you’ll learn about the building's mysterious past (including the true identity of the Golden Boy and the sphinxes on the roof) from Dr. Frank Albo, the academic inspiration behind The Hermetic Code.
Feeling brave? Head to a few local haunts with the City of Ghosts Bus Tour and investigate Winnipeg's paranormal activity.
Find out how money is made with an interactive, guided 45-minute tour of the Royal Canadian Mint.
Shopping
For a premium shopping experience, visit the brand new Outlet Collection Winnipeg, with more than 100 retailers and a dozen restaurants to explore. Only a few blocks away is CF Polo Park shopping centre with an entirely unique selection of stores to browse.
Find local gifts and goodies at The Forks Market with specialty shops including Generation Green, Forks Trading Company, and children’s toy store Kite and Kaboodle.
Treat yourself to an old-fashioned toy store experience by visiting the charming Toad Hall Toys in the historic Exchange District—Manitoba's largest and oldest independent toy retailer carrying a huge assortment of products from over fifty different countries around the world.
Arts & Culture
Visit the Winnipeg Art Gallery, home to the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world, where past exhibits have also featured Picasso, the photographs of Harold Edgerton, and Salvador Dali.
Catch a performance at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, the professional theatre company that has been creating and presenting professional theatre production for children and families since 1982. Circus Incognitus kicks off the 2017/18 season in October.
The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre also offers a handful of shows throughout the theatre season, some with family-specific programming.
Explore ideas of respect, inclusion, cooperation and fairness displayed at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Museum guides are available to answer any questions on-site, and a list of age-specific self-guiding tools can be found online for children aged seven to 17. The museum can take as long as three to four hours to explore if you move at a relaxed pace.
No reasonable person can resist the savoury smell of buttered popcorn, so head to the Cineplex Odeon McGillivray Cinemas and VIP theatre or Scotiabank Theatre to catch a movie on the big screen (Scotiabank's IMAX screens —a Canadian invention!—are 10x bigger than a normal movie screen).
Science
Explore a 17th-century ship, dive into ancient seas from more than 450 million years ago, and go back in time to the roaring 20’s with interactive exhibits at the Manitoba Museum. Then, conduct experiments in the science gallery and peer into the planetarium where a handful of space films are shown daily.
For the younger crowd, the Manitoba Children’s Museum will entertain for hours with a splash lab, climbable lasagna structure, and engine house.
The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada hosts some of the most impressive displays of Canadian aircrafts, including collections of bush planes and workhorses of Canada's North. The exhibits are interactive, making it the perfect rainy day distraction for curious children.
Other museum must-sees include the Winnipeg Railway Museum, Dalnavert Museum, and Le Musee de Saint-Boniface Museum.
Sports
If 18 holes isn't an option today, head indoors to the Golf Dome’s driving range to keep your swing up to speed. Mini golfing more your style? Check out U-Puttz Amusement Centre for a glow-in-the-dark version of the game.
Experience the rush of axe throwing (safely) with Bad Axe Throwing or Lumberjax Axe Throwing. They’re especially great for large groups and corporate events!
Channel your inner Katniss Everdeen and practice your aim at Heartland Archery, or try out Xtreme Tactics—an indoor facility that offers tactical war games and target shooting with airsoft rifles.
Go hard in the paint(ball) at Paintball Paradise’s impressive indoor facilities, or satisfy the need for speed with indoor go karting at Speedworld.
Have a ball with five or ten-pin bowling at La Vérendrye Bowling Lanes in St. Boniface, Dakota Bowling Lanes, or Chateau Lanes. Glo-Bowling is also available at each!
Get Active
If the fam is feeling wound-up, turn them loose at Sky Zone or Jump Park indoor trampoline park (trust us, no one leaves an indoor trampoline park still bouncing with energy).
Indoor playgrounds like Great Big Adventure, Kid City, and Vertical Adventures are also great options to run off any excess energy, and indoor water parks, like those at the Clarion Hotel & Suites or Canad Inns Destination Centres, are perfect when an outdoor pool isn’t an option.
Games
Challenge the family to a round of laser tag at Lasertopia, or fight your own battle at virtual reality arcades The Portal or DoVR. If you’d rather work with one another rather than against each other, attempt to solve a string of puzzles and escape from one of the rooms at The Real Escape before your time runs out.
You’ll find classic arcade games—including air hockey, cyclone, hoop fever, and whack ’n win—at Jack Pott’s Thrill Zone in the city’s east end.
Choose from more than 1000 different board games to play as you snack on dill pickle popcorn or the ‘dice bowl’ (their take on nuts and bolts with pretzels, Goldfish, Ritz, and Cheerios baked with a signature blend of seasonings) at Across the Board Game Cafe in the Exchange District.