Calgary, Banff, & Lake Louise Travel Guide

Now that we are back home and settled, I’ve soaked up a million snuggles with our pups, and completed about 7 loads of laundry (literally haha).. I’m just now sitting down to gather my thoughts and pictures on our babymoon! I’ve had more requests to share about our trip than any other one I’ve been on! Needless to say I think you all thought Lake Louise was just as breathtaking as we did! Looking back on last week I’m still in awe of everything we got to experience! Here are all the details for those of you who have added this trip to your bucketlist!

I booked our vacay this past summer when I found I was pregnant. I’ve always wanted to go so I told C this would be our 1 year anniversary/baby trip combined! Due to our schedules the earliest we could go was the 2nd week of November. I booked it without any thoughts on the weather or travel restrictions but then I started researching. I got nervous because I saw that it was going to be very cold, the lakes may be frozen over, and some may even be closed. So we just kind of went without any major plans. I kept telling C, “I hope I didn’t screw this up and plan our trip too late in the season..” But when we got there, we couldn’t have been more excited about the snow covered mountains and wintery temps! It was so magical to look outside our hotel rooms and see the snow falling down! I know most people tend to go during the summer/fall months so they can canoe and hike at Lake Louise. However, there are still excursions you can do in the winter too! Like ice skating on the lake, snow mobiles, skiing, and more! Since I was pregnant we opted to spend a lot of our trip just chilling and enjoying the scenery.

First things first, our flight details. We flew from Nashville to Calgary. When we landed we picked up our rental car. If you’re planning on visiting a couple places I highly recommend just getting a car for the week. It was so easy and we got to leave/go everywhere at our convenience.

Calgary

Our first stop was Calgary. We stayed at Fairmont Palliser. It was the perfect location to the main shopping area, Calgary tower, and restaurants. We spent one full day exploring and walking down on the river. We heard great things about the zoo but unfortunately we never made it there. (mark it on your list if you end up going).

Lake Louise

Second destination was the famous Lake Louise. We splurged and stayed at the Fairmont Chateau. We got a room that overlooked the lake and it was absolutely gorgeous. The best part about staying at the hotel was that you have access to all the restaurants, shops, and outdoor trails. They also have an amazing spa if you’re looking to do something low-key! And if you have time make sure you do the afternoon tea! Clint & I loved spending time in the restaurant overlooking the lake, munching on croissants, and sippin’ on tea!
When it came time to leave we didn’t want to part ways. We thoroughly enjoyed staying at the hotel and all it had to offer! – (Note: if you stay at the hotel you get first dibs on the accommodations. Everyday tourists buses would come in and it could get pretty busy.)

Banff

We ended our vacay in Banff and were so glad we did! It was the cutest little town and had some great attractions! We stayed at the Fairmont Banff Springs. Gorgeous hotel with great history. If you’re planning on visiting Banff I recommend doing the Banff Gondola and eating lunch at the Northern Lights Cafe. Clint and I both said that might have been the best thing we did. We enjoyed the gondola ride up and ate lunch with the most beautiful scenery! Plus we loved seeing the snow covered mountains. Also recommend visiting the Hot Springs. We went to check them out but didn’t get in (pregnant mama over here is avoiding all risks). As far as restaurants go, we loved Magpie & Stump (mexican) and The Bear Street Tavern (pizzas- I loved their tomato soup & grilled cheese). They had the best selection of pizzas and you could make your own sweet/spicy/savory sauce to dip it in! So good!
Banff reminded of an old ski town with modern day charm! There’s lots of cute little shops on the main street, along with ice cream, coffee, tea, and souvenirs.

View from our Hotel Room at Fairmont Banff Springs

I’m already planning our next trip back! C and I said we would love to go again during the late summer or fall months, for a change of scenery. Then I can visit the Lake Agnes Tea House too (so bummed we didn’t get to go there)! As always, if you have any questions about our trip feel free to shoot me an email!