CALGARY - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 472

BOOKSTORES
For topographic, city, and wall maps, as well as travel guides and atlases, Map Town (400
5th Ave. SW, 403/266-2241 or 877/921-6277, www.maptown.com , 7:30am-5:30pm Mon.-
Fri., 10am-5pm Sat.) should have what you're looking for. Tech-savvy travelers will be
impressed by the selection of GPS units and related software, as well as the scanning ser-
vice, which allows you to have topo maps sent directly to your email inbox.
The suburb of Kensington, immediately northwest of downtown, is home to Pages
(1135 Kensington Rd. NW, 403/283-6655, 10am-5:30pm Mon.-Sat., until 9pm Thurs.-Fri.,
and noon-5pm Sun.), which offers a thoughtful selection of Canadian fiction and nonfic-
tion titles.
Indigo Books & Music has a couple of dozen stores across Calgary under their various
brands, including Chapters in Chinook Centre (6455 Macleod Trail, 403/212-0090) and
another farther south (9631 Macleod Trail, 403/212-1442), and the Indigo store in Signal
Hill Centre (Sarcee Trail SW, 403/246-2221). The company also operates stores in major
malls and Calgary International Airport under the IndigoSpirit name.
USED BOOKS
Fair's Fair (1609 14th St. SW, 403/245-2778, from 10am daily) is the biggest of Calgary's
secondhand and collector bookstores. Surprise, surprise, it's remarkably well organized,
with a solid collection of well-labeled Canadiana filling more than one room. Fair's Fair
has another large outlet in Inglewood (907 9th Ave. SE, 403/237-8156). On the north side
of downtown, Aquila Books (826 16th Ave. NW, 403/282-5832) is a real gem, with one of
the world's best collections of antiquarian Canadian Rockies and mountaineering books.
Accommodations and Camping
Accommodations in Calgary vary from campgrounds, a hostel, and budget motels to a
broad selection of high-quality hotels catering to topend travelers and business conven-
tions. Most downtown hotels offer drastically reduced rates on weekends—Friday and
Saturday nights might be half the regular room rate. During Stampede Week, prices are
higher than the rest of the year, and accommodations are booked months in advance. Rates
quoted below are for a double room in summer, but outside of Stampede Week.
The bed-and-breakfast scene in Calgary is alive and well. Most are located off the main
tourist routes. The Bed & Breakfast Association of Calgary ( www.bbcalgary.com ) rep-