Shopping

Alongside skiing and hiking, shopping vies for the title of Banff's most popular sport. Most shops have clerks who speak Japanese and Chinese to serve the large contingent of Asian tourists, and a handful of these stores are actually Japanese-run.

Banff shopping also offers mountain gear shops in spades; every mall (and there are at least three) has a good-sized outdoor outfitter. There's a glut of places to buy T-shirts and other tourist tchotchkes, but you can also buy a Rolex here, or flesh out your collection of Vuittons at exclusive Banff boutiques. It's enthralling enough for some that Banff Avenue is as much of Banff as they ever see. While it's good fun, don't squander all your time here -- there are malls everywhere, but there's only one Banff National Park.