The Seven Wonders of Winnipeg: Explore Winnipeg's Weirdest and Most Unique Attractions
Winnipeg is full of weird and unique attractions, including Confusion Corner and Oodeena Celebration Circle.
If you’re looking for something unique about Winnipeg, you don’t need to look far. Our city is full of interesting architecture and strange cultural phenomena — wedding socials, anyone?
Today, Winnipeg’s best comedy club and prairie partisan, Rumor’s, takes a look at the Seven Wonders of Winnipeg. We’ll give you the story behind the city’s most iconic landmarks and phenomena, and we’ll give you some tips on how to make the most of your time in the 204, whether you live here or you’re just visiting.
The Seven Wonders of Winnipeg
While we may not have the Great Pyramids or Niagara Falls, Winnipeg does have a number of sights that will amaze you with pomp, majesty, or just plain confusion. Here are the Seven Wonders of Winnipeg.
Confusion Corner
Perhaps nothing represents the spirit of Winnipeg better than Confusion Corner. It’s the pride of our city’s hipsters, and the bane of our novice drivers.
The intersection is a mishmash of one-way streets, dedicated bus lanes, and “no left turn” signs located at the junction of Osborn St., Corydon Ave., Pembina Hwy, and Donald St. The south side of the junction is famously marked with a rather confusing diagram for approaching victims, imploring motorists to head east if they want to go west.
The sign itself has become an unofficial logo for Winnipeg. Hipsters of a certain generation have used the sign as a design for tee shirts and tattoos, and it has even appeared as the logo for the Winnipeg-set sitcom, Less Than Kind.
The Golden Boy
Winnipeg’s answer to the Statue of Liberty, The Golden Boy sits atop the Manitoba Legislative Building at the corner of Osborn St. and Broadway. The bronze statue was created in France by sculptor George Gardet between 1915 and 1916, and represents youth and the entrepreneurial spirit—Manitoba at the time was the youngest province in Canada, and promised much in the way of natural resources.
After the Golden Boy was finished, it was put onto a ship to be transported to Winnipeg. However, the ship was commandeered to transport troops during World War I, and the statue remained in the hold of the ship making two trips across the Mediterannean Sea along side Allied troops and supplies.
The statue was finally placed affixed to its perch on the dome of the Legislative Building in 1920, and has remained there ever since (except for a few months in 2002 when it was taken down for restoration).
Cruise Night
Winnipeg has a reputation as a small town masked as a big city, and nothing embodies that identity more than the summertime tradition known as Cruise Night.
Every Sunday car enthusiasts head to Winnipeg’s main drags on Portage Avenue and Main Street to show off their awesome vehicles. Collectors rumble down the avenue in their muscle cars, hot hatches, and classic automobiles while fanatics line the streets armed with lawnchairs and coolers full of drinks and snacks to take in the sights and sounds of the impromptu car show.
Winnipeg Square
In 1979, Winnipeg’s iconic Portage and Main intersection was closed off to pedestrian foot traffic. At the same time, the city constructed a large hub-shaped underground mall to serve as an underpass for people on foot. The result was Winnipeg Square.
The underground mall houses more than 45 businesses including, restaurants, services, and retail stores. It’s a strange underworld that even some Winnipeggers have never seen.
Nestaweya River Trail
Winnipeg winters are bitterly cold with temperatures often reaching into the negative 40s in January and February. The bright side of these cold winters is that Winnipeg hosts the longest natural skating rink in the world, the Nestaweya River Trail. When the Red and Assiniboine rivers freeze over, skaters are treated to upwards of six kilometers of skatable ice. Skiers have it even better with a ski trail stretching upwards of 13 kilometers.
The banks of the river are lined with warming huts selected from hundreds of designs submitted by archetects from around the world, and there’s even a restaurant on the river offering hot beverages and food for hungry trailblazers.
Snow Sculptures
Every February, Winnipeg’s St. Boniface neighborhood plays host to the Festival Du Voyageur — a celebration of Voyageur lifestyle and culture. The 10 day long festival highlights the artistic, cultural, and historical contributions of francophone and indigenous peoples of Manitoba.
There’s live music, a jigging contest, and a beard-growing competition, but the most spectacular part of the festival is the incredible snow sculptures that pop-up seemingly out of nowhere throughout St. Boniface and Winnipeg’s downtown area.
Oodena Celebration Circle
Located in the shadow of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights at the Forks, the Oodena Celebration Circle is a gathering place that pays tribute to Manitoba’s Indigenous peoples. Built in 1993, the circle features a sundial, ceremonial fire pit, sculptures, and a naked-eye observatory. Armatures surround the circle like deer antler and act as guides to the various constellations that dance across the prairie sky. It truly is a magical place to explore, especially when the stars are out.
More: Things to do around Winnipeg this Fall
The Eighth Wonder of Winnipeg: Rumor’s Comedy Club
Rumor’s has been the number one comedy club in Winnipeg since 1984. Each week we bring you the best comedians from Winnipeg and around the world, making for a world-class stand-up comedy experience.
We have a fully-stocked bar, and our dinner menu is packed with options from pizza to nachos and everything in between. And don’t forget to join the Rumor's Comedy Club Birthday Club, so you and your friends can come party with us on your big day with a great deal and a ton of laughs.
Whether you’re celebrating something or you’re just looking for a good time, Rumor’s has got you covered.
“Jon Dore and the host were exceptional. The food and service exceeded expectations. We missed going to Rumor's.” - Darrell D.