Shopping in Banff

Banff National Park is an enormous protected area. Not a lot of commercial enterprises are allowed to operate in the National Park, as a result. The town of Banff and the Village of Lake Louise are two of the only exceptions, and the real estate and permits are pretty limited. So, shopping in Banff is pretty much limited to Banff Avenue and the downtown area of the town. There are some unique shops in Banff, and many, many, many souvenir shops that all seem to sell the same things. If you're dying to find a stuffed-animal moose or a shot glass with "Banff, Canada" written on it, you can shop until your heart is content on Banff Avenue.

Also on Banff Avenue is the Welch's Chocolate Shop, known to the locals as "the Banff Candy Store". This shop has been in business since the early 1960's, and it is a part of almost every Albertan's childhood. With candies and chocolates from all around the world, it is the best place in Alberta to find the hard-to-find candies.

The Spirit of Christmas is a fascinating store, and everybody seems to pop in at least for a walk-about while in Banff. It's a busy store on Banff Ave. They specialize in high-quality decorations and Christmas-spirit goods. There's over 5,000 square feet in this store, all of it is Christmas-themed.

Banff has a lot of art galleries for a town its size. The Mountain Galleries at the Banff Springs Hotel is part of a larger chain that is one of Canada's largest commercial art dealers. An independently owned option is the Harmon Gallery and the Willock & Sax Gallery.

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