Canada's Underrated City Is A Riverside Hub With Cute Cafes, Festivals, And Artsy Vibes

While international visitors to Canada often focus on the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia (home to the big cities of Toronto and Vancouver, respectively), there are other, less-trodden corners of the country that could prove just as enticing. Take Brandon, an old railway town dating back to the 1880s that sits squarely on the rolling Great Plains of southern Manitoba. It might not draw the eyes of globetrotters like larger metropolises, but it's often considered one of Canada's more underrated destinations.

And it looks like there are lots of reasons behind the buzz about Brandon. According to Brandon Tourism, there's a happening urban core packed with art, along with plenty of local businesses and eateries to explore. On top of that, the town has an alluring location if you're into wildlife walks and riverways — it straddles the meanders of the Assiniboine River, where a sprawling network of hiking trails weaves through pockets of wetland habitat.

The other good news? Brandon shouldn't be difficult to reach. It's something of a transportation hub of Manitoba, with both the east-west Trans-Canada Highway and an important provincial highway cutting through town. They make it possible to arrive here in around two and a half hours from Winnipeg, or in just a touch over four hours from Grand Forks, arguably North Dakota's best college city, over in the United States. Brandon also has its own airport, which offers regular connections to Calgary, though nearby Winnipeg is Manitoba's only international airport.

The city of Brandon extends along a 10-mile stretch of the roughly 665-mile-long Assiniboine River. It's a waterway that runs all the way here from Saskatchewan before feeding the famously fertile wheat-growing region of southern Manitoba, of which Brandon — nicknamed the Wheat City — is a part. But a booming agricultural industry is but one boon of the Assiniboine: It also brings walking trails and wildlife right to the town's doorstep.

There's a total of five protected nature areas strung out along the water as it bends and curves around the northern and eastern sides of Brandon's downtown, and recent reports have shown that they're home to wild beavers and even bears, according to CBC. The whole lot is woven together by a comprehensive network of paths and trails that converge at the Riverbank Discovery Centre, where you'll also find bird sanctuaries and ponds that support a variety of native wildlife.

After exploring all that, more adventure beckons in the hodgepodge of provincial parks and even national reserves that sit within day-trip distance of Brandon. An hour or so's drive north, for example, will bring you to the Riding Mountain National Park, a land of thick evergreen forests and glistening lakes that you can access via the scenic outdoor haven of the Wasagaming Townsite. Or, head south for just over an hour to find Turtle Mountain, a reserve that borders North Dakota's wildlife-filled Turtle Mountain State Forest across the border, rising 800 feet above the plains, clad in forests, and laced with MTB routes.

While riverside parks beckon one way and prairies beckon the other, Brandon's downtown also does its best to draw the eye. They call the area "The Hub," a gathering place where artisan bakers, locally owned brewpubs, edgy start-up businesses, and cafes abound. A steady stream of visitors passes through the doors of Chez Angela Bakery and Café, a joint that scores 4.6 out of 5 rating on Google, serving up a breakfast menu of slow oats and in-house sandwiches. Then there's H Coffee, which past reviewers pick out as one of the finest spots in town to get real, artisan brews: "Amazing coffee ... like Vienna level espresso" read the words of one past patron on Google.

Once you've had your caffeine fix, get some culture. The Art Gallery Of Southwestern Manitoba is right there between the downtown cafes, which hosts a rotating programme of exhibits. Past shows include everything from animation workshops to photographic exhibitions of Indigenous Canadian identity.

There's also a good chance that Brandon will be hosting something. The festival calendar here includes some of the most important dates in the Manitoba calendar, perhaps most notably the Manitoba Summer Fair. It's held in June at the Keystone Center on the south side of town, featuring live local bands and horse shows and more. Canada Day is another biggie. It takes place in July at the Riverbank Discovery Center, again with more bands, dance troupes, and bouncy castles for the little ones.