Banff Chic: A Brief List of What’s Worthwhile in This Mountain Town

This month I’m outside my beloved Michigan travelling through the Canadian Rockies.  I’ve spent a week in Lake Louise thus far.  In my adventures I have discovered the town of Banff — a thriving, young, affluent town similar to a Royal Oak, albeit with a much more athletic population (no offense, RO).  I spent a day trying to dig up its hidden cool spots and here’s what I discovered.                                                                             

Nestled high up in the Rocky Mountains in the province of Alberta, near the border with British Columbia, one might expect Banff to be a sleepy town.  However, the backpacking, skiing, and snowboarding industries have transformed it into a mega-tourist haven and a thriving semi-urban area.  High rise malls have sprung up and young people flood its streets.

One would assume that Banff has an active music, art, and culture scene, much like we do back in Detroit.  With that in mind I went digging, spending Tuesday afternoon running around town, trying to find everyplace cool, obscure, and otherwise worthwhile in this busy town.

The first place I came across was Hero Shirts [Facebook].  Hero, has partnered Ames Bros, a cheeky T-shirt company from Seattle, Washington.  They sell a mix of their own designs and AB’s designs.  Both companies share a wonderful and at times quirky sense of humor that floods onto their T-Shirt art.

Moving on, I discovered “The Last Temptation Thrift Shop” [Facebook].  Located just under the town movie theatre, down a flight of stairs, this shop sells old books, old clothes, movies, vinyl records, and even musical instruments.  It had some beautiful looking guitars at reasonable prices and an absolute wealth — practically a wall full of vinyl.  While lacking the number of records of say, Detroit Threads or The Record Collector here in Detroit, they certainly had a nice selection.