Winnipeg offers opportunities to experience the cuisine of the many and diverse cultures that typify the city in restaurants or at numerous festivals showcasing the food and culture of the region, such as the Folklorama 'A Taste of Winnipeg' Icelandic festival. Rural Manitoba also offers a wide choice of restaurants, from the very expensive to the moderately priced with good home cooking.
Things to know: It is customary to tip waiters 15 per cent of the bill. Off-licence alcohol is available only from Government outlets. Opening hours are generally 1100-2100.
Regional specialities:
• Traditional First Nations foods, such as bison, game, fish and wild fruits and grains.
• Bannock, a flat bread cooked over an open fire, to which dried fruit or berries are sometimes added.
• Smoked fish and meats - try some delicious smoked Lake Winnipeg goldeye.
• Due to strong multicultural ties, you are likely to find Japanese sushi or Ukrainian borscht on the menu, to name just a few culinary imports.
• French-Canadian dishes, such as pea soup, tourtière and sugar pie.
• Local ingredients such as pickerel, wild rice or blueberries.
• Local beef or pork.
• A delectable dessert from Iceland: the vinarterta, consisting of thin cake layers sandwiched together with a cardamom-scented prune filling.
Regional drinks:
• Whisky, vodka and rum are all extremely popular.
Legal drinking age: 18 years, but those under 18 can drink with a meal if it is purchased by a parent or guardian.

Winnipeg’s nightlife is vibrant. Many cinemas, theatres, clubs, restaurants and bars also provide entertainment. Winnipeg is home to a mixture of performing arts: the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Manitoba Opera and several theatre, dance and music companies. The city also offers dining and moonlit dancing cruises aboard riverboats on its scenic Red and Assiniboine rivers. The main stages at Club Regent and McPhillips Street Station casinos also feature entertainment.

There are several nationally known department stores in Winnipeg, with branches throughout Manitoba. Winnipeg also has a number of shopping districts such as Academy Road, Craydon Avenue and The Exchange District. The Forks Market sells many fresh and speciality foods and has over 50 shops all housed in an old horse stable. There are also shopping malls: Garden City, 20 minutes drive from the centre, Grant Park Shopping Centre and Polo Park Shopping Centre with 200 shops, a cinema and a bowling alley. North of The Pas is a Native American handicraft shop where visitors can watch Native American women making moccasins, mukluks, jackets and jewellery. At the Rock Shop in Souris, costume jewellery made from rock from a local quarry can be bought, and the visitor may obtain a permit to collect his own rock. Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0930-2130, Sat 0930-1800, Sun 1200-1800.