Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg, Guia do visitante e o que fazer por perto

The Fort Garry Hotel is a grand railway hotel at 222 Broadway in Winnipeg, Manitoba, opened in 1913 in the French chateau style favoured by Canadian railway companies. It is one of the city's best-known landmarks, loved for its steep roofline and its reputation as one of the most haunted hotels in Canada.

The story behind it

The hotel was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway for a city that was booming in the early 1900s, when Winnipeg was the gateway to the Canadian West. Like other grand railway hotels of the era, it was meant to give arriving travellers a first impression of comfort and confidence. It stands close to Union Station, where many of those travellers stepped off the train.

Its fame today rests as much on legend as on architecture. The best-known story concerns room 202. According to the tale, a honeymooning bride fell ill, and her new husband went out to fetch medicine and was struck by a car and killed. She is said to have died soon after and never left the hotel. Guests have long reported remote controls moving on their own, televisions switching on and off, missing hairbrushes, and the sense that someone is sitting on the end of the bed. A favourite twist says the ghost grew irritated when flat-screen TVs replaced the old sets, because she could no longer turn them on. It is folklore rather than documented history, but it is part of the building's character.

What to look for

• The steeply pitched roofline and turret-like details give the building the look of a French chateau set down in the prairies.
• The street entrance on Broadway shows how the hotel was designed to impress, with a formal and stately face to the city.
• The proximity to Union Station helps explain why a railway company built a hotel on this very spot.
• Look up at the upper floors and wonder which window belongs to room 202, the centre of the ghost story.

Tips for your visit

• Ten to fifteen minutes is enough to admire the exterior and take photographs, longer if you want to step into the public areas.
• The hotel is a working hotel, so check current opening hours and policies before planning to go inside beyond the lobby.
• Soft morning light or early evening is a good time for photographs, with fewer people on the pavement.
• Union Station, the Manitoba Legislative Building along Broadway and The Forks are all within walking distance, so it pairs well with a wider stroll.

See it on a quest

The hotel is one stop on Historic Winnipeg: Secret Societies, a self-guided walk through the city's historic core played on your phone. You reach the building on foot as part of a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot, so you look at the facade more closely than you would on a quick pass. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever suits you.