While browsing some of the shops when visiting Banff, we stumbled upon Beaver tails. The shop…read moreitself is on the smaller side with no seating inside and take out only, and the line was quite long. That being said the line moved relatively fast, I'd say we only waited around 10 minutes before we were able to order. When we got to the front of the line we decided to order the Maple beaver tail which comes with maple glaze as well as a chocolate drizzle. The worker highly recommended this one and it did not disappoint. The base tasted like a long fried donut which was light and airy and the topping tasted like maple glaze with warm fudge drizzle. It was delicate and delicious without feeling overly greasy!

It's delicious, trust me. It's not going to be the most innovative or life changing dessert, but…read moreit's a delicious crunchy dough topped with sweets and it's Canadian! Can't get better than that. We tried both beavertails on Main Street just for a quality check :p our favorite was the pistachio. No seating inside, it's more of a grab and beavertail outta there, walk while you eat. Service was quick, there were only two people working inside at the time we went and lots of customers. They were killing it.

I work at a small chocolate confectionary and always interested in checking out the competition. I…read morereally like the smaller, boutique type operations. This particular chocolate shoppe looked promising. They had a reasonably large selection, some looked quite unique and well done. When we stepped in, they offered us a small sample. It was a tasty bit of maple fudge. We ended up getting a couple of large Toffee Peanut Butter Cups. We ate them later, back on the bus, and honestly, they were a bit disappointing. The chocolate was way to thick for my tastes. But the filling itself was good. My suggestion? Spend more time knocking the chocolate out of the molds before letting them set. The staff person who assisted us was super friendly and helpful.

I should have checked out the reviews on this spot. The service was meh, didn't really act like…read morethey wanted to be there which is fine. But the fudge wasn't fudge. I love fudge, I do. It's my favorite thing. I look forward to it every time I see a chocolate shop. I was so excited. It's more like crunchy, caramelized fudge. Which is fine if you think that's what you're getting. But I wanted rich and creamy. Traditional fudge which is what they market. We ended up throwing it away we were so sad.

I needed a little chocolate after a lovely dinner and we were walking past The Fudgery so I decided…read moreto bop in. So many options to choose from. I asked for a sea salt caramel which they didn't have but they did have sea salt peanut butter cups. While sea salt caramels are my go to, I opted to try the peanut butter version. I'm not sure what it is about chocolate and sea salt but replacing caramel with peanut butter was not a concern. It was so good. I got it on a napkin so I could eat as we walked back to our hotel. I suspect I'll be back there trying another bit of chocolate before we leave here.

So many fun fudge flavours to choose from, matcha to birthday cake as well as other delicious…read morechocolate desserts. This store is also so cool because you can see them make the fudge in front of you which is so cool. We got the classic chocolate fudge which was delicious, definitely will have to try some of the crazier flavours next time I visit.

This place always has a line out the door. One of the guides in my touring group told us about Cows…read moreand how popular It is. I initially wasn't interested in waiting in a long line for ice cream. But later decided to check them out at the end of my trip to satisfy my curiosity. Plus it was a warm day and I had already finished all of my shopping. Cows is located in the heart of Downtown Banff and is known for their hand-made premium ice cream. Cows has a variety of flavors with fun creative names like the Gooey Mooey, Cownadien Maple and Wowie Cowie. The people in line were really excited to be experiencing this place. I also noticed Cows has a large gift shop area that sells cow-themed merchandise and apparel. There was a lot of cool stuff to check out in the store. I grabbed my coffee flavored Caramel Moocchiato ice cream and one of their snack items and spent time in the gift shop. Overall, Cows was a fun experience and I am glad a was able to squeeze this place in at the end of my trip.

What a fun place, and based on the amount of people here and on line, it's well known. We decided…read moreto take a walk around town after a wonderful dinner at Chuck's Steak House. Our friends had walked the area prior and knew about this ice cream shop. So... we get out of dinner without dessert with the express idea of coming to Cows. It was a good decision. We took a walk there through beautiful downtown Banff, basically just following the people in front of us and them. Cows is well known with a very loyal following. Lots of people walking in and a fairly robust line moving very quickly. You walk into a store with lots of different products. We came in with the express idea of some cones. I don't remember the flavor (not my regular chocolate) but this ice cream is good... really good. Not even remembering the flavor I can tell you that is was rich and packed with flavor. Enjoyed every bit of it. After paying, we all strolled out and back down the street to the bus eating our delicious ice cream cones. KUDOs to the team at COWS.

This is a pretty cool candy store and it seems like almost every tourist resort place I have been…read moreto there is sure a candy store around. Walked in and it had all sorts of candies. But the candies are over priced though. But there are some that you can't get elsewhere.

This candy store is a sure seduction when walking the main boardwalk in Banff, the only thing that…read moreis my largest criticism is the size of the store rows. In fact just walking into the store itself you have to wait till the people either goes in or out before you yourself enter in or out. Also while walking down the rows I think I knocked over a couple of packages and I saw a couple of abandoned lollipops strewn on the floor. For candies be sure to expect Old Tyme Favourites, Liquorice, Chocolate Bars, Chocolates Liqueur, Chocolate & Candies Liqueur, Sugar Free Chocolate & Candies, and Maple Syrup Products. But my favourite areas was the Pez wall, would you like Pez candy being served to you by the throat of Johnny Depp as a pirate, Orlando Bloom, or perhaps from Hello Kitty or Donald Duck. The sky's the limit on this Pez board. There seems to be back areas where they make candy or the gift wrap the products you buy. I am not quite sure as I got kind of claustrophobic so I had to leave. But this candy shop has every option of candy in my opinion.

Impressing selection of candies and sweets…read more The chocolate bark and pecan turtles caught my eye. I grabbed a few and they were awesome. Plenty of options. Stop by and check them out!

I have travelled the world (over 80 countries) and this is the best candy store I've ever seen. It…read morehas so many flavors of so many candies- I was so impressed. When my husband asked if they carried Carem bars ( a fave from his childhood in Switzerland) they found them and ordered them. Best selection ever!!

We needed a quick breakfast to go as we headed back to Calgary and we didn't want to stop at a fast…read morefood type of location. We wanted something a little healthier. So we opted for Uprising for a quick savory pastry (sausage roll) and a croissant. It wasn't quick by any means. Everything is made and then sits in the case to be reheated. It wasn't exactly fresh. Some of the sandwich's appeared to have been sitting in the case for quite sometime. The items we got were tasty.

Stopped in around 10 or 11. A couple people were in line in front of us, but nothing crazy. I got a…read morelatte with almond milk, was very tasty. And also the bacon cheese roll. They warm that up/cook it which was nice but I felt the cheese roll was a bit dry. Kind of wished I would've gotten something else. The service was also a little slow. We sat outside in the community seating in the street and by the time we were leaving the line was like out the door!

Adjunct to a hotel lobby which has limited seating but very friendly baristas and great coffee and…read morefood. I packed another bag of coffee bean to go because of its quality!

Very cool place with generous portions of coffee products and a small selection of well curated…read moregoodies. Food - 4/5 Service - 4/5 Ambience- 5/5

As we were planning our Canada trip, I wanted to make sure we tried some iconic foods and staples…read morethat are well known here. Beavertails came up and we saw they had shops within Banff, so we decided to try them out after our lunch. They had a flavor called "mEHple" and since maple syrup is also a Canada staple, we figured this would be a good pick. What we didn't notice was the chocolate drizzle that was on top of the maple syrup in the menu photo. The chocolate overwhelmed the entire dessert, and was a bit too much for our group. The pastry was good, crispy and flaky, but we really couldn't get through the entire thing without getting a huge bite of chocolate syrup. I think if they had put less chocolate, or even removed the chocolate altogether and just left the maple syrup, that would've been way better!

We couldn't miss out on trying this iconic Canadian dessert, so we had to stop by during our…read moredowntown Banff shopping session. Since maple is also something that screams Canada, we opted for the mEHple flavor. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a letdown. The pastry itself was good as it was light and flaky but still crispy, and we enjoyed the maple flavor. However, there was so much chocolate drizzled onto it that all we could taste was the overwhelming Hershey's chocolate drizzle-like taste. We didn't notice the chocolate drizzle on the menu photo, although I noticed there are a few different menus floating around, and some show the chocolate drizzle while others don't. However I saw a photo uploaded from a different Yelper of their mEHple pastry, and they had way less chocolate on theirs. I think it had to potential to be delicious, but it's just unfortunate that it was loaded with so much chocolate to the point where we couldn't really taste anything else. There were 6 of us that shared one BeaverTail and yet we couldn't even finish it. Overall, it was cool to try a uniquely Canadian dessert, but would recommend staying away from the ones with chocolate drizzle...or at least asking the staff to go light on the drizzle.

The RUNDLE Bar & Lounge-…read more My client had just completed delivering a 3-day Signature Program in Calgary, and our event location manager said "let's celebrate by going somewhere really nice." So he drove us into Banff NP. We stopped at Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon, Vermillion Lakes, the cascade falls, and then we began driving to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. What an absolutely beautiful hotel in one of Nature's most breathtaking masterpieces. The beautiful earth-toned cream colored hotel climbs from the lower mountain side and stands beautifully amongst the tall pines surrounding it. We made our way to the Vermillion Bar, where are post worked back in his college days, and were greeted by a super sweet server, Ayala, who lit up whenever she laughed and smiled with you. We enjoyed cocktails, beef, tartare, veggie Credit, charred, avocado, and a unique presentation of hot wings I've never had before - the actual wing that has two bones in it was pre-cut down the middle so you were served the 2 halves as their own individual wing. Great flavors and it was very unique and enjoyable. All of it was delicious and undeniably yummy, and fairly priced for such an elegant location. We were expecting a much higher price point and were delightfully surprised to see that even though it is a luxury location, it was not price gouging or ridiculously inflated that one often finds in so many other locations that are "elegant or nice". If you have the opportunity to treat yourself to a very beautiful sunset under the majestic Mount Rundle, and want to enjoy a modern setting in a historic landmark, this is absolutely a visit you must make while in Banff National Park. Thank you Ayala for treating us so well, and sharing your sweet Australian journey with us. Chris, David, Trisha, and Keith

I did not get to stay here, but I did spend a few minutes walking around this beautiful hotel. The…read moreFairmont Banff Springs (or Banff Springs Hotel) is located inside Banff National Park. I was on my way to the Banff Gondola when I stopped here. The hot springs are also located nearby. The original hotel opened in 1888 and has gone through several major renovations and expansions since then. Even if you are not staying here, you have to check this place out. I mostly walked around the outside of the hotel and in the main lobby. Fairmont Banff Springs has two main accommodation areas - the Gatehouse and the historic Main Building. It has a Châteauesque design to it. I love how the hotel stands out within the surrounding Valley. I could even see it from Sulphur Mountain when I rode the gondola to the top. The Banff Springs Hotel has over seven hundred guest rooms and several event spaces. This hotel is worth seeing in person for its size and stunning architecture if you are in the area.