Devonian Gardens: Calgary Travel Guide (4.6★)

Palms above the shop floors

You ride the escalators past the chain stores, and at the fourth floor the mall gives way to greenery. Devonian Gardens sits right under CORE Shopping Centre’s long glass roof. Daylight falls straight onto palms, ferns and dark water, while shoppers carry bags along the levels below.

It’s a tropical botanical garden built into a downtown mall, with fishponds, palms and a play area for children. This is no hothouse curiosity tucked into a corner. Paths wind through the planting, and benches face the ponds. Office workers, parents with strollers and visitors all share the same walkways.

Why it exists four storeys up

The gardens date back to 1977. They were named for the Devonian Group of Charitable Foundations, which helped create them. Calgary winters are long and the city’s downtown is built for getting around indoors, so a green room above street level made practical sense.

The space was rebuilt when the surrounding complex was redeveloped as CORE, and reopened in 2012. Glass overhead, plants underfoot and the mall all around: that layout is what you walk into today. The City of Calgary looks after the gardens, and there is no charge to go in.

Reaching the fourth floor

The address is 317 7 Ave SW, inside CORE Shopping Centre on level 4. Escalators and elevators inside the mall take you up. Signs point the way once you’re inside.

Ways in:

• CTrain: the 7 Avenue line runs right past CORE, and 3 Street SW station is steps from the doors. The downtown stretch of 7 Avenue falls in the transit Free Fare Zone.
• On foot: Stephen Avenue, the pedestrian section of 8 Avenue SW, runs along the mall’s other side.
• Plus 15: Calgary’s network of enclosed skywalks links CORE to neighbouring office towers. You can arrive from blocks away without stepping outside.
• Driving: downtown parkades are nearby, but the train is simpler.

What you’ll find among the paths

The garden is about water and greenery, not exhibits. Expect a loop rather than a long trail. Take it slowly and you’ll see most of it in half an hour.

Look for:

• The fishponds, where children crouch at the edges to watch the fish.
• Palms and tropical planting stretching up toward the glass roof.
• The children’s play area, the reason many local families come.
• Benches and quiet corners where people sit with a coffee or a book.

Bring a stroller if you need one. The routes are designed around a building with elevators, so getting around is easier than in most outdoor gardens.

The cold-weather trick

This garden earns its keep on Calgary’s worst days. When it’s well below freezing outside, or sleet blows down 7 Avenue, the fourth floor stays green and mild. The glass lets in whatever daylight the sky offers.

That makes it a good fallback if you’ve planned for the mountains and the weather has other ideas. Join it up with errands along Stephen Avenue, or walk the Plus 15 from your hotel, and you may never need your coat zipped. In summer it’s still pleasant, but the gardens lose their reason to exist when the sun is out and the city’s riverside parks are calling.

Visiting a garden inside a mall

Treat it as a public park that just happens to have a roof. Some habits help.

• Stick to the paths. The plantings are close to the walkways and easy to trample.
• Leave the fish alone. No feeding, and no coins in the ponds.
• Keep voices low near the benches. Many people come up from nearby offices for a quiet lunch break, and the glass roof carries sound.
• Watch the clock on Sundays. Currently the gardens open later and close earlier on Sunday, 12–5pm, than on other days, when hours run 10am–6pm. The mall below may keep different hours, so don’t assume they match.
• Check before a holiday visit. Hours can change, and the City of Calgary’s website has current information.

Weekday lunchtime is when downtown workers come up from the towers, simply because of the office timetable. For more space on the benches, aim for mid-morning soon after the 10am opening.

Pairing it with downtown

The gardens fill a short stop, so plan what comes after. Downtown Calgary is compact, and a lot of it is within walking distance.

• Stephen Avenue Walk: restaurants and sandstone buildings on 8 Avenue SW, directly beside CORE.
• Calgary Tower: a short walk south-east, with its observation deck over the city.
• Glenbow: the city’s major art museum, a few blocks east on Stephen Avenue.
• Olympic Plaza and City Hall: further east along the same corridor.
• Prince’s Island Park: a walk north toward the Bow River, for when the weather turns.

Visit Devonian Gardens first, before the shops, for a calm start to a downtown day. Or end there in the late afternoon, before the 6pm close on weekdays and Saturdays.