Where else can you buy jade everywhere you go but Banff. Filled to the brim with international visitors from every state of the USA, each Canadian province and Japanese and Western European tourists, Banff has to be considered the Grand Canyon of Canada. Unlike the Canyon whose majesty is almost too awesome to appreciate, Banff's rugged mountains sit right over you. You wake up and you feel like you can touch them. Like a cheesy Coors Light ad, the Rockies seem like a great place to play. Others consider it a restful pitstop. Many others see it as Switzerland with cheeseburgers.
I probably fall somewhere in between. On the one extreme is the cynic who consdiers Banff to be the number one TT (tourist trap) in Canada with nothing to do and plenty to buy. On teh other hand is the adventurer who sees this paradise as a awesome backdrop for one of the world's greatest playgrounds. I found that Lake Louise, just north of Banff was certainly themost beautiful place in Canada and one of the most awesome on Earth. The Canadian government seems to agree: the Canadian $20 bill has a glorious scene of the lake viewed from the CP hotel. I also found that in spite of its beauty, people were more apt to spend their time in the gift shops and on the highways in search of something to do. Take no offense you folks from Banff: the place you live in is as beautiful as any I've seen and perhaps you're glad that you have managed to concentrate all the tourists into a small area of town out of harm's way like they have in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.