The Core Shopping Centre (“The Core”), the hub of Calgary’s downtown plus 15 Skywalk network, spans 3 city blocks and houses more than 160 stores on four levels.  Its striking 200-metre long arched suspended glass skylight creates a focal point and provides abundant natural light to the lower levels, capitalizing on Calgary’s notorious “sunniest-city-in-Canada” claim-to-fame. 

Located between the Downtown LRT free fare zone at the 4^th Street station on its north side and Stephen Avenue (8^th Avenue) on the south side, the CORE offers shopping amenities and big-name retailers to patrons and browsers.  On its top level, the soothing, tropical indoor Devonian Gardens provide a welcome year-round escape from the city bustle and the frigid outdoor winter temperatures.

This maze of upmarket retail stores, boutique shops and fast-food eating spots are a hive of activity during the lunch hour when swarms of locals who call downtown their place of work flock into the area to meet, eat and shop. Weekends in the CORE are pretty quiet although most stores are still open.

As mentioned, if you’re looking to explore the +15 skywalk then the CORE would be a good place to depart from or meet up since it is a primary hub of the skywalk network of bridges.

The anchor big-store tenants include Canada’s legendary Department store, Hudson’s Bay (The Bay), and the fashion hubs of Holt Renfrew and Canada’s own Simons.

Getting there

The best way to access the CORE is via C-Train or on foot. If you’re on a west-bound C-Train, disembark at the 4th Street SW station. If you’re on an east-bound train, disembark at the 3rd Street SW station. Accessing the CORE as a pedestrian from Stephen Avenue is probably your most likely approach route. Downtown parking is challenging and might be pricey, so we would recommend avoiding using your own vehicle to get here.