In July, my family went on a trip to Regina, the capital city of the Province of Saskatchewan, located about 3 to 3.5 hours by plane west of Toronto. During our stay, I took a day out to explore some of the sights located in the heart of Regina.
The Saskatchewan Legislative Building
Known as the marble palace, the Saskatchewan Legislative Building is one of the largest legislative buildings in Canada. It was erected between 1908-1911. Walter Scott, first premier of Saskatchewan, envisioned the Legislative Building in a park-like setting with grounds that would reflect the grandeur of the building.
Tours of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building are available seven days a week (except Good Friday, Christmas Day, and New Years Day) and are conducted on the hour. I took a guided tour to learn more about the architecture and history of the building. I highly recommend it. Why?
During the free, fun, and interesting guided tour that lasted about thirty minutes, I got to:
- Visit the same building Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited on May 25, 1939.
- Stand in the same spot in the rotunda where Queen Elizabeth II stood to view the Northern Traditions and Transitions murals.
- Touch the beautiful green marble columns and look up to see the dome of the building.
- Enter the legislative chamber and the library, where the Confederation table is kept. This table was used during the meeting of the Fathers of Confederation in Quebec City in 1864.
- View numerous sculpture and artworks, including fifteen Portraits of Indian Leaders, all pastel on paper, completed by Edmund Harris during 1910 and 1911.
Queen Elizabeth II Gardens
Located in front of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, Queen Elizabeth II Gardens was dedicated by Her Majesty the Queen on May 18, 2005 on the occasion of the Centennial of the Province of Saskatchewan 1905-2005. A statue of the monarch on her favourite Saskatchewan-born horse, Burmese, was designed by Susan Velder and unveiled by Her Majesty in 2005.
The Saskatchewan Legislative Building and its grounds were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2005. After the indoor guided tour, I picked up a booklet at the information desk and completed a self-guided outdoor tour that takes me through approximately 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) of the beautiful legislative grounds.
Wascana Centre
Wascana Centre features a 930-hectare urban park built around a 120-hectare lake. The trails around the lake are accessible for walking, cycling, and rollerblading. It was a sunny and warm day so I appreciated the shades provided by the trees, the water fountains in and around Wascana Centre, and the light breeze from Wascana Lake.
MacKenzie Art Gallery
From Wascana Centre, I walked further south to explore the MacKenzie Art Gallery’s Outdoor Sculpture Garden. Some of the artworks that are on display on the grounds around the Gallery caught my attention. Joe Fafard’s bronze cow statues reminded me of his work, The Pasture, in Toronto.
It was a wonderful and educational outing on a gorgeous summer day. I walked about 8 kilometres (5 miles) outdoors, learned a bit of history in Regina, and saw some beautiful architecture and artworks.
I’d love to hear your comments.
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Natalie the Explorer 
You managed to get lots of your lovely shots without many people in them. Was it early in the morning? Louise
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Thank you, Louise, for your visit and comment. It was about 10 AM when I went for my walk. Regina is not a busy city and I only saw a few pedestrians at the park.
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Hi Natalie, Do you live there?
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I live in Toronto. We were visiting Regina.
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Saskatchewan is now the only province I’ve never visited. Thanks for the tour of her legislature. I was surprised that Regina is the home of the Confederation meeting table used in Quebec City. That’s one little piece of trivia I would never have guessed. I wonder how that came to be.
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That table has quite a story. It was moved from Quebec to Ottawa and was in use there for about two decades. When it was ‘retired’ in Ottawa, it was moved to Regina and was in use in different buildings until it was moved to the Saskatchewan Legislative building. It went back to Ottawa and Quebec for historical exhibits.
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Poor table gets bounced around like an unloved family heirloom that no one wants in their living room but can’t bring themselves to get rid of it either 😉
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I wonder if our historians have had similar thoughts 🙂
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Hi Natalie, I visited Regina when I was a little girl, and it was a memorable experience, especially the Legislative building. I always learn a lot with guided tours. Having an urban park and lake in a big centre encourages people to stay fit. Like you say, a nice breeze, too. How did you find the bugs? I hear that mosquitoes can be an issue certain times of the year. Beautiful, interesting photos, Natalie:)
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I got a few mosquito bites but no flies when I was in Regina. I thought the guided tour was very well done. How wonderful that you had gone on the same tour before. Thank you, Erica, for sharing your thoughts and comment.
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Hi, Natalie – I was in Regina briefly (two years ago) but did not see any of the sites that you’ve included here. (Yes, sometimes I believe that I do live under a rock 🙂 ) I’ll be sure to include them next time!
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Hi Donna -There are a couple more places in Regina that I plan to visit next time, too. As usual, many places to explore and little time.
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I know little about Canada apparently – I’d never heard of this city. Looks interesting.
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Glad to share a Canadian city that is new to you. Thanks, Lydia, for stopping by.
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Hi Natalie what a lovely place to visit with so much to see. Thank you for sharing your travels. I particularly like the architecture and also the Portraits of Indian Leaders in pastel on paper. Have a fabulous week and look forward to your next travel adventures. #lifethisweek
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My pleasure to share my travels, Sue. The Portraits of the Indian Leaders were amazing to see. Thank you for stopping by. Have a beautiful week!
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Hi Natalie, thanks for sharing at #MLSTL and looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks. xx
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Thanks for hosting, Sue. I look forward to seeing you.
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Beautiful photos. I love the one with the Queen riding her favorite horse.
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The sculptor did an amazing job with the sculpture of the Queen on her horse. Thank you, Luna, for your kind comment.
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What a beautiful place, I love the tree lined sidewalk and the fountain. I love fountains. Thank you for taking me on a visit to Regina via my couch xx #SeniSal
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Thank you, Bree, for your comment. The fountains and trees were welcoming signs on a warm and sunny summer day.
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I am a prairie girl but it has been a long time since I visited Regina. I used to go there on business, would drive from Calgary. I found it to be a very friendly city. Some great pictures.
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Thank you, Darlene, for your comment. I found Regina friendly and easy to navigate city, too.
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Such a beautiful place. That is one place I would love to visit. Very nice. #MLSTL
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Thank you, Patrick, for your kind comment. I greatly appreciate it.
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What I love about opening your post each week is that I never know where I’m going to end up. And this week it’s in a place I’ve never heard of before but looks and sounds as though I should have heard of it. Off to do some googling.
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I was going to include a map to show where Regina is in Canada then I left it out for the readers to explore. Your curiosity is fantastic. Happy googling!
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Shared on my Social Media. #MLSTL
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Thank you, Donna. Have a beautiful week!
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When I saw the title I thought you were in Europe and then I realized it wasn’t the capital of Latvia (Riga) and I’d gotten myself all turned around! Once I saw the images I felt much better and could enjoy checking out another place I’ve never seen. It looks like a wonderful place Natalie.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
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I always check my destination name at airport or train station to hopefully go where I intend to go 🙂 Thank you, Leanne, for hosting and sharing. Have a wonderful week!
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I do enjoy that we share a Head of State…thank you for this tour of a part of your world.
Thanks for linking up for Life This Week. Next week’s optional prompt is 34/51 Self-Care: Share Your Story #5 26/8/19. Hope to see you link up then too. Denyse.
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My pleasure to share this tour with you. Thank you, Denyse, for hosting. Have a wonderful week!
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Another beautiful place you’ve taken us to Natalie. I always enjoy my travels with you! lol This building looks beautiful. I love the artwork above the rotunda and the grounds are so green and lush with beautiful trees … and I love the sculptures! I even think I have worked out how to say Saskatchewan now! 😉 xo #TeamLovinLife
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Hi Min – My pleasure to share this part of Canada with you. We’d have taken lots of photos if we had been together for the indoor and outdoor tours.
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That tree-lined sidewalk looks stunning. I think it’s not something I’d see here so makes me notice it even more and looks so pretty!
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Hi Deb – That tree-lined sidewalk was several blocks long. I appreciated the shade so much as it was sunny and quite warm, plus it looked pretty like you said.
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The painting and detail of the rotunda is stunning!
SSG xxx
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It’s a very beautiful building inside and outside. Thanks, SSG, for stopping by.
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