The main office of Tourism Saskatoon (mid-May to Aug Mon-Fri 8.30am-7pm, Sat & Sun 10am-7pm; Sept to mid-May Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm; tel 242-1206 or 1-800/567-2444, www.city.saskatoon.sk.ca ) is in the old CP train station at 6-305 Idylwyld Drive North. In addition to maps and brochures, it has copies of The Broadway Theatre , a free bimonthly news sheet that carries details of cultural events. There's also an information centre at the corner of Avenue C North and 47th Street (mid-May to Aug daily 10am-7pm; tel 242-1206). The local newspaper, The Star Phoenix , has bland reviews and nightlife listings at the weekend.

Saskatoon's compact city centre is best explored on foot , though it takes a little time to work out the street plan, due to the fact that most streets and avenues are given numbers, not names; streets run east-west; avenues, north-south. Edged to the south and east by the river and the adjacent strip of city park, the downtown core is bounded by 25th Street East to the north and 1st Avenue to the west. Numbered sequentially, these central streets are all "East", with their western extensions starting at either 1st Avenue or Idylwyld Drive. However, the avenues change from "South" to "North" right in the centre at 22nd Street East. For the suburbs, Saskatoon Transit (tel 975-3100) operates an efficient and fairly comprehensive bus-transport system, with a standard adult fare of $1.50 (pay on board; call 975-3100 for routes and times).