[CoryB]

My advice is come into Winnipeg from the east on highway 1. As you are getting close to Winnipeg there will be a truck stop with a signaled intersection called Deacon's Corner. My suggestion is stop here and fill up with gas then you should be good for your time in Winnipeg. Shortly after Deacon's Corner is the Red River Floodway. To a lot of people it is a giant ditch and not too noteworthy. Something to keep in mind though is Winnipeg is on a floodplain of a major river. The Floodway is used to divert water around the city in the spring flood season. When you are planning to come through town we might be at a flood state so the water could be high, if not know that at its peak water could be up to the bottom on the bridge!

Near the first set of lights (if I recall correctly) after the interchange is the Royal Canadian Mint on the left side. It is the main production facility for all Canadian coins and lots of international coins too. They have public tours but unless you are interested in money or production the tour might be on the boring side considering you have limited time.

Continue east on Highway 1, also called Fermor Ave in Winnipeg limits until you get to St Marys Rd at which point you will turn right. There is not a lot of note on this route but it sets you up to cross the bridge that shows up in a lot of tv shots of Winnipeg.

After crossing the bridge turn right at the third light, there should my an Earl's restaurant on this corner. After you have turned the Canadian Museum for Human Rights will be almost immediately in front of you. When you come through town it will still not be open to the public but it has a very unique design. If you turn right at the light on the door step of the museum you will be in an area known as The Forks. It has a number of unique local stores if that interests you. There is also a world class skateboard park there. If you aren't interested in either of those things I would suggest skipping The Forks.

If you went into The Forks come back out on the same street you came in on, this will be the same as if you turned left at the museum instead of going into The Forks. Drive straight until you come to the round-about and exit to the right onto Bannaytne Ave. This is an area known as The Exchange and is made up of mostly turn of the century warehouses. Turn right when you get to King St, just past Main St. Look for a parking spot almost immediately when you are on King as you will be stopping for lunch hopefully. For lunch go to the Culinary Exchange at the corner of Main St and William Ave. It is at the corner of the park you see when you turn onto King.

The Culinary Exchange is a quick service restaurant run by the local culinary school (Red River College) meaning quality is high and prices fairly low. Enter in the second door when you walk around the corner from King onto Main St. There is no reservation on tables but it is in a neat re-proposed space in an old bank building.

After lunch I would suggest taking a look inside the main Red River Campus that is three short blocks up King. It is really neat how their basically shaved the old fronts of the historic buildings and bolted them on the brand new building. There are other neat things about the building design but that is my own highly personal bias coming out. If you are interested in more details I can provide them. Alternatively, you could spend some time walking the streets in the area looking at the old buildings. There are lots of unique boutiques on the same side of Main St as King and the same side of and the same side of William as the Culinary Exchange. If you cross over William you will be in Winnipeg's old China Town area.

When you are leaving the Exchange area take Princess. The streets in the area are Main St, King St, Princess St. King and Princess are one-way streets. Driving on Princess and will take a slight bend and change names to Donald. At that point you will be two blocks away from MTS Centre where the Winnipeg Jets play. There is not much to see but I know some people like to see where sports venues are located. Like most such venues there is a team store if you are interested.

Continue on Donald until you get to Broadway at which point you will turn right. In a couple of blocks on the left side is the Manitoba Legislature. The building is known for its hermetic code and is open to the public. If you are interested in that type of thing you could look more into the book about the building and check if there are tours of the building. If not, continue on Broadway turning left at Osborne St. This will take you through The Village neighbourhood which features some quirky local shops and restaurants. It is also Winnipeg's most "urban" neighbourhood. The main area of interest if you don't live there is on Osborne itself. The Village is between the Osborne St Bridge and the Burger King.

Leaving The Village leads to things getting a little tricky as there is an at-grade intersection with five major streets meeting. You are going to want to try to go "straight" when you enter the intersection known as Confusion Corner. Ideally you will exit onto Pembina however Osborne could work too. If you find yourself on Donald or Cordoyn get turned around and head back into Confusion Corner. If you end up on Osborne keep going until you find Jubilee and turn right, then follow the signs for Pembina south.

Pembina will take you out of town to Modern where you have said you will be spending the night. As you travel south on Pembina you will pass a Safeway across from a Holiday Inn. The cross street is McGillivary. This area is known by some people as the "new" China Town with lots of the best Asian restaurant in the city. If you are interested in that type of food it might be a good choice for diner.

If you would like you could take the exit from Pembina onto University Crescent. This will take you past Investors Group field which is the new pro football stadium. They also have a team store for the Blue Bombers. The stadium is at the corner of University Cresent and Chancellor Dr. Chancellor would get you back to Pembina.

As you are leaving town you will go under an overpass, this means you are almost out of the city proper. The area you are now in is St Agathe. On your left side as the speed limits start to increase you will see a large dam like structure on the river to the left. This is actually the control inlet for the Red River Floodway you saw on your way into town.

The next day when you drive back to Winnipeg if you have nothing more to check out you can take the Perimeter heading west. This is basically a "freeway" around the outside of Winnipeg. Look for the exit for the TransCanada. Easiest way to tell you are close is the city will get close to the highway again and it is the first exit after you cross a river. You will want to head west from that point.

PS - You mentioned coming through Manitoba in April, it is possible you will be here in flood season which could mean getting into Morden will be difficult or impossible as they have a dike system surrounding the town to protect it from flooding. The down side is that it also closes the main routes into town. You may want to reconsider your plan and stay overnight in Winnipeg instead.