Yellowknife: the world's aurora borealis capital

Built during the 1930s gold rush in Canada's Northwest Territories, Yellowknife offers today some of the world's highest odds of seeing the northern lights.

The center is explored on foot; aurora observation requires organized tours outside the city.

The Old Town neighborhood, with its scattered houses built without a real urban plan during the gold rush, still preserves wooden buildings dating from the 1930s.

Just steps away, Bush Pilots' Monument, a panoramic point on a rocky hill, offers a view of the Great Slave Lake that surrounds the city.

The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre tells the story of the indigenous Dene peoples and the gold fever that led to the city's founding.

On clear nights, far from city lights, the Northern Lights here are visible on average more than two nights out of three during the winter season.

Yellowknife's position directly beneath the band of maximum auroral activity in the northern hemisphere makes it one of the world's most reliable destinations for anyone seeking the northern lights without leaving much to chance.

Great Slave Lake, among North America's deepest, freezes solid in winter, even permitting the construction of temporary ice roads to more remote communities.