Banff, Alberta in the context of "Bow River"

The Fairmont Banff Springs, formerly and commonly known as the Banff Springs Hotel, is a historic hotel in western Canada, located in Banff, Alberta. The entire town, including the hotel, is situated in Banff National Park, a national park managed by Parks Canada. At an elevation of 1,414 metres (4,640 ft) above sea level, the hotel overlooks a valley towards Mount Rundle, both of which are situated within the Rocky Mountain mountain range.

Opened in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, it is one of the earliest of Canada's grand railway hotels. The original five-storey wooden hotel was designed by Bruce Price and was able to accommodate 280 guests. With expansions, the original structure became the North Wing, which was eventually destroyed by fire in April 1926.

Banff National Park is Canada's first national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, 110–180 kilometres (68–112 mi) west of Calgary, Banff encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, in the Bow River valley.

The mountains were formed from sedimentary rocks that were pushed east over newer rock strata, between 80 million and 55 million years ago. Over the past few million years, glaciers have at times covered most of the park; today they are found only on the mountain slopes, though they include the Columbia Icefield, the largest uninterrupted glacial mass in the Rockies. Erosion from water and ice have carved the mountains into their current shapes. Archaeological evidence at Vermilion Lakes indicates presence of Indigenous peoples for more than 10,000 years in the Banff area.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural heritage consists of natural features (physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation, or natural beauty. Madagascar ratified the convention on July 19, 1983, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list. As of 2025, there are three World Heritage Sites in Madagascar. Madagascar served on the World Heritage Committee from 2005 to 2009.

The first site in Madagascar, the Strict Nature Reserve of the Tsingy of Bemaraha, was inscribed on the list as a site of natural importance at the 14th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Banff, Canada in 1990. This was followed by the 2001 inscription of the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, a historic village and royal palace compound of cultural importance featuring well-preserved 19th-century palaces and numerous other natural and architectural features of historic, political and spiritual significance to the Malagasy people. Most recently, in 2007 the natural site of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana was added to the list, comprising a cluster of six national parks distinguished by their highly endemic biodiversity. A fourth site, the capital of the 19th century Merina sovereigns of Madagascar at the Rova of Antananarivo, had originally been slated to become the nation's first cultural World Heritage Site in 1995 but was destroyed by a fire shortly before the inscription was finalized. UNESCO placed the Rainforests of the Atsinanana on the list of World Heritage in Danger on July 30, 2010, following an increase in illegal logging in the parks since 2009 as a consequence of the 2009-2013 political crisis in Madagascar.