Nanton sits on Highway 2 about 45 minutes south of Calgary, on the prairie road toward the foothills and Waterton country. It is small, flat, and easy to pass without stopping, but that would miss one of southern Alberta's better bundles of local museums.
The town's identity is prairie memory: aircraft from the Second World War, restored grain elevators, old storefronts, and the antique shops that give the main street a reason to linger. The Bomber Command Museum of Canada is the serious anchor, especially for anyone with an interest in aviation.
Nanton is not a wilderness destination and it is not trying to be one. It works as a half-day or easy day from Calgary when you want the texture of a farming town with more than one thing to see.