Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta. Its metro area is home to 1.1 million people and is the northernmost city in North America of at least one million people. The city is home to North America's largest mall: West Edmonton Mall, Canada's largest historic park: Fort Edmonton, and North America's largest urban parkland network. It has brilliant spectator sports, and is Canada's Festival City, home to a growing and established retail market, variety of different nightlife, and a large number of high end golf courses.
Edmonton is currently presenting a bid to hold the World's Fair 2017. It is also home to the Edmonton Indy, the only Indy race in Canada. Despite it's reputation as a low-rise city, Edmonton has quite the urban core. Edmonton (though not exactly known for it) also has a wide variety of architectural styles. The city is home to a fast growing population and a diversifying economy which is doing well for the metro area.
Edmonton was first founded as a fort in 1795 and grew into a major fort in the fur trade. In 1894, the town of Edmonton was founded and the city quickly grew. By 1904, Edmonton was incorporated as a city and had over 1000 people.
In the 1990s, nothing much happened in Edmonton. Edmonton started embracing "Festival City" and getting world class events but there was not much actually going on. Whyte Avenue started to become a hit shopping area and there was suburban housing. This was when a lot of American stores went into the Canadian market, creating a strong retail market.
PLACE TO VISIT
Alberta Legislature - Beautiful colonial architecture paints the picture of the Legislature. The building dates back to 1911. When the City of Edmonton was chosen as capital for the province in 1905, this was built. Inside are tours and be sure to look at the masterpiece of art. Definitely nice for people who like history, government, and/or architecture. see central.
Art Gallery of Alberta, (formerly the Edmonton Art Gallery). Art Gallery of Alberta explores all forms of art and great for seeing how artist's interpret things. The facility is modern and up to date. The gallery recently underwent a new section called Edmonton Modern, a architectural study about Edmonton's architecture of the 60's and 70's. Aside from that, there is always something different going on at the Art Gallery of Alberta like NHL paintings or cross Canada art gallery tours or whatever. It is truly a unique and nice experience and the people there are really friendly/helpful. Great for just wanting to have quiet time and looking at beautiful, sometimes odd, things. It should not be turned down.
Muttart Conservatory - The four glass pyramids rising out of the river valley in the Old Scona-U part of the city are a unique Edmonton landmark. Inside, they house three distinct climate zones and a fourth seasonal display, packed with several hundred plant varieties.
TELUS World of Science - Edmonton's largest science museum, in the West End, has a unique architectural design and houses many science exhibits, a planetarium, and an IMAX theater.
Royal Alberta Museum is a cool way to view Alberta's history with paintings, statues, and more. There are always different kinds of exhibits. West End.
West Edmonton Mall, in the West End, and is famous as the largest shopping center in North America. Coming here expect world-class shopping, a theme park, an enormous selection of movies, and fine cuisine.
Old Strathcona. This trendy historical neighbourhood has a lot to do: people-watching or gazing at architecture, calming walks, relaxing drives, trendy shopping, exquisite dining, fantastic sports, and brave nightlife. It is full of history and vibrancy
107 Avenue/Alberta Avenue. This 'Whyte Avenue of the Northside' features decorative street lights, a vibrant African community and too many Vietnamese/Oriental noodle houses to count. This strip is not overpriced like Whyte and is anchored by a number of well-known businesses including Waterloo Ford, Hughes Petroleum (a franchise of orange gas stations unique to Metro Edmonton) and a brand-new condo development called The Pointe. It still has a somewhat gritty edge but every year it is becoming more and more of a cool neighbourhood. The proximity to Chinatown certainly acts as a bonus
North Saskatchewan River Parks - Wonderful walking, jogging and cycling paths fill through through the River Valley. There are over a hundred kilometers of walking, biking, and skiing trails joining them along the banks and flood plains of the North Saskatchewan river. Altogether, the city's trails and parks make up the largest connected urban parkland in North America.
WHAT TO DO
Edmonton is a surprisingly lively city for an area covered in snow 6 months of the year. The summer brings many festivals into the city, and with Canada's most impressive mountain parks a half-day's drive away, Edmonton is fun year-round.
Edmonton and Area is served by seven large casinos: Casino Yellowhead, Casino Edmonton, Bacarrat Casino, Palace Casino, St Albert Casino, Celebration's Casino, Marriot Enoch Resort & Casino.
Recreation - Edmonton's river valley and Mill Creek area have an extensive network of trails, good for walking, biking and cross-country skiing. As you travel through the extensive stretches of linked ravines and forested areas in the river valley, at many points you can't even tell you're in a city. There are a variety of bike shops, including a non-profit bicycle co-op. You can drop in on their workshop hours and wrench your own bike for cheap. Mechanics are on hand to help and answer your questions.
Golf - Albertans have a keen fascination with golf, based on the province's sunny summers a large number of developed courses and connecting roadways, and relatively low prices. Most are public, and the few private courses are not spectacular enough that you will feel you're missing much by sticking to the public courses.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - By far the fastest and most comfortable way to get to Edmonton from outside Alberta is by flying. Most major airlines service Edmonton. General travel times to Edmonton are 45 minutes from Calgary, 1 1/2 hours from Vancouver, 4 1/2 hours from Montreal, and 4 hours from Toronto. Edmonton's main airport is the western hub to Canada's North.
Edmonton International Airport has seasonal charter service to/from: Acapulco, Bahias de Huatulco, Cozumel, Holguin, La Romana, Las Vegas, Laughlin, Liberia, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Montego Bay, Puerto Vallarta, Varadero, Cancun, Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Samana, and San Jose del Cabo.
By car - Edmonton is located in Central Alberta east of the Canadian Rockies, with a deep river valley extending from the southwest to the northeast. Known as Gateway to the North, Edmonton is the largest city on the Yellowhead branch (Alberta Highway 16) of the Trans-Canada Highway system. Edmonton is 3 hours north of Calgary on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (formerly Highway 2) and 3.5 hours east of Jasper on Highway 16.
From Vancouver, Edmonton is best accessed using Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada) east to Hope, then Highway 5 (the Coquihalla) from Hope to the Highway 16 eastbound junction. The average travel time in summer is 12 to 13 hours. Travelers from Saskatoon will find Edmonton about 5 hours away using the Yellowhead Highway.
By bus - Greyhound, services Edmonton from all major Canadian cities. There is also a premium service between Edmonton and Calgary, Red Deer, and Fort McMurray with Red Arrow Motorcoach, which feature more spacious seating (only three seats to a row) and workstation seats with electrical connections for business travelers and their computers.
By train - VIA Rail, 12360-121 Street, provides passenger train services for Edmonton, and is linked to several major cities along the Canadian National Railroad. The VIA train station is now located a short distance from downtown just a couple of blocks north of the Yellowhead Highway and near the northwest corner of City Centre Airport. The station has free wifi, just ask a staff member for the passkey (as of Jan. '08, is 7804482575).
VIA Rail prices are higher than train prices generally in Europe. Passenger trains arrive through Edmonton numerous times during week. Passengers experience leisurely travel through some of the most amazing scenery in the world
