If you are already there, or you are planning on visiting soon, Alberta’s capital city Edmonton is a vivid, multicultural, and dynamic city, that offers a huge and diverse variety of places and activities that befits absolutely everyone.
Thus, it doesn’t matter whether you go by yourself, with family or with friends, Edmonton’s incredible attractions and activities will guarantee that you will never get bored because you ran out of options. The list of places you can go to and the things you can do are endless.
Therefore, in this article, we have a number of some of the main places to visit, and things to do in Edmonton. Try out some of them and have the time of your life.
Let’s Go to The Mall… Today
How I Met Your Mother’s character Robin Sparkles couldn’t have sang it better! When it comes to shopping, Edmonton is home to a variety of shopping areas like South Central and Central’s 124th Street, where you can find a plethora of fancy designer boutiques and furniture shops.
But that’s not it. Edmonton is also the home of the humongous West Edmonton Mall, which simply put, is the largest mall of the Americas!
It’s 490,000 square meter extension includes not only more than 800 stores and services, but the mall also has parks, a water park, as well as a miniature golf course, four movie theatre complexes, a grandiose entertainment center and a large indoor skating rink.
Get Lost in Nature
Nature plays a very vital role in Edmonton, so if you happen to be a nature lover you’ll definitely have a lot of fun.
Edmonton’s River Valley Parks might be the best option for you, as the area consists of 20 different parks, all of which combined give you a total extension 22 times larger than The Central Park in NYC.
At the same time, you can go to The Edmonton Valley Zoo, where you can admire the beauty of 350 different animals of over 100 species from across the globe.
Finally, a third option would be going to the popular Muttart Conservatory, which has an impressive botanical garden that shelters numerous trees and flower species from different continents.
Go Downtown
Downtown is where the festivals happen, so go to the festivals as well. It is not in vain that Edmonton is otherwise known as Canada’s Festival City, as it has been host of many over the years like the Work Art & Design Festival, Edmonton International Fringe, November’s Canadian Finals Rodeo and Farmfair to mention just a few.
You can also visit the Arts District located at the heart of Churchill Square where you can find numerous art boutiques and art shops. If you keep on walking in that area, you will find the Central Business District and the Warehouse District.
Enjoy Sports Life
If you love both watching and playing sports, there’s plenty of things you can do in Edmonton, as it is the home of several professional sports like
- Hockey
- Football soccer and
- Combat archery
However, if you decide to visit during the winter, skiing is available. There are four ski slopes adjoined to Edmonton that are perfect for skiing when visiting snow time such as:
- Edmonton Ski
- Snow Valley and
- Sunridge Ski Area
From all the ski slopes out there, Jasper, which is 365 kilometers to the west of the city, has of the best ski slopes. Its closeness to the Canadian Rocky Mountains makes it easily accessible via Edmonton. What’s more, its impressive view is one of the main reasons why Jasper is considered to be a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Eating Out
Are you hungry? When it comes to food, Edmonton has a great culinary variety that involves food of different kinds and prices which comes suitable for every budget and will make your stomach pretty happy.
The Central area is the main place to be at for great food from different nations. You can find restaurants that serve all kinds of authentic Italian, Mexican, Chinese and Portuguese dishes.
There are also numerous mid-range fancy options, that include French, Continental and Japanese cuisine prepared by top notch cooks that are capable of satisfying even the most delicate palate.
South Central area is the other great place to go, especially if you are out there looking for cheaper meals, as it is the home of the University of Alberta. Here you can find Indian food, Tex Mex, Italian and Korean food, in addition to other different culinary styles.
Learn A Bit of Culture
If you are an intellectual who is looking for a way to broaden your cultural horizons, then you should visit the great variety of museums the city has to offer.
From the Royal Alberta Museum, which is the largest of all, to the Alberta Aviation Museum that has a permanent exhibition of military and civilian aircrafts, every museum has its own unique exhibitions that will blow your mind away.
However, the Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest living history museum is a must to visit, even if you’re not that keen on going to museums.
Visit the Strathcona Historic District located at South Central Edmonton. The former city’s commercial core, has turned into a provincial historic area with many historic buildings like the Strathcona Hotel, the Canadian Pacific Railway Station, the Princess Theatre and the South Side Post Office.
Finally, if you want to take your cultural learning up to the next level, Edmonton has a large well-established population of Ukrainian settlers that arrived at the city in 1899.
You can learn more about them by visiting The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, which is an open-air museum considered a historic site, located in the city’s outskirts, and features over 30 historic buildings, gardens and monuments that represents the life of the Ukrainian settlers between 1899 and 1930.
The museum’s workers dress up in traditional costumes and do activities that were part of everyday life during that period of time, which means that you can experience watching things like garden tending, baking bread, as well as blacksmiths working and wood workers carving.
