Edmonton does things big: it’s home to Canada’s largest sports and entertainment district, the largest stretch of urban parkland in North America, and one of the largest shopping malls on the planet. But underneath that big, bold surface is a vibrant capital city with an unpretentious population and smaller areas of interest.
Let me start by saying we did not go to the mall and I kinda regret that…not because I need to purchase more things but just to see the scale of it! The West Edmonton Mall has hundreds of shops and restaurants, the facility contains a hotel, movie theaters, an ocean rink, an aquarium, a water park and an indoor amusement park. In addition, there are travel themed sections of the mall like a New Orleans area or a London area.
Like a lot of larger cities, Edmonton has world class art galleries, museums, a symphony, live theater, diverse restaurants and not one, but two aviation museums. We didn’t push ourselves. We like to say we “saved that for next time”. LOL!
The two things we did see in Edmonton were the Legislative Building and trendy Whyte Street downtown.
Legislative Building
In the midst of a park-like garden, stands the imposing 1913 Legislative Building. The guided tour is free, but our guide felt amateur. Some info was provided on the basic structure of the Canadian government but very little about the construct of the building itself or the artwork within it. The only interesting tidbit about the building was a spot where the acoustics of the building make it sound like rain or dripping overhead when the fountain on the ground floor is running. Also, it sounds like the Calgary-Edmonton rivalry goes back over 100 years. Although Calgary was larger, when the elected officials voted, Edmonton was chosen to be the seat of government. To placate, everyone assumed that Calgary would get the first university on the south side of the river. The University of Alberta was built on the side of a river but that river was in Edmonton (the hometown of the first premier)!
Walk from our campground
Whyte Street
Whyte Street is located in the trendy old Strathcona area. During the day, the area is popular with shoppers and culture vultures. It’s lined with a mix of trendy clothing stores, unusual shops, art galleries, and home décor places as well as a variety of places to dine.
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Why didn’t we see more of Edmonton? I’m really not sure. I think we just didn’t plan as well for this sprawling city.
What we did see we liked. It’s a pretty city with the North Saskatchewan River running through it. It has a great skyline but also lots of open spaces and is bike-friendly.
In fairness, we saw it during the best time of year! In the winter, this city is among the coldest large cities in the world along with others like Moscow and Harbin, China.
This means we definitely won’t be returning in winter to see the sights, but maybe some other summer, I’d like to return.
