Edmonton is the capital of Alberta as well as its second largest population center. You can find there various outdoor recreational activities, sights to visit and indoor fun. It is Canada’s largest historical park, Canada’s largest living history museum, and home to one of the largest shopping malls in North America. Many people describe Edmonton as the city for everyone, full of opportunities, a modern city where you are never bored, even the top Canada’s tourist destination. Therefore, I made sure I won’t miss Edmonton on my road trip around the Canadian Rockies in September 2018. If you are curious what to see and do during your 3 days in Edmonton, continue reading.

The trail of Edmonton’s High Level Bridge Streetcar starts at the Strathcona Streetcar Barn & Museum and passes three more stops before reaching Jasper Avenue in downtown. During your ride you will enjoy the beautiful historical refurbished trolley, amazing views of the city as well as listen to the history of the streetcar. The biggest attraction is the journey across the more than 100-year-old High Level Bridge itself. 

Before you decide to take a ride with the High Level Bridge Streetcar, make sure you check its operation hours. We managed to miss it the first time, as we were visiting in September and they operate only Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 4 pm. You can find admission fee as well as time schedule at the website of Edmonton Radial Railway Society.

If you’re visiting Edmonton during the hockey season, I recommend that you go and see the game. Mostly if you’re visiting from outside Canada or USA, it will be a unique experience. I was lucky enough to see the game Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames during pre-season. Its atmosphere was friendly, yet you could feel the neighbour rivalry 😉 If you’re visiting during summer, you can check if they offer tour around the arena. It is one of the newest (newly reconstructed) arenas and it looks beautiful 🙂 

I knew that West Edmonton Mall is the largest mall in the North America, yet I was surprised how huge it really is! Better take a floor plan if you don’t want to get lost 🙂 There are so many attractions and stores that you can spend there full weekend to see them all. We were little unfortunate again, as the waterpark was closed, ice rink was not working either and the big ship was restricted to public as well. Anyway, we managed to spend there couple hours just wandering around and checking out some stores. I personally loved the most the pet store with kittens and puppies 🙂

If you like old planes, or just the weather isn’t the best, you can visit the Aviation Museum. It is not event that big, but you can spend there 1 to 2 hours. Except for the planes there are couple games you can try and gift shop where you can buy something for your friends or yourself as a little reminder of your visit.

We were visiting Edmonton at the end of September, it was cold and snowing lightly, and there were only few people in the park. Yet I think it is one of the best places to see! It covers enormous area around 194 square kilometres and it’s located 35km from from Edmonton. It is home to many animals such as bison, elk, moose, beaver, mule deer, lynx, white-tailed deer, coyote and others. We saw only elks and bison, but at least many of them and from a close distance. I can imagine visiting this place during summer days, it must be crowded! There are numerous lakes where you can spend whole day and relax. Do not miss this place during your visit in Edmonton.

If you want to see something beautiful and relaxing, you can visit the Edmonton’s botanical garden – Muttart Conservatory. It consists of public gardens, three greenhouses and four glass pyramids, that I love the most 🙂 Except beautiful expositions of three permanent and one temporary indoor botanical gardens with thousands of species of plants, it is favorite spot for photographers. You can have a short walk around, found the best spot for your photo and enjoy the view of the city skyline.

If you wish to visit Muttart conservatory, you should hurry. Due to renovations, it will be closed from July 2019 until the end of 2020.

Fort Edmonton is unfortunately attraction we didn’t manage to see during our stay. It was closed as it was undergoing reconstructions. The park is undergoing enhancement project, however, Fort Edmonton still offers many attractions and dining opportunities. To plan your visit and make sure everything is open, visit the official website.

If the weather is nice and you have some more time, you can take the River Loop Trail and have a walk around the area of the Fort. It takes approximately 30 minutes to reach the Quesnell Bridge with the view of both banks of the North Saskatchewan River. It was beautiful in the sunny fall weather 🙂

I have to admit, that I didn’t like Edmonton at all at the beginning. It was cold and cloudy outside, wherever we went, everything was closed. We missed the last High Level Bridge Streetcar of the day, one shopping mall was closed, waterpark in West Edmonton Mall was closed as well as the Fort Edmonton. The next days, when I wandered more around the city, I slightly changed my perspective. However, I still wouldn’t call it my favorite city. There are many activities you can do during your stay, and I believe that if you will have a chance to visit Edmonton, you will enjoy it to the fullest 😉

Love & happy travels,
RLT

P.S.: If you have any questions, different experience or suggestion, please share it in a comment below.