The natural beauty of Edmonton is prominently displayed in the deep, wide North Saskatchewan River Valley that winds through the city center. Edmonton's downtown overlooks the north bank of this picture-perfect river. Its stately Old Strathcona historic shopping and entertainment district and the University of Alberta overlook the south bank.

Edmonton is a bustling metropolitan. As Edmonton has grown, it has remained a place of beauty and prosperity. Unlike some other oil boomtowns, Edmonton has never allowed uncontrolled development. Now known as “Canada’s Festival City,” Edmonton has developed an amazing park system, world-class sporting facilities, and a cultural ambience that attracts major annual events of the highest caliber.

The city is well known as the home of the West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the world, with over 800 stores and services. The Mall is located in the city's west end, and all freeways seem to lead directly to it. The Mall has the world's largest parking lot, an indoor wave pool, indoor waterslide, and an indoor rollercoaster. To make the visit to this exciting megaplex even more enjoyable, there is a hotel in the Mall, as well as an area featuring its own nightlife district (Bourbon Street), complete with a Las Vegas-style casino.

Summer activities include golf, bicycling, swimming, jogging, racquetball, squash, and spectator sports. Edmonton is home to three professional sports teams. The Oilers play hockey from September to April; the Trappers excel at baseball in the summer months, and the Eskimos play football from June to November. In the winter there is cross-country skiing, ice skating, dog sledding, and snowshoeing.

For visitors who prefer the indoors, there is an extensive system of underground and overhead “pedways” in the downtown area that make it possible to travel in comfort regardless of the weather outside. For ease of access, phenomenal natural beauty, and a wide variety of year round activities for the entire family, Edmonton is unsurpassed.

Population: 666,104
Time Zone: Mountain Time Zone.
Language: English

Average Temperatures:

When to Go
Winter brings cold temperatures and deep snow, but Edmonton averages 12 hours of sunshine a day, more than any other major Canadian city. On some spring nights, the northern lights (the aurora borealis) are visible from Edmonton.

National Holidays:
New Years Day January 1, Good Friday Varies Easter Monday Varies, Victoria Day Monday preceding May 25, Canada Day July 1 (The Holidays Act provides that July 2 is Canada Day when July 1 Is a Sunday), Labour Day First Monday in September, Thanksgiving Day Second Monday of October, Remembrance Day November 11, Christmas Day December 25, Boxing Day December 26

Getting Around

By Bus and LRT

Edmonton Transit ( 780/496-1611) operates a comprehensive system of buses throughout the area and a light rail transit (LRT) line from downtown to the northeast side of the city. Fares are low, and transfers are free. Buses operate 5:30 AM to 2 AM. The LRT is free in the downtown area (between Churchill and Grandin stations) weekdays 9 to 3 and Saturday 9 to 6.

The Edmonton Transit Information Centre (102A Ave. and 99 St.) at Churchill Station provides information weekdays 9:30 to 5.

Rail Service
The VIA rail station is at 12360 121^st Street. Telephone (780) 448-2575 for baggage information. 1-800-835-3037 for arrival and departure information. Or 1-800-561-8630 for reservations.

Bus Service
Greyhound Canada’s downtown depot is at 10324 103^rd Street. Telephone: (780) 413-8747.

By Taxi
Cabs may be hailed on the street, but phoning is recommended.

Arriving & Departing

By Air
All flights use Edmonton International Airport (YEG) (Hwy. 2) (780) 890-8900), 12 mi, south of downtown. An airport-improvement fee is assessed on all flight departures within Alberta, and for departures outside Alberta; Fees are paid at the airport.

Transfers Between the Airport and Town

The Sky Shuttle ( 780/465-8515) provides frequent service between the airport and major downtown hotels.

By Bus
Greyhound Bus Lines ( 800/661-8747) provides service to Edmonton.

By Car
Edmonton is on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), which runs from Winnipeg, Manitoba, through the central parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta. This highway is four lanes and divided through most of Alberta; it intersects with the four-lane divided Highway 2, which runs south to Calgary.

Edmonton Film Society
12845 102nd Ave., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/453-9100

Metro Cinema
Edmonton Art Gallery Theatre, Canada Place, 9700 Jasper Ave., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 780/425-9212. Metro Cinema presents classics, imports, and new films on weekend nights.

Princess Theatre
10337 Whyte St., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/433-5785, The Princess Theatre, an old-time movie house in Old Strathcona, shows revivals, experiments, and foreign films.

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
780/428-1414. The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performs in the Francis Winspear Centre for Music on Sir Winston Churchill Square.

February

Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival
(780) 430-7153 . 2,600 participants enjoy this cross-country ski festival. In addition to the 55 km endurance races and the 31 km Journal Tour, there are shorter distance events such as the 2.5 km Ole's Two-Bit Tour, the 5 km Dow Snow Shuffle and the 15 km Celanese Mini-Birkie.

March
Local Heroes International Film Festival. Independent short and feature-length films are shown during this week long event.

May
Edmonton International Airshow

Dreamspeakers Festival
An annual celebration of aboriginal culture through the art.

June

The Works Visual Festival
(780) 426-2122,This Festival brings together artists and artisans.

Mid-Late June

Jazz City International Music Festival
(780) 432-7166. Concerts, workshops, club dates, and outdoor events. Late June (June 21-July 1)

Edmonton Celebrates Canada
10 day celebration beginning with National Aboriginal Day. On June 24^th Francophone festivities honor Jean Baptiste. The celebration concludes each year on Canada Day, July 1^st with a full day of events and a Fireworks Finale.

Late June-Mid July

Shakespeare Festival
Presents two shows on alternate nights in William Hawrelak Park.

The Works
This visual art "Feast for your senses" featuring nearly 1000 artists in over 70 exhibits. All special events are free and suitable for all ages. (780) 426-2122

July

Whyte Avenue Artwalk
For three days in July 130 visual artists from all backgrounds transform Whyte Avenue into an outdoor studio and marketplace. Experience art-in-action in Old Strathcona. (780) 432-0240

Highland Gathering
Scottish heritage festival at Fort Edmonton Park

Edmonton International Street Performers Festival
Come downtown to Sir Winston Churchill Park and see the Musicians, Clowns, Jugglers and Magicians as they put on a show for the entire family. (780) 425-5162

August

Third Annual Historic Edmonton Week
The Historic Edmonton Week is Edmonton's newest community-wide festival, with over twenty special events including the history show and a heritage trade fair. (780) 434-9145.

Edmonton Heritage Festival
Enjoy food, crafts, dance and song from around the world at the world's largest celebration of multi-culturalism. Free admission, but no parking at William Hawrelak Park. (780) 488-3378

Edmonton International Street Performers Festival
Magicians, clowns, jugglers, mime artists, and musicians entertain in the streets over a ten day period.

Klondike Days
780/479-3500, One huge event that encompasses music, shows, and special events is the 10-day Klondike Days, held in late July. The festivities celebrate the prosperity that the Yukon gold rush brought the city, which was a supply route and stopping point for miners. Residents dress in gay 90’s fashions. Parades, casinos, gold panning, a chuck wagon derby, and related events keep the city a very lively place for 10 days.

Illuminations
Colored lights illuminate Great Divide Waterfall on Sunday evenings of summer holiday weekends.

August

Edmonton Folk Music Festival
A mix of Folk, Blues, Worldbeat and Pop artists perform on the many stages set up at Gallagher Park. Small workshops let you enjoy your favorite artists in a more personal setting. (780) 429-1999

September

Enbridge Symphony Under the Sky
This Labour Day festival, presented by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, includes mainstage performances, recitals, workshops, a Pub in the Park, a Teddy Bear Picnic, children's concert and fireworks.

Cariwest Caribbean Arts Festival
Labatt Blues Festival
Dragon Boat Festival
International Fringe Theater Festival
A 9 day event of plays, dance, mime, and street performances.

Symphony Under the Sky Festival
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s 5 day Festival at Hawrelak Park.

October

Edmonton New Music Festival
The very finest in contemporary classical music, recorded and broadcast nationally on CBC Stereo’s Two New Hours. New work by local and international composers. Performances range from piano solos to chamber music ensembles with some of the country’s most accomplished musicians. (780) 434-4521

November

Canadian Finals Rodeo
Thousands of cowboys compete in the last (indoor) rodeo event of the season. (780) 471-7210

December 31

Edmonton's First Night Festival
Ring in the new year with the thousands of families for entertainment, fireworks and fun at various NO ALCOHOL locations around the downtown area. Purchase your First Night buttons in advance.

Shaw Conference Centre
9797 Jasper Ave, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/421-9797.
This unique structure has been built into the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. Its terraced levels are reached by glass-enclosed escalators, which afford great views of the River Valley.

Muttart Conservatory
9626 96A St., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/496-8755, Weekdays 9-6, weekends 11-6. Admission charged.
The four glass pyramid greenhouses that rise up from Edmonton's river valley are home to one of North America's most important botanical facilities. Three pyramids contain flora of different climates (arid, tropical, and temperate), and a show pyramid has seasonal floral displays. gift shop, an art gallery, and café.

City Hall
1 Sir Winston Churchill Sq., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/496-8200.
City Hall is an architectural showcase which contains a grand stairway, an exhibition space, and a 200-ft tower with a 23-bell carillon.

Old Strathcona Historic Area
780/433-5866 ,
The area surrounding 104th Street and Whyte (82nd) Avenue on the south side of the river is a district of restored houses and shops built in the 1890s, prior to the merger of Strathcona Town with Edmonton in 1912. Old Strathcona is an attractive shopping district with antiques shops, boutiques, music and book stores, theaters, museums, and over seventy restaurants and coffeehouses. The Old Strathcona Farmer's Market has fresh produce and crafts.

Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site
11153 Saskatchewan Dr., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/427-3995, Early Sept.-mid-May, Tues.-Sun. noon-5; mid-May-early Sept.) daily 9-5. Admission charged.
Built in Jacobean Revival-style, the 1911 home of Alberta's first premier, Alexander Cameron Rutherford, has been restored. Costumed interpreters reenact life in 1915. The gift shop sells reproductions of Edwardian gifts, cards, linens, and jewelry. Lunch and afternoon tea are served at the Arbour Restaurant.

Stanley Milner Library
7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/423-2331.
The Edmonton Public Library features fine books and art exhibits, along with many activities in the Children's Department.

Edmonton Art Gallery
2 Sir Winston Churchill Sq., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/422-6223. Mid-May-June, weekdays 10-4, weekends 10-6; July-early Sept.) daily 10-6. Admission free Thurs. after 4. Weekdays 10:30-5, weekends 11-5.
The collection includes more than 4,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs by national and international artists. The museum also has a children's gallery.

Provincial Museum Of Alberta
12845 102nd Ave., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/453-9100. Daily 9-5. Admission charged.
This innovative natural-history museum includes an Aboriginal Peoples Gallery that covers 11,000 years and 500 generations of native history and displays an impressive collection of artifacts. The Natural History Gallery contains minerals and gems, a “bug room”, dinosaur fossils, saber-toothed tigers artifacts, and Canada's only complete Columbian mammoth skeleton.

Odyssium
11211 142nd St., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/452-9100. Call for Hours. Admission charged.
The Zeidler Star Theatre has the largest planetarium dome in North America and presents laser and star shows hourly. Galleries hold scientific and technological exhibitions, a Challenger Learning Centre/Space Mission, and an amateur ham radio station; there is also an IMAX theater.

Sir Winston Churchill Square
Sir Winston Churchill Square is the focus of the Arts District, a six-block area that incorporates many of Edmonton's major institutions. The newest addition is the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, a 1,900-seat concert hall (home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra) and the largest theater complex in Canada, the Citadel Theatre, which has five different venues and an indoor garden with a waterfall.

West Edmonton Mall
8770 170th St., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 780/444-5300 .
Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest mall, Alberta's most popular tourist attraction extends over 5.2 million square ft. The more than 800 stores and services include 11 department stores, 20 movie theaters, and more than 100 places to eat. The mall contains many of the world's largest indoor attractions, including an amusement park with a roller coaster; an indoor water park; recreation room with billiard tables, bowling lanes, and the latest interactive video games; an NHL-size ice-skating rink; four submarines in an indoor artificial lake; a dolphin show; a Las Vegas-style casino; a miniature golf; and the Fantasyland Hotel. Electric scooters are available for transport. Admission charged.

Ukrainian Museum of Canada
9543 - 110 Avenue, Edmonton ,(780) 424-7580. The museum is open in the summer (May to August) Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Viewing from September to April is by appointment only. The museum features traditional Ukrainian cultural items including costumes, hand-painted Easter eggs, dolls, tapestries and paintings. Admission to the museum is free although donations are welcome. Recommended viewing time is one hour.

Valley Zoo
Buena Vista Road and 134 Street, Edmonton,(780) 496-6912. Admission charged. The zoo is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This unique zoo combines the fun of nursery rhyme characters with the beauty and excitement of wild animals, with over 350 domestic, exotic and endangered species. The zoo also offers daily demonstrations of elephant and sea lion training, along with rides. Other activities include demonstrations, hands-on activities, picnic sites and a lunch bar.

Fort Edmonton Park
Fox Drive & Whitemud Drive ,Edmonton, AB, 780 496-8787. Canada's largest living history park, Fort Edmonton Park features costumed interpreters, a replica 1846 fort, and three recreated historical streets from 1885, 1905, and 1920. Steam train and streetcar rides are included in admission price. Join the costumed historical interpreters and try your hand at living life as an early pioneer.