Edmonton

Here are some of the most popular attractions:

Alberta Legislature

This beautiful colonial-style building dates back to 1911, built following Edmonton's selection as the provincial capital. Free tours are available. There are wading pools too cool off in during the summer and skating rinks beside walkways light up with tons of Christmas lights during the Christmas season. See Central. It is a beautiful area to relax in any time of the year and is patrolled at night.

Art Gallery of Alberta

formerly the Edmonton Art Gallery - This modern facility explores all forms of art. The gallery has a unique selection of Canadian and international pieces and regularly brings in traveling exhibitions. See Central.

Muttart Conservatory

These four glass pyramids rising out of the river valley are a unique Edmonton landmark. Inside, they house three distinct climate zones and a fourth seasonal display, packed with several hundred plant varieties. See South Central.

TELUS World of Science

Edmonton's largest science museum has a unique architectural design and houses many science exhibits, a planetarium, and an IMAX theatre. See West End.

Royal Alberta Museum

presents Alberta's history through paintings, statues, and more. Exhibits include the Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture, Wild Alberta, and the Natural History Gallery. See West End.

West Edmonton Mall

is the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, with copious opportunities for shopping, a built-in hotel, restaurants and food courts, an amusement park, an artificial beach and indoor wave pool, casino, movie theatres, indoor lake and Santa Maria ship replica, and lots of visitors to share it with. See West End.

Fort Edmonton Park

is living history at its best! Join the costumed historical interpreters at Fort Edmonton Park - Canada's largest living history museum - and try your hand at living life as an early pioneer. You'll experience life as it was at the 1846 fort and on the streets of 1885, 1905 and 1920. See South

Elk Island National Park of Canada

With the exception of the Serengeti Plains of Africa, tiny Elk Island National Park, located less than 20 minutes east of Edmonton on the Yellowhead Highway, has higher densities of hoofed mammals per square kilometer than any other wild area in the world. Visitors can see over 40 species of mammals including plains and wood bison, elk and moose; and over 250 species of birds. Located less than an hour away from Edmonton, Elk Island National Park of Canada protects the wilderness of the aspen parkland, one of the most endangered habitats in Canada. Open year-round, park visitors can enjoy hiking, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, golfing, camping, and more.

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

(http://culture.alberta.ca...) The award-winning Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village is located 25 minutes east of Edmonton along Highway 16, or 3 km east of the Elk Island National Park entrance. This provincial historic site showcases Ukrainian settlement in East Central Alberta. There are over 30 historic buildings including three churches, a fully-functioning grain elevator, blacksmith shop, and sod hut. The idea is that you explore the wide outdoor area going between the buildings in the 'town' while there are costumed workers acting as Ukrainian settlers who re-tell stories based on real accounts of early settlers. They go about the everyday events like baking bread you can even taste it if you're lucky!, tending to the gardens, working the blacksmith shop, etc. There are often special events with performances and agricultural shows. The weekends are busier however the crowds can be worth it with more interpreters on hand and often more things are going on to see. The trip can take a good part of a day including travel from Edmonton.

Aurora Borealis

The northern lights are harder to see in Edmonton than in Northern Canada and eastern cities of Canada. However if you travel outside the downtown area the lights can slightly be seen from December to late February.

north saskatchewan river valley

One of Edmonton’s greatest attractions, the North Saskatchewan River Valley park system provides a natural corridor for all-season recreation and relaxation. The river valley is the longest expanse of urban parkland in North America at 7,400 hectares – 22 times the size of New York’s Central Park – with golf courses, 22 major parks and over 160 kilometres of maintained multi-use trails for walking, cross-country skiing, cycling, and more. Several attractions are located along the river valley including Fort Edmonton Park, the Valley Zoo, and the Muttart Conservatory.

One of the most popular parks is Hawrelak Park, located just off Groat Road near the University of Alberta. It encircles a large pond, summer home to a variety of ducks and geese. It's the site of several Edmonton festivals, including Shakespeare in the Park and Symphony Under the Sky. In winter it is a popular venue for outdoor ice skating and cross-country skiing.

architecture

A young city, Edmonton's historic structures are still relatively new. The City of Edmonton's Municipal Historic Resources are buildings or structures that have been designated by Bylaw as buildings or structures which are legally protected from demolition and from inappropriate changes and alterations. (http://www.edmonton.ca/ci...).

Built from 1907 to 1912, the province's foremost historic structure - the Alberta Legislature - is set amidst beautiful gardens and water displays. Inside and out, the Legislature offers a rich experience in exploring Alberta’s past and present as the focal point of the province’s democratic process. Alberta’s premier architectural attraction overlooks Edmonton’s river valley and is steps away from the heart of downtown Edmonton. Free tours of the building are offered year-round. (http://www.assembly.ab.ca...)

Opening January 31, 2010, the new Art Gallery of Alberta is an 85,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility and a premiere presentation venue. Designed by Randall Stout Architects, Inc. of Los Angeles, the building will itself be a work of art. Located in the heart of Edmonton's Arts District on Sir Winston Churchill Square, the gallery will secure Edmonton's reputation as a world class city and centre for visual art. (http://www.youraga.ca).

For further reading about Edmonton's architecture from 1940-1969, Capital Modern is a book available from the Art Gallery of Alberta.