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Capital of Alberta, Canada
Photo: IQRemix, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta. Its metro area is home to 1.2 million people (2025), and is the northernmost city of at least one million people in North America, the fifth-largest city in Canada and the largest Canadian city farther than 200 km from the US border. Edmonton is famous for its beautiful river valley park system, the North Saskatchewan River Valley, which offers over 100 km of recreational trails, wildlife viewing, and city views. The river valley also contains many parks, including Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest historical park. If the great outdoors is not what you seek, the city also offers West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping mall in North America. On top of that, Edmonton has a vibrant theatre community, a busy cycle of annual festivals, national sports teams active year-round, and wonderful winter recreational opportunities.
This is Edmonton's oldest area. Shiny office towers populate the downtown core, just blocks away from well-treed streets and lovely old homes. This is the heart of the city, with many of the city's attractions. Enjoy world-class festivals in Churchill Square, hit one of the sunny patios on Rice Howard Way, then shop for food in Little Italy, and finish the day off walking through the beautiful homes of Glenora.
Once the community of Strathcona, this in another well-established area. It's just south of the river, with views of downtown and the river valley. It is home to the University of Alberta, bringing a college community's youthfulness and excitement. The city's hottest strip, Whyte Avenue, offers dining, drinking, live music, live theatre, and funky shopping.
The west end combines a considerable residential area, light industrial and commercial areas, and shopping destinations like the famous West Edmonton Mall.
Another sprawling region of Edmonton. The area now has Light Rail Transit, and the eastern parts around Capilano and Ottewell are 1950s styled mature neighbourhoods. The area is home to the Fort Edmonton Park as well as Southgate Mall and some beautiful parks in the river valley.
This area of the city has many layers. Mature, pre-WWII neighbourhoods like Delton and the Highlands, somewhat mature 1950s/1960s neighbourhoods like Rosslyn and Calder, 1980s suburbs like Clareview, and modern suburbs like Castle Downs.
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By car
Edmonton is the largest city on the Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway).5 hours east of Jasper on Highway 16. Edmonton is 3 hours north of Calgary on the divided Highway 2 (Queen Elizabeth II Highway).
By bus
By train
VIA Rail prices are higher than train prices generally in Europe (or even short distances by Amtrak in the United States).
By car
Edmonton's main east-west highway south of the North Saskatchewan River is Whitemud Drive. It goes through the West and South areas of the city.
By public transit
Edmonton has a safe, efficient and inexpensive public transportation system: the Edmonton Transit Service (ETS).
By vintage streetcar
The High Level Bridge Streetcar is a seasonal tram service running from Victoria Day (second last Monday of May) through to Thanksgiving Day (second Monday of October) on a limited but regular…
By ride hailing
By bicycle
Edmonton has excellent cycling routes which allow for all-year cycling, though winter cycling can be challenging for those unaccustomed to Edmonton weather.
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Articles and travel topics about Edmonton and Canada.
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ItinerariesThe Canadian (French: Le Canadien) is a 4,466 km (2,775 mi) passenger train route operated by VIA Rail Canada running between Toronto and Vancouver, with numerous intermediate stops including Winnipeg, Saskatoon,…
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Culture & historyHeritage railways (or railroads) are railway operations that are not part of mainstream rail travel. Oriented mostly towards historical railways, heritage train travel is usually short in length; many of these train…
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