The city of Edmonton is home to the Heritage Festival in August, where more than 150 tents, each representing their country sell traditional foods, crafts, and cultural shows performing traditional dances.
The festival attracts nearly one million visitors during the three day festival in Edmonton City.
In winter, the top attraction is the lake where hundreds of people are skating and engaged in cross-country skiing.
Aside from heritage festivities, it is also rich in historic attractions.
On the grounds of Fort Edmonton Park, you can look at how the city has evolved since the beginning of 1846.
The various parts of the city which have been assigned to different years are very interesting to visit.
Some houses are photos of the original houses that were once part of the city and Alberta; plus you can drive through the area with a train or streetcar which definitely rounds out the fun.
Best time to visit Edmonton
The best time to go around and see all the wonderful attractions in Edmonton is during the summer months of June to August.
Summer here is
tolerable and not as humid as other cities in Alberta, Canada
.
The summer is characterized with a warm atmosphere,
but not too dry to cause heat
and inconveniences while travelling.
The average temperature in summer ranges from 22°C and by evening has lows of 12°C.
The winter season ushers in at the start of October and the chilly weather continues until February, with most of the snow staying until spring time (April to May).
It is no surprise that skiers get to enjoy the thick snow even before the start of the summer season or even if the climate gets sunny again.
The winter is too long, but it is also an ideal time to explore activities that can be enjoyed during the cold season.
While it has an ideal climate all year round, Edmonton City is very prompt when it comes to weather forecast for every month where the details of temperature, expected amount time of sunrise or random rainfall can be easily predicted by the weather forecaster due to the advancement of technology when it comes to meteorological news about the city.
If you’re planning to go on vacation, it is important to monitor the latest weather bulletin of this city.
Top things to see in Edmonton
These are the things to do in the city of Edmonton…
Fort Edmonton Park
In Fort Edmonton Park you can experience history live, the spacious facility takes visitors back to the 19th and 20th century like being in an old movie.
You will see that even the park employees wear period costumes to make the experience authentic.
It’s like taking a time travel excursion into the history of Edmonton.
The fort and the establishment of the historic houses are truly fascinating and capture the exact atmosphere of the old times.
The fort serves as a great open-air museum in Edmonton.
Old buildings have been reconstructed from Edmonton here, or brought here and rebuilt.
It has the steam train that can bring you back in the history of Edmonton and walk back to the current time.
There are many beautiful houses and themes.
The actors wear clothes of the old times and use cars and trams from the old days to make the tour even more realistic.
To add authenticity, there are restaurants, shops and bakeries – established and maintained at that time accordingly.
It is a place where they have recreated the beginning of the city since the arrival of the first settlers up to its development in the modern times.
A tour here is worthwhile and be sure to allow plenty of time (minimum of four hours) to discover and understand Edmonton’s interesting history.
Edmonton must see Places
William Hawrelak Park
The William Hawrelak Park is located near downtown Edmonton and is home to the University of Alberta.
It is here where the Heritage Festival is usually held.
It is an ideal park for family bonding and a good way to teach kids how to love nature.
This park is an excellent and a busy attraction during summer and spring to share barbecue during the weekends with family and friends or simply to enjoy the evenings.
It also serves as a venue for other national events and the winter pond is often converted into a skating rink where kids and adults spend more time with during the coldest months of the year.
West Edmonton Mall
The West Edmonton Mall is incredible, something you have never seen before.
It is very large (almost 500,000
square meters) and the most unique things
can be found there (a seal show, an amusement park, a pirate ship, a huge swimming pool with slides, three roller coasters with varying levels of difficulty, etc.
).
It is really worth a visit here in Edmonton.
The mall is one of the largest in the world, has a wave pool and many shops inside.
It is a comprehensive and recommended park for very cold days when you want to have fun without freezing inside the mall.
You have hockey rinks, an amusement park, and of course all the shops and services offered in malls.
It’s a special place for Christmas shopping
and where you can tap into the icy winter world of Canada
by having the largest Indoor Water Park.
You can find everything you need and even if it’s so huge, you will not get lost with its well laid out facilities.
You need more than one day to enjoy or experience everything that it offers.
Bring a swimsuit and engage in all the water activities at the wave pool.
In addition to thousands of stores of brands such as Disney store, H & M, Michael Kors, Aeropostale, Banana Republic, Guess, Lacoste, Forever 21, Zara among others.
It offers a show for children about marine animals in the center free, and if you want to stay within the area of the show you just need to pay an extra cost.
The mall has an amusement park called Galaxyland and also a spacious ice rink for skating fans where they can have fun -all in one place.
There are also several places to buy food with a variety of alternatives.
In one day it is not enough to go around and enjoy it, but you can find hotels close to the mall and stay at least 2 days.
What else to do in Edmonton?
Galaxyland
The Galaxyland is an amusement park at the West Edmonton Mall designed for kids.
The entrance fee is quite expensive, but for your convenience, buy the day passes to get discounts on admission tickets.
It is an excellent choice for families with children of all ages.
They have a great
program for the whole family inside the biggest mall in Canada
.
If you’re into extreme fun and adventure, prepare yourself for the thrilling ride on its three level roller coasters.
There are other exciting rides and if your child is under three years old, an adult companion is required and given free tickets for the rides.
Is Edmonton worth visiting?
The answer is Yes.
Edmonton is worth visiting.
This is because it is such a magical place
full of beauty and adventours.
Make sure you visit the following stunning park:
World Waterpark
The World Waterpark is a very large pool with the most bizarre slides.
You can really stay here a few hours, but the price is quite high.
The wave pool is really incredible, and children will be delighted with the huge waves.
The World Waterpark is located in the West Edmonton Mall – under a large glass dome are many slides (Beginner to Extreme), a giant wave pool and many other water attractions to be found.
It is open on Monday to Thursday from 10:00 AM – 19:00 PM, Friday and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 21:00 PM and Sundays from 11:00 AM to 18:00 PM.
The admission prices are not cheap – but there is, for example, a Monday Early Bird Special, where you from 3:00 PM, you can use four hours all the way up to 5:00 PM and enjoy all the facilities for $95 admission price.
It is best to not go over the weekend and certainly not to go in on Sundays, because of the huge crowds and long lines.
A locker hire (to include things) costs $7, renting the yellow tires for the wave pool is $5 or you wait until an abandoned tire is lying around in the water.
There are some slides that you can slide with tires.
There are four special children’s slides to try.
Otherwise, there are also 2 extreme slides – a nearly 90 degree rides that most extreme sports lovers cannot get enough with when they visit the park.
Fun things to do in Edmonton
Alberta Legislature Building
A tour of the Alberta Legislature Building is where you will be able to observe various types of distinct architecture and this by itself already is worth the visit.
The tours are offered for free and usually held from July 1 (National Day) until the end of the summer season.
By joining, you will be subject to pass through a security control and with highly helpful and enlightening guides who are willing to answer all questions.
After the visit, you need to go to the Edmonton Visitor Centre that is near the Legislative Assembly (and also free), which accompanied a film of 15 minutes duration on the history of Alberta to learn a little further about the city and the region.
Besides the building, the park in which it’s built is very beautiful and worth spending time to take photographs with.
A visit to the Alberta Legislature Building is an interesting immersion in Canadian architecture and also to deepen the knowledge about the people organizing its laws and policies and how it gets implemented over the years.
The Alberta Legislature Building was established since 1912.
It has beautiful gardens with several fountains.
Inside or as soon as you enter you will be greeted by a fountain with illuminated water.
At the floors above, you can see several paintings that as you walk, the eyes of the people in the paintings seem to follow you.
The architecture is all in Italian Mamore, Pensilvânis
and Quebec, and its dome has several palm trees
with an open lining.
There are several circles on the floors, especially in the veranda where you get to know each floor with more curiosity and admire the beautiful light handset.
One of the floors has a famous “Magic point” where you stand and hear noises that seem to come from a waterfall.
The theme of the building border on the fun, informative, aimed to create awareness of the culture and history of Edmonton.
This place is an educational and fun tour for children.
Popular Edmonton Tourist Attractions
Whyte Avenue/Old Stratchona
The Whyte Avenue , which is also known as the 82nd Avenue travels about a 6 blocks away and it is the most hipster neighborhood of the city and the Old Strathcona.
In it you will find bars, cafes, pubs, and many restaurants, places to cool off and take a frozen yogurt and even a meeting point for local bikers.
A walk through this avenue worth it and you can still spend time in a nice pub and delight with some locally crafted beer both on tap.
You can spend hours watching the movement along the avenue and chat with a friend on the many tables scattered around the sidewalk, but they are isolated from the other pedestrians through a fence skirting the bars.
It is very busy and lively during the day and a favorite meeting and hangout place for the night.
For lovers of music and the arts, there are places with live music and public art on display.
It is worth checking the jam sessions on a relaxed and quiet place.
For those who enjoy reading, it has some libraries and bookstores with very good material.
Street performers are enjoying/playing and being watched along the promenade.
In addition, for those who enjoy shopping and or cooking, there are also several options to try here on Whyte Avenue.
Standing next to the University of Alberta, the place is always full of young people, especially at night where most gather to unwind and have fun.
More places to visit in Edmonton
High Level Bridge and Streetcar
If you want to gain an “old” experience, take the High Level Bridge and Streetcar ride.
Step into the “new town”, and have your high level ride above the river to Old Strathcona, stroll and eat on Whyte Avenue, and take the tram back to Jasper Ave and explore the environment.
There is a stroller parking at the tram depot.
The ride has awesome stops, great views, and for the kids, it’s a real fun ride they can enjoy with their families on board.
The entrance fee is $2 per passenger and there is an old gentleman/guide who will assist you on this journey.
He will make the ride more entertaining by giving a brief history of the car and describing the views or the attractions you will see along the way.
The tour is really fast and great for those who want to learn a little history of Alberta.
A few more stuff to do in Edmonton
Muttart Conservatory
The Muttart Conservatory is composed of four pyramids that presents the flora in three distinct climates: arid, temperate and tropical.
The fourth pyramid is a garden formed with inspiration from the films of J.
R.
R.
Tolkien and for fans of the Lord of the Rings and related works.
In each of the pyramids there is a guided tour of about 20 minutes with a well coordinated guide and has all the major plants and other informative features like how to grow the seeds, fruits, and posters with information and curiosities.
If you want to take advantage of the guided and highly informative visit, try to inform the staff of the Muttart Conservatory about the schedules in advance to avoid confusion.
Another added feature is, the conservatory is right next to the Mill Creek Ravine Park, a large park near the center of Edmonton, where it pays to lose good hours for it on tracks and various points to the practice of various sports including the game called “curling”.
Things to do in Edmonton with kids
Mill Creek Ravine Park
It is a large park in Edmonton that stands next to the center and various facilities.
The well-structured and centralized Mill Creek Ravine Park is frequented by people who want to enjoy nature and take a break at the higher rate in the city center, which is located right next to it, or engage in the practice of various sports.
Because it is a park that has a pronounced unevenness, you will need to climb a bit steep trails and follow the course of the brook which is underneath the same landscape.
It has informational signs with a visual explanation of how to pick the right track to go to places of interest and there are areas for picnics with beer garden and also blocks or appropriate places to practice sports such as hockey and curling up.
The park is good and a great way to cool off in the shadows of well dense trails or break the rhythm of the city center which stands right next to it.
For the variety of attractions to see, the city of Edmonton is an ideal holiday destination in Canada, if you want to experience everything.
A tour inside the biggest mall with lots of amusing things to do and recreational facilities built for the young and adults makes Edmonton stand out among the best cities to
see and explore in Canada
.
If you’re looking for a great family adventure while enjoying the sights and sounds of the city, this is the perfect place to visit in Alberta.