| Alberta's provincial capital, EDMONTON is among Canada's most
northerly cities, and at times - notably in the teeth of its bitter
winters - it can seem a little too far north for comfort. Situated above
the waters of the North Saskatchewan River, whose park-filled valley
winds below the high-rises of downtown, the city tries hard with its
festivals, parks, restaurants and urban-renewal projects. With a
downtown area that still has the somewhat unfinished feel of a frontier
town, however, it's perhaps appropriate that the premier attraction for
the vast majority of visitors is a shopping centre, the infamous West
Edmonton Mall . This certainly has curiosity value, but not really
enough to merit a special journey here. Downtown has a handful of modest
sights, though most enjoyment in the city is to be had in Old Strathcona
, a rejuvenated "historic" district south of the North Saskatchewan
River filled with heritage buildings, modest museums and plenty of
eating and drinking venues. Edmonton lacks the big set-piece museums of
Calgary and Vancouver, but its Space and Science Centre is a sight
within a whisker of the first rank.
Edmonton feels oddly dispersed, even in the six-block downtown area
around Sir Winston Churchill Square and along the main east-west drag,
Jasper Avenue (101st Ave). Bounded to the south by the North
Saskatchewan River, this grid holds a few assorted points of interest,
though much of the younger and more cosmopolitan Edmonton resides south
of the river in Old Strathcona . For the West Edmonton Mall , the Space
and Science Centre , and the Provincial Museum , you'll need to take
transport west from downtown. To stretch your legs, wander up and down
the big string of attractive parks that protects the river, or cross the
Low Level Bridge to the Muttart Conservatory , another worthwhile sight
consisting of four space-age glass pyramids filled with flora and
natural-history displays. |
