Edmonton

Edmonton, Alberta - the 'City of Festivals'

A view of Edmonton from the South Side

Edmonton is part oil capital, part prairie wild west, part agricultural hub. It is a city where Volvo was once more likely to sell grain trucks than family sedans. Hugging the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton is a city born from natural resources. In the 1700s, the Hudson Bay Company established Fort Edmonton as a major trading post. In the late 1880s, the city was a stopping point for those heading to the Yukon and Alaska to capitalize on the Klondike Gold Rush. In the 1940s, the city struck black gold and grew throughout the 20th century as oil prices rose, and retracted as the cost per barrel retreated.

Edmonton is many things: the capital of Alberta, the once gateway for mail, food and medicine to Northern Canada, and the least dense city over 1 million in Canada. For a long time, Edmonton was home to the world's largest indoor mall and parking lot. For the past seven months, Edmonton has been my stomping ground.

If you happen to find yourself in the 'City of Champions' (the city's official slogan), here's what I recommend.

Where to Stay: If you're brought to the city for business meetings or the like, you'll likely want to orient yourself in the downtown and close to transit so that you're able to commute painlessly to meetings and still have a chance to check out the wider reaches of the city. If modern styling is your thing, book a room at the Matrix Hotel on 100th Ave and 106th Street. If you prefer a Canadian Pacific traditional resting place, hang you hat at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald on 100th Ave and 100th Street.

The Matrix Hotel

If you're in Edmonton to catch a festival, concert or to shop and eat good food, you cannot go wrong with the Metterra on Whyte Avenue.

Where to Eat: If you have only one day in which to gorge yourself in Edmonton, spend breakfast eating a cinnamon bun at the Sugar Bowl in Garneau, grab a famous veggie burger at the Blue Plate Diner in the Warehouse District, and eat Alberta beef in blue cheese and chocolate sauce at Culina in Mill Creek. Before heading out of town the next morning, skip Tim Hortons and grab your morning coffee at Leva on 111 Street.

Leva

Other notable restaurants include Parkallen Restaurant in Parkallen, Red Ox Inn in Bonnie Doon and Wild Tangerine in Oliver.

Where to Drink: For food and drinks in a casual, modern atmosphere, try Delux Burger in Crestwood/Parkview and order a Hurricane. For a formal nightcap, you'll fit the bill at the Confederation Lounge at the MacDonald. For a great selection of wine and an intimate environ, you'll want to check out Passa Tempo in Mill Creek. For beer and pub food, you cannot beat The Next Act in Old Strathona.

Delux Burger Bar

Where to Shop: For Canadian designs, check out Nokomis and Stanley Carroll. With a photo of your grandma, Nokomis will give you 10 per cent off your purchase, while Stanley works in the basement of his shop and will do customer alternations of his designs, if required. Both are located on Whyte Avenue. To complete your browsing in Whyte, check out The Junque Cellar (under Gravity Pope) for household flair from the 1950-80s.

Nokomis

No tour of Edmonton would be complete without a viewing of the excess and scale of the West Edmonton Mall. WEM makes a great place to stretch your legs on a deep freeze afternoon of an Edmonton winter. I'd be inclined to direct you to my favourite shop, Club Monaco, but you can find that outlet in any major Canadian city. For Americans though, it is worth a browse for the best work wear.

Sites to See: The bison at Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton. The Muttart Conservatory along the banks of the Saskatchewan River. The Alberta Art Gallery in Enterprise Square on Jasper Avenue. The Old Strathcona Farmer's Market at 1 pm on a Saturday. A flick at the deco Garneau Theatre on 109 Street.

Muttart Conservatory