If you have stumbled upon this particular piece of writing, perhaps you are looking for a list of the best things to do in Edmonton, I must warn you immediately: you are about to read a description of a great many activities that are, by their very nature, designed to be diverting, entertaining, and even, in some rare cases, delightful. You will be surprised to learn that a city like Edmonton, a place one might reasonably expect to be utterly devoid of amusement, is, in fact, filled with so many things to do.
And so, you will find within this page a catalogue of places and pastimes, from the West Edmonton Mall to the various festivals that plague the city with cheerfulness all year long.
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Before you get too far, here’s everything you need to know about visiting Edmonton, from how to get there, to where to stay and eat.
Best Things to See and Do in Edmonton
- Visit the Neon Sign Museum: This collection of old signs once belonging to businesses long gone, is housed not in a building with a ticket counter or a gift shop, but rather hanging on the side of a building, where they illuminate the evening air. It is free to visit, at any hour of the day or night, and is considered to be the first museum of its kind in all of Canada.
- Get lost in West Edmonton Mall: Not merely a shopping center but rather a vast, indoor city, built to contain over 800 shops and services, a hotel, and a variety of unusual attractions. It houses a waterpark with the world’s largest indoor wave pool, an amusement park, an ice skating rink, and a full-size replica of a Spanish ship situated on a lake. For many years, it was the largest mall in the world, but it continues to be a destination for millions of visitors who come to shop, play, and stay without ever needing to step outside. It is a place where you can go to purchase a new pair of shoes and accidentally find yourself on a zipline, or where a desire for a quick bite to eat could lead to an evening watching a sea lion show.
- Ride an old steam engine at the Alberta Railway Museum: This is an outdoor collection of railway equipment and buildings, meant to resemble a small terminal from a bygone era. Here, locomotives and railway cars from the Canadian National Railways and the Northern Alberta Railways, among others, sit on display. Visitors can take rides on some of the restored trains and imagine a time when travel was a much grander and more leisurely affair.
- Ride the 100 Street Funicular or the High Level Bridge Streetcar: The 100 Street Funicular is a modern, inclined elevator that carries people from the top of a cliff in downtown Edmonton, down to a path in the Edmonton River Valley. The High Level Bridge Streetcar carries people across a very high bridge, from one side of the river to the other. Both offer a view of the river valley.
- Watch a film at the Garneau Theater: The Garneau Theatre is an Art Moderne movie house, a place where people sit in the dark and watch images flicker on a screen. It has a distinctive marquee that glows in the evening, and unlike the newer, more sprawling cinemas that have many screens, this one has only one, which means that the people who run it, known as Metro Cinema, must be very careful about which films they choose to show. I, myself, have been known to spend money in order to watch the reel of advertisements at the Garneau Theatre. To pay for the privilege of seeing commercials, and to do so knowingly, is a very peculiar thing indeed, but then again, the Garneau Theatre has always been a peculiar sort of place.
- Walk, cycle, or segway through the Edmonton River Valley: This is a great, sprawling expanse of parkland, larger than some of the most famous city parks in the world. It is a ribbon of nature that winds its way through the city, and is home to a great many things. One may find people bicycling on its trails, or walking their dogs, or even paddling along the river. It is a place where one can feel a great distance from the city, even while still being surrounded by it.
- Explore dinosaurs, indigenous history, bugs, and more at the Royal Alberta Museum: This museum contains a great number of things from the past. It is, to be precise, a place where one can see old tools, ancient fossils, and exhibits about the various people who have lived in Alberta. There is a whole gallery dedicated to bugs, which is a place that some people find fascinating and others find entirely unnerving. It is a place that teaches visitors about the geological history of the land and its inhabitants.
- See some art at the Art Gallery of Alberta: This structure of curved metal and glass is meant to resemble the Northern Lights, a natural phenomenon that is, of course, far more breathtaking than a building, no matter how clever the architecture. Inside, one can find a collection of artworks, both old and new, and from a variety of different artists, some of whom you may have heard of, and many more you almost certainly have not. It is a place where people stand and stare at things on the wall, and sometimes they nod their heads thoughtfully, and sometimes they tilt their heads to the side, and sometimes they simply walk on, which is a peculiar but not uncommon thing to do.
- Wander around the Alberta Legislature Grounds: A large expanse of green grass and well-tended gardens surrounds the Alberta Legislature Building, where the laws of the province are made. In the summer, people come to the grounds to picnic on the lawns or to splash in the wading pools. In the winter, the grounds are decorated with a great many lights, a fact which makes them a rather popular place to visit and drink hot chocolate, even when the air is quite cold.
- Travel back in time at Fort Edmonton Park: This outdoor museum allows a person to walk through different eras of Edmonton’s history, from before the days of the fur trade all the way to the 1920s. There are old houses, a movie theater, a steam train, and even a midway with a Ferris wheel, all of them meticulously restored or reconstructed. It is a place where one can see actors in costume pretending to live in a time before the internet.
- Explore Telus World of Science: The Telus World of Science is full of buttons to press and levers to pull, and other such mechanisms designed to teach one about the world. It is not a place for quiet contemplation, but for active participation. One may find a gallery dedicated to the mysteries of space, where one can see a moon rock. And there is also a place where one can learn about the human body. It has an IMAX theater, where films about a great many things are shown, and a dome where one can sit and watch the stars, even on a cloudy day. It is, in short, a place for those who are curious, and for those who like to touch things, which, it turns out, is a great many people.
- Imerse yourself in unexpected nature at the Muttart Conservatory: This collection of greenhouses is housed in four very large glass pyramids that sit on the bank of the North Saskatchewan River. Each pyramid is home to a different sort of climate, a fact which allows for a great many plants to grow that would not normally grow in Edmonton. One may find a desert, for example, filled with cacti and other spiky things, and another full of tropical plants that grow in a very hot and very humid air. There is also a temperate room, which is not too hot and not too cold, and a fourth pyramid that changes its display several times a year. It is a place that smells of dirt and flowers, and a place that is warm even on the coldest of days.
- Watch a tiger sleep at the Valley Zoo: The Valley Zoo is a place where animals from all over the world live in enclosures, each one a different size and shape. It is not a particularly large zoo, but it is home to a great many creatures. One may find a lemur, which is a small primate with a very long tail, or a red panda, which is not, in fact, a panda at all but a distant relative.
- Bar hop around Happy Beer Street: Contrary to what the name might imply, this is not a street paved with beer, nor is it a place where people are forced to be happy. Happy Beer Street is a street dedicated to the making and consuming of beer. It is a collection of breweries that specialize in producing beverages that some people find quite pleasant. These breweries, with a great deal of collaboration and some amount of good cheer, have created a trail for people to safely walk from one brewery to the next, sampling their various concoctions.
- Wander down Whyte Avenue: This street is notable for its historic buildings, which have, over the years, become home to a great variety of shops, restaurants, and other establishments, including those of a curious and artistic nature. During the day, people visit the boutiques and cafes, while at night, the street is known for its bars and live music, making it a place of both commerce and considerable commotion. It is, in essence, a destination for those who enjoy a bit of bustle.
- Taste your way through the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market: This indoor market has been around for so long that it has become old itself. Stalls offer a variety of goods that are all made, baked, or grown by the people who sell them. It is a place where one might purchase a vegetable that has just been harvested, a loaf of bread that is still warm from the oven, or a piece of art that was crafted by hand. It is open on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Cheer on the Oilers: A team of ice skaters, dressed in blue and orange, attempts to propel a small rubber disc into a net guarded by a heavily padded individual. The opposing team has the same goal. This game involves a great deal of back-and-forth movement, punctuated by moments of intense, if ultimately predictable, action.
- Enjoy a picnic in Hawrelak Park: Hawrelak Park is a large plot of land and features a man-made body of water where one might find a paddleboat in warmer months and ice skaters in colder ones. It is a location where citizens gather for various events, such as festivals and outdoor performances, which is a common activity for people who enjoy standing outdoors in large groups. (temporarily closed for restoration; expected to reopen in early 2026)
- People watch in Sir Winston Churchill Square: Churchill Square is surrounded by various important buildings, including the city hall with a glass pyramid on its roof, the Edmonton Public Library, an art gallery, and a performing arts theater. The square is a hub for numerous festivals and events, where people gather to experience culture, eat food from stalls, and generally mill about. In the winter, the square has an ice rink, and in the summer, it has a fountain.
- Plan your visit around one of Edmonton’s many festivals, such as K-Days, the Folk Music Festival, Street Performers Festival, International Fringe Festival, Taste of Edmonton, the Heritage Festival, or Ice on Whyte.
Don’t miss out on this! This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Edmonton.
And so, you have reached the end of this catalog of potential diversions. I can only hope that, as you find yourself enjoying the best things Edmonton has to offer, you do so with the proper appreciation. If you’re looking for more, here’s everything I’ve written about Edmonton and Canada.
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