Attractions

While Edmonton is eminently walkable in pockets, getting to and from those various pockets -- downtown, Old Strathcona, High Street -- can be a bit of a chore. Downtown and Old Strathcona are on opposite sides of the imposing river valley, with just a few bridges between them. The distance is not walkable and can take up to 30 minutes on public transit, so be sure to plan that into your day. West of downtown is High Street, a pleasant stroll where you'll find the Royal Alberta Museum, among other things, but again, don't plan to walk from downtown unless you've got time to spare. Edmonton's bus service is reliable and frequent, so rely on that instead.

Edmonton's Klondike Days

Since 1962, Edmonton has commemorated its gold-rush past with one of the greatest and most colorful extravaganzas in Canada. The Klondike Days are held annually in late July, with street festivities and the great Klondike Days Exposition at Northlands Park lasting 10 days.

The 16,000-seat Coliseum holds nightly spectacles of rock, pop, variety, or western entertainment. Northlands Park turns into Klondike Village, complete with the Chilkoot Gold Mine, Silver Slipper Saloon, and gambling casino -- legal for this occasion only. The Walterdale Playhouse drops serious stage endeavors for a moment and puts on hilarious melodramas with mustachioed villains to hiss and dashing heroes to cheer.

Immense "Klondike breakfasts" are served in the open air, marching bands compete in the streets, and 100 of the weirdest-looking home-built rafts ever seen compete in the "World Championship Sourdough River Raft Race." For more information, contact Klondike Days (tel. 888/800-PARK or 780/471-7210; www.klondikedays.com).

The Battle of Alberta

In the pantheon of great sporting rivalries, the long-running enmity between the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers is one of the best. The Oilers joined the NHL in 1979, when the now-defunct World Hockey Association was absorbed into the NHL, and Calgary got its NHL franchise in 1980, when the Flames relocated from Atlanta. They've been at each other's throats ever since. The rivalry peaked in the '80s and early '90s, when the Oilers defeated the Flames in the playoffs in 1983, 1984, 1988, and 1991, on their way to two of their five Stanley Cups. The Flames, meanwhile, exacted sweet revenge in 1986, when Edmonton defenseman Steve Smith banked the puck into his own goal late in the deciding Game 7 of their playoff series, giving the Flames the victory. The Flames went on to lose that year in the Stanley Cup final, but finally picked up their own championship victory in 1989. The last time the teams met in the playoffs was in 1991, and it came down to overtime in game 7 to decide the winner, scored by Flames nemesis and super-pest Esa Tikkanen.

Through the '80s Alberta was often called "Death Valley" by visiting teams, which often played both teams on the same trip, for the sheer dominance that both teams exhibited. It's said that the Flames, with their own superstar line-up including Hall of Famers like Al MacInnis and Joe Mullen, would have built their own dynasty if not for the power of their rivals to the north.

Those heady days are in the past now, as both teams have fallen far. Calgary missed the playoffs seven times through the '90s, but have bounced back to make it four seasons in row since 2004, though with little success. The Oilers are in the midst of their own slump, missing the playoffs two years in a row starting in 2007. But when these two teams play, the intensity kicks up a couple of notches, regardless of their fortunes; it's always a hot ticket in either town.