Planning a trip to Edmonton

Getting There

By Plane

Edmonton International Airport (tel. 800/268-7134 or 780/890-8382; www.flyeia.com) is served by Air Canada (tel. 800/372-9500; www.aircanada.com); Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com); United (tel. 800/864-8331; www.united.com); and homegrown WestJet (tel. 800/937-8538; www.westjet.com), a Calgary-based carrier with several destinations across North America; among other airlines. Being a hub of international commerce, Edmonton is also served by several commuter lines.

The airport lies 29km (18 miles) south of the city on Highway 2, about 45 minutes away. By cab, the trip costs about C$35; by the Edmonton Sky Shuttle (tel. 780/465-8515; www.edmontonskyshuttle.com) it's C$15 per person.

By Train

The VIA Rail station (tel. 800/561-8630 or 780/422-6032; www.viarail.ca) is at 104th Avenue and 100th Street.

By Bus

Greyhound buses (tel. 800/661-8747 or 780/413-8747; www.greyhound.ca) link Edmonton to points in Canada and the United States from the depot at 10324 103rd St.

By Car

Edmonton straddles the Yellowhead Highway, northwestern Canada's east-west interprovincial highway. Just west of Edmonton, the Yellowhead Highway is linked to the Alaska Highway. The city is 515km (320 miles) north of the U.S. border, 283km (176 miles) north of Calgary. From Calgary, take Highway 2 north; from Banff, your best bet is through Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway East, connecting to Highway 2 North.

Special Events

Edmonton promotes itself as "the Festival City," and in summer almost every weekend brings another celebration. The citywide Jazz City International Festival (tel. 780/432-7166; www.edmontonjazz.com) takes over most music venues in Edmonton during the last week of June and first week of July.

The summer's biggest shindig is Capital City Exposition, aka Capital EX, (tel. 888/800-7275 or 780/471-7210; www.capitalex.ca), formerly Klondike Days. Capital EX has shed the previous event's gold-rush trappings and focuses instead on midway rides, live music performances, and shopping promotions. Most events take place at Northlands Park, northeast of the city at 75th St. and 118th Ave.

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival (tel. 780/429-1899; www.efmf.ab.ca) is the largest folk-music festival in North America. Held in early August, it brings in musicians from around the world, from the Celtic north to Indonesia, plus major rock stars playing "unplugged." All concerts are held outdoors.

For 11 days in mid-August, Old Strathcona is transformed into a series of stages for the renowned Edmonton international Fringe Theatre Festival (tel. 780/448-9000; www.fringetheatreadventures.ca). Only Edinburgh's fringe festival is larger than Edmonton's -- more than 150 troupes attend from around the world, as does an audience of over 600,000. The festival has 12 indoor theater stages and two outdoor stages, offering more than 1,000 individual performances; when one show ends, another begins on the same stage an hour later. In addition to the hubbub of actors and theater, the Fringe Theatre Festival also plays host to food and crafts booths, beer tents, and innumerable buskers and street performers.

Fast Facts

American Express -- The office at 10180 101st St. (at 102nd Ave.; tel. 780/421-0608; LRT: Corona), is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Area Code -- Edmonton and Northern Alberta are in the 780 area code.

Business Hours -- Most banks are open weekdays 10am to 4pm, and Saturdays for a few hours in the morning or afternoon. Most shopping centers are open Monday to Friday 10am to 9pm, Saturday 10am to 6pm, and Sunday noon to 5pm.

Dentist -- Many dental clinics are open evenings and weekends. Ask your hotel to recommend one or visit the Alberta Dental Association website at www.abda.ab.ca to find one.

Doctors & Hospitals -- Medicentres offers walk-in medical services daily at 15 locations throughout the city; go to www.medicentres.com for the location nearest you. There is one downtown at 11087 Jasper Ave. (tel. 780/488-1222). The hospital with emergency service closest to downtown Edmonton is the Royal Alexandra Hospital (10240 Kingsway Ave.; tel. 780/477-4111; bus: 9).

Fishing Licenses -- If you're planning to fish, either in the city or outside of it, you need to obtain a license. They're available at most sporting goods stores, convenience stores, and gas stations at a cost of C$26. Seniors and children 16 and under don't need a license

Newspapers -- The Edmonton Journal (www.edmontonjournal.com) and Edmonton Sun (www.edmontonsun.com) are the local daily papers. Arts, entertainment, and nightlife listings can be found in the weekly See (www.seemagazine.com).

Police -- The 24-hour number is tel. 780/421-3333. Dial tel. 911 in emergencies.

Post Office -- The main post office is at 103A Avenue and 99th Street (LRT: Churchill).

Getting Around

Edmonton Transit (tel. 780/442-5311; www.takeets.com) operates the buses and the LRT (Light Rail Transit). This electric rail service connects downtown with Northlands Park to the north and the University of Alberta to the south. The LRT and buses have the same fares: C$2.75 adults and children over 5; a day pass goes for C$8.25.

In addition to the following downtown locations, National (10133 100A St. NW; tel. 800/CAR-RENT or 780/890-7700), Budget (10016 106th St NW; tel. 800/268-8900 or 780-448-2001), and Hertz (10815 Jasper Ave.; tel. 780/423-3431), each have a car-rental bureau at the airport.

Call Co-Op Taxi (tel. 780/425-2525) for a ride in a driver/owner-operated cab. 24-7 Taxi is another option (tel. 780/442-4444), as is Edmonton Taxi (tel. 780/462-3456).

City Layout

The winding North Saskatchewan River flows right through the heart of the city, dividing it into roughly equal halves. Most of this steep-banked valley has been turned into public parklands.

Like Calgary, Edmonton runs on a grid system, with streets going north-south and avenues east-west. The middle of the city is downtown at 100 Avenue and 100 Street, with corresponding numbers growing to the north and west, and declining to the south and east. Edmonton's main street is Jasper Avenue (actually 101st Ave.), running east-west on the north side of the river. To cross the North Saskatchewan River, you'd take the pedestrian- and car-friendly High Level Bridge south or the Low Level Bridge in either direction. Beneath the downtown core stretches a network of climate-controlled pedestrian walkways -- called Pedways -- connecting hotels, restaurants, and malls with the library, City Hall, and Citadel Theatre.

At the northern approach to the High Level Bridge stand the buildings of the Alberta Legislature. Across the bridge, to the west, stretches the vast campus of the University of Alberta. East of the U of A is Old Strathcona, a bustling neighborhood of cafes, galleries, and shops that is a haven for the hip crowd. The main arterial through Old Strathcona is Whyte Avenue, or 82nd Avenue. Running south from here is 104th Street, which becomes the Calgary Trail and leads to the airport.

West of downtown, Jasper Avenue eventually becomes Stony Plain Road, which passes near the West Edmonton Mall, the world's largest shopping and entertainment center, before merging with Highway 16 on its way to Jasper National Park.