Flights to Edmonton

Edmonton travel tips

Edmonton: Alberta's capital city

Edmonton is the capital of the Alberta region, but is much smaller than the bustling city of Calgary. The downtown area of Edmonton seems rather quiet. A contrast to this is the historic district of Old Strathcona with Whyte Avenue wit its many sidewalk cafes, restaurants, bars and small stores.

The best time to travel to the city is summer. Winters in Edmonton can be quite cold (-30 degrees Celsius and colder are not uncommon). However, there is plenty of sunshine and very little rain year-round. Summers are dry and warm, but not hot. This is when most of the festivals take place. K-Days, formerly called Klondike Days is a 10-day (folk) festival held in July a few days after the Calgary Stampede in Calgary. Edmonton Heritage Festival celebrates multiculturalism in Edmonton. The three-day festival is always held over the Heritage Day long weekend. The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is the oldest and largest fringe theater festival in North America and takes place during the second half of August.

Edmonton: getting there and around

The airport is located about 30 kilometers south of Edmonton. A public bus line (number 747) now connects the airport directly to the LRT (rapid transit or subway). This costs around 5 CAD each way. The Skyshuttle provides a bus service to and from stops to some hotels in the city. Times are posted at the stop or can be obtained at the airport. A one-way ticket costs ca. 18 CAD.

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) is a light rail system that runs from northeast Edmonton through downtown and then south across the North Saskatchewan River. Together with the network of bus lines local public transport in Edmonton is quite well developed by North American standards. A one-way ticket costs approx. 3 CAD, ten-tickts are available for about $24 (not on the bus), and a day pass costs about CAD 9. When purchasing on the bus, please have the exact fare ready.