Road map Edmonton and Calgary surrounding area (Alberta, Canada)

Edmonton and Calgary

Oil and agriculture have been key players in the success of  Alberta's two largest cities, yet Edmonton and Calgary have developed  markedly different cultures and paces of life. The green-belted North  Saskatchewan River valley anchors the province's capital, steeped in  history and founded in 1795 as a Hudson's Bay Company post. Edmonton was  a gateway to the Klondike in the late 1800s, a bush aviation center in  the 1930s, and a construction base for the Alaska Highway in the 1940s.

Edmonton's younger, hipper sibling, Calgary has brash glass  towers and a saddle-shaped stadium that mark a big, bold city.  Originally established as a North West Mounted Police post in 1875,  Calgary saw ranching begin in the late 1800s, and oil and gas hit big in  1914. Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics, and visitors come in the  thousands every July for the famous Calgary Stampede, a ten-day outdoor  extravaganza of rodeo, chuckwagon races, square dancing, and parades.

Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre [C7]

Located in Calgary's bustling Chinatown, this center was built  in 1933, and features a museum, art gallery, and acupuncture shop. The  six-storey Great Cultural Hall, with its exquisite tile work and golden  dragon, is modeled after Beijing's Temple of Heaven.

Calgary Zoo, Botanical Gardens, and Prehistoric Park [C7] More  than 1,400 animals live in Canada's largest zoo on St. George's Island  in the middle of the Bow River. Watch polar bears from an underwater  viewing glass and roam through a tropical greenhouse thick with  butterflies and birds. Over 20 life-size dinosaurs are replicated in a  Mesozoic landscape at Prehistoric Park.

Fort Calgary [C7]

Rebuilt with wooden nails, picks, old-style saws, and other  1800s tools on its original site at the junction of the Bow and Elbow  rivers, Fort Calgary reveals the key role the North West Mounted Police  played in Calgary's history.

Fort Edmonton Historical Park [C2] A vintage train and trolley  car take visitors around the 63-hectare grounds of this living history  park. Visitors can walk through a 1846 fur-trading post, an 1885  pre-railway village, or a 1905 boomtown street.

Glenbow Museum [C7]

The story of Western Canada is told in galleries, archives,  and an authoritative library in this Calgary museum, one of Canada's  best. Exhibits focus on Alberta's Native peoples, European settlers, and  prairie pioneers. Unique collections of jewelry, Native dress and  weaponry are also on display.

Muttart Conservatory [СЗ] In four striking glass pyramids,  some 700 plant species from tropical, temperate, and arid climatic zones  are housed in this Edmonton museum. One building houses flowering  ornamental plants in changing seasonal displays. Paddle-wheeler cruises  depart at the river's edge behind the conservatory.

Old Strathcona Historic Area [СЗ] Along 82nd Avenue in  Edmonton, meticulously refurbished buildings from the 1890s (including  the Princess Theatre and Old Fire Hall) define this hip ten-block  neighborhood packed with restaurants, pubs, and stores. Five theaters  hold summer performances and a Saturday farmers' market offers local  produce and crafts.

West Edmonton Mall [С2] The world's largest shopping and  entertainment complex is also Alberta's most popular attraction, drawing  over 50,000 people daily. Some 800 shops and restaurants, an NHL-size  skating rink, the world's largest indoor amusement park, two indoor  lakes (one deep enough for submarine rides) and an 18-hole mini-golf are  all under one roof. Rickshaw rides are available if the 45 hectares get  a little overwhelming.

CITY GUIDE

CALGARY ATTRACTIONS

Calgary Tower Calgary Saddledome Canada Olympic Park Heritage Park Fort Calgary Devonian Gardens

Glenbow Museum Chinese Cultural Centre Inglewood Bird

Sanctuary Eau Claire Market Calgary Zoo, Botanical Gardens, and Prehistoric Park Calgary Science Centre Energeum

EDMONTON ATTRACTIONS

West Edmonton Mall Alberta Legislature Muttart Conservatory Provincial Museum  of Alberta Edmonton Police

Museum Fort Edmonton Historical Park Edmonton Art Gallery  Edmonton Space and Science Centre Old Strathcona Historic Area Canadian  Country Music Centre

AIRPORT INFORMATION

Calgary (403) 735-1200

Edmonton 1-800-268-7134

RADIO STATIONS

Calgary CHQR 77 AM

Edmonton CHED 630 AM

TOURISM

Calgary 1-800-661-1678 www. tourismcalgary. com Edmonton 1-800-463-4667 www. tourism. ede. org