Edmonton, CA

Daniel Costa's tiny Jasper Avenue room that essentially defined modern Edmonton dining, with handmade pasta and a tight northern-Italian menu. Still the city's hardest-to-book and most-loved tasting-style table.

Costa's snug Italian aperitivo bar next door to Corso 32, built around cicchetti, fresh ricotta, and amaro on tap. It takes no reservations, which is exactly the point.

A bright French-Scandi brunch and dinner spot on 124 Street from the Duchess Bake Shop family, with one of the city's most consistent kitchens. The weekend brunch is the benchmark on this side of the river.

Edmonton's beloved French patisserie on 124 Street, doing croissants, macarons, and Alberta-leaning desserts at a level that holds up to any Montreal or Paris bakery. The line moves fast.

Chef Blair Lebsack's farm-to-table room on 124 Street built entirely around Alberta producers, with whole-animal butchery and a quiet, confident dining room. It's the city's most serious expression of Alberta cuisine.

A small, perpetually-busy Jasper Avenue room from chef Ryan Hotchkiss, doing a tight modern Canadian menu with wood-fire technique and natural wine. It's where Edmonton chefs eat on their nights off.

A handsome Mediterranean-leaning room on Whyte Avenue with a wood-fire grill and the city's prettiest plates. Great for a date or a relaxed dinner with friends.

A serious-but-relaxed Jasper Avenue restaurant with an Alberta-product menu, open kitchen, and a sleek concrete dining room. Has anchored downtown dining for years.

Downtown's best taqueria, a small Rice Howard Way room doing real Mexico-City-style tacos and tortas with house masa. Lines at lunch, mellow at dinner.

The full-service Mexican sibling to Tres Carnales, in the basement of the Mercer warehouse downtown, built around rotisserie meats and mezcal. A great group dinner.

A long-running Portuguese and Spanish seafood room on Jasper Avenue with a wood-fire grill and one of the city's best wine lists. The grilled octopus is the dish.

An Indigenous-owned downtown restaurant on 104 Street with a rotating menu rooted in outdoor cooking traditions and Alberta ingredients. One of the most exciting newer rooms in the city.

A bright, busy Southern restaurant on 124 Street doing fried chicken, gumbo, biscuits, and a serious bourbon list. The patio in summer is one of the best on the street.

A no-frills Whyte Avenue barbecue spot doing brisket, ribs, and Alberta beef the right way. The hot honey chicken sandwich has a cult following.

A 1950s-style New Orleans diner that has been Whyte Avenue's go-to for blackened catfish po'boys and sweet potato fries for 30 years. Loud, cheap, and consistently good.

A Westmount fried-chicken spot doing buttermilk-brined birds with a serious sandwich game and a tight beer list. The hot chicken sandwich is what to order.

A family-run Vietnamese kitchen on Jasper Avenue, doing pho, vermicelli bowls, and lemongrass chicken to a level that has anchored downtown lunch for years. Cheap, fast, and consistently good.

A long-running Indonesian-Chinese vegetarian and vegan restaurant downtown, with a huge menu of mock meats, curries, and stir-fries. The city's go-to for plant-based dining.

An upscale Indian restaurant on Whyte Avenue with a wide regional menu and a serious tandoor. Has held its own as the city's best Indian for over a decade.

A no-frills downtown Filipino lunch counter doing adobo, lechon, and lumpia at a level that punches well above its setting. Closes early; weekday lunch only.

A long-running Eastern European bistro on Whyte Avenue doing schnitzel, perogies, and Polish classics in a warm room. A bit of old Edmonton that still delivers.

Edmonton's pioneering third-wave roaster with a flagship cafe on 124 Street and one of the city's most reliable espressos. The roaster behind half the city's better cafes.

A tiny downtown espresso bar tucked into the Mercer warehouse that pulls some of the cleanest shots in the city. A locals' favorite for a fast, serious coffee.

A long-running Whyte Avenue cafe in a heritage room with a deep dessert case and one of the best afternoon-coffee patios on the strip. Quintessentially Old Strathcona.

A wooded ravine cutting north-south through south Edmonton, with a 10 km multi-use trail that locals run, bike, and walk year-round. The wooden trestle bridges are the signature.

The river valley's central festival park, with a lake, paved perimeter path, modernized pavilion, and tree-shaded picnic grounds beside the river. The city's go-to summer park, back to full use after a major rehabilitation.

A 186-hectare park at the southwest end of the river valley with broad meadows, off-leash dog trails, and a 262-metre footbridge across the North Saskatchewan. The big-sky end of the river valley.

A quiet wooded ravine on the south side connecting Snow Valley to Fort Edmonton Park, with paved and dirt trails along Whitemud Creek. One of the river valley's most peaceful stretches.

The east end of the river valley trail system, with broad river views, picnic grounds, and access to the Capilano footbridge. A favorite for cyclists and runners looking to extend the city loop east.

A sprawling northeast park with a paved loop, lakes, mini-golf, disc golf, and one of the best river-valley playgrounds. Family-leaning and rarely crowded.

A small river-side park just east of downtown with one of the prettiest stretches of paved valley trail and views back to the Muttart Pyramids. A 20-minute walk from the LRT and a perfect quick escape.

A protected boreal fen about 30 minutes west of downtown with boardwalks through black spruce, tamarack, and rare orchids. A quiet, naturalist-leaning walk that feels far from the city.

Edmonton's flagship science centre and IMAX theatre in Coronation Park, with the Zeidler Dome planetarium and a strong rotating exhibit calendar. Easy half-day for families and a winter lifesaver.

Canada's largest non-profit theatre complex, five stages under one downtown roof attached to a public glass-roofed indoor garden. The country's main Anglo-Canadian regional theatre west of Stratford.

Home of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the city's main concert hall, with one of Canada's best acoustics and the Davis Concert Organ. The downtown room for serious music.

A 1915 single-screen movie palace on Whyte Avenue running second-run, indie, and repertory films. One of the last operating heritage cinemas in western Canada.

A volunteer-run jazz club south of Whyte Avenue, the Edmonton Jazz Society's home for over 50 years. The room is unpretentious and the touring bookings punch well above the city's size.

A scruffy 100-year-old hotel bar on Whyte Avenue that hosts live blues seven nights a week. The most consistently working blues room between Vancouver and Winnipeg.

A hangar museum at the old Edmonton city centre airport, with bush planes, military aircraft, and one of the best WWII-era twin-engine collections in Canada. A surprise hit for non-plane people.

A small, walkable river valley zoo with red pandas, snow leopards, and a strong focus on northern species. The kind of zoo you can do in two hours with kids.

A non-profit independent cinema in the 1940 Garneau Theatre near the U of A, running art-house, repertory, and Alberta-made films. The city's serious film room.

The downtown arena that hosts the Edmonton Oilers, concerts, and the ICE District plaza events outside. Going to an Oilers game is a quintessential Edmonton winter night.

A 200-seat Old Strathcona theatre that hosts long-running improv (Rapid Fire Theatre's Theatresports), Shadow Theatre, and Teatro La Quindicina. The friendliest live-theatre door in town.

Alberta's 1912 Beaux-Arts capitol building above the river valley, fronted by fountains and reflecting pools that double as a wading rink in winter. The interior tours are free and the grounds are one of downtown's prettiest walks.

Four glass pyramids on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan, each a different climate, with the downtown skyline framed behind them. It's Edmonton's most photographed landmark and a welcome dose of green in winter.

The largest museum in western Canada, an airy downtown block tracing the province from glaciers to Indigenous nations to oil. Expect to spend half a day; the Human History Hall and Bug Gallery are the standouts.

A swooping silver-and-glass landmark on Churchill Square holding the province's main contemporary and historical art collection. The building itself, designed by Randall Stout, is half the experience.

Canada's largest living history park, four streetscapes recreating Edmonton from the 1846 fur fort through 1920. Costumed interpreters, working trams, and a midway make it a full day for kids and history nerds alike.

A volunteer-run vintage streetcar that crosses the High Level Bridge between Old Strathcona and downtown, 50 metres above the river. The view down the valley is one of the city's iconic photos.

A year-round indoor market in the old 1920s bus barns a block off Whyte Avenue, with about 130 Alberta producers. It's the city's best Saturday morning, full stop.

An outdoor Saturday market that closes a stretch of historic 104 Street downtown from May to October. It's a smaller, urban counterpart to Old Strathcona and a nice way to see the warehouse district.

An open-air outdoor museum on the side of the Telus building along 104 Avenue downtown, where about two dozen restored vintage Edmonton neon signs hang and light up at night. Free, always open, very Edmonton.

Edmonton's historic main street south of the river, a walkable stretch of 1900s brick storefronts, indie shops, bars, restaurants, and theatres. The city's most consistently lively neighborhood, day or night.