Canada · Alberta
Where to Stay in Edmonton, Alberta
The North Saskatchewan River curves through Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, known for its river valley parks and West Edmonton Mall.
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Where to stay in Edmonton
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Edmonton spreads across both banks of the North Saskatchewan River, and where you stay depends on how close you want to be to that valley. The centre, on the north bank, gathers the city's larger hotels within reach of the Art Gallery of Alberta and the government precinct around Government House. If you want the river at your door, this is the base.
Trails run down into the valley from here, following the water past parks and playing fields. The Royal Alberta Museum sits close to the core as well. Across the water and to the south, the ground rises toward the university district and the older streets around Rutherford House, quieter and greener than the centre.
Families and those drawn by the shops often choose the west end, near West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping mall in North America. Choose your bank by your plans. Stay near the centre for the galleries and the river valley, or west for the mall and its indoor world.
The Alberta Aviation Museum and Foote Field lie further out, reached by road. Distance from the river shapes the character of each district, and the valley threads them all together.
About Edmonton
What is Edmonton known for?
Edmonton is known as the capital of Alberta and the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. The North Saskatchewan River cuts a broad valley through the middle of the city, and its parks and trails follow the water for miles. West Edmonton Mall draws shoppers from across the province.
The North Saskatchewan gives the city its shape. Galleries and museums, among them the Art Gallery of Alberta, gather near the centre.
What are the main landmarks in Edmonton?
Edmonton's landmarks gather along the North Saskatchewan River and through its older streets. The Art Gallery of Alberta and the Royal Alberta Museum anchor the cultural life of the centre, drawing visitors down toward the valley that runs through the heart of the capital. Government House and Rutherford House recall the early province, while St. Josaphat Cathedral and St. Joseph's Basilica rise above their neighbourhoods.
The Alberta Aviation Museum and the Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta hold the city's working past. West Edmonton Mall stands apart in the west.
What is the history of Edmonton?
Edmonton began as Fort Edmonton, a fur-trade post founded in 1795 on the North Saskatchewan River. The river carried the trade that gave the settlement its reason to exist, linking it to the wider network of posts across the northern plains. Traders and travellers passed through.
The fort held the north bank while the surrounding country was still open prairie and parkland. From that trading post the town slowly grew, gathering settlers along the river. With the coming of the railway and the naming of Alberta as a province, Edmonton became its capital, and Government House and Rutherford House date from those early provincial years.
The city drew people from across Europe, among them the Ukrainian families whose story the Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta records. Waves of settlement reshaped it. Institutions such as the Royal Alberta Museum and the Art Gallery of Alberta came later, as the capital matured on both banks of the North Saskatchewan River.
The old fort is gone. Its name endures in the city that grew where it stood.
Where is Edmonton?
Edmonton sits on the North Saskatchewan River in central Alberta, about 290 kilometres north of Calgary at the northern end of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor. The river cuts a deep valley across the city, and its parks follow the water through the heart of the built-up area. The land around is level prairie and parkland.
Edmonton anchors the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, spread across both banks of the river.
What is the climate of Edmonton?
Edmonton has a cold, dry climate shaped by its place on the northern prairie. Winters are long and hard, with deep cold settling over the North Saskatchewan River valley for months and daylight running short. Summers are warm and bright.
When the warm season comes, it brings long evenings and the festivals for which the city is known. Spring and autumn pass quickly between the two.
How do you get to Edmonton?
Edmonton is reached by air, road, and rail from across Alberta and the wider country. Highways run south down the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor toward Calgary and north into the resource country beyond the North Saskatchewan River. Its airport lies south of the city.
Rail lines that once made it a junction still cross the region, and long-distance roads bring travellers in from every direction across the prairie.
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Updated July 2026