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I'm here for the weekend and normally live most of year in Southern California desert (P Springs area)
1) Not that much here for tourists but Edmonton seems like a very nice town to live in - kind of like Dallas (which is off the radar for tourists but gets pretty good reviews to l ive in)
2) CBSA customs questioning is tough - they seem to think it is very strange for an American to come to visit Edmonton - perhaps I should go to Niagara Falls Ontario where there are tons of tourists.
3) Seems to be fairly clean and safe compared to most US cities. Not a lot of graffiti and I have not seen much homeless - then again it is cold to be living on a tent on the street.
4) Very diverse ethnically - the only group I have not seen much of are Latinos - it seems that a lot of the service jobs have Punjabis/Sikhs. Also I have not heard any French except on radio and signage.
5) It seems there is a very small season when outdoor activities are open (mid May to September). i really would like to have seen the Ukrainian Village or Fort Edmonton Park but missed it by a week
6) It seems cash is not used much - everyone has a portable card reader. it's almost not worth withdrawing CAD as debit accepted everywhere.
I'm leavingn tomorrow morning and would love to get inexpensive local souvenirs - I'm not able to pay $50 CAD for an Oilers cap or tshirt. Maybe Walmart has something cheaper ?
Anyway, enjoying my time is the nontouristy city - hope to return when more is open or in dead of winter to do true winter sports.
Edmonton doesn't attract a lot of tourists, because there's not much there to attract tourists. I lived there for three years, and have been back in the years since, but likely would not go near the place if I had no reason to. Subsequent trips have been for business reasons.
In fairness, it's not a bad city, and can be rather pleasant. The river valley offers much in the way of hiking and biking trails, and there are fun festivals in the summer. The downtown is pretty compact, and you haven't lived until you've had a perfectly-mixed martini in the Confederation Lounge of the Hotel MacDonald. The area around the University of Alberta is very pleasant and walkable--streets lined with nice old homes, and the University itself is beautiful, with many old architecturally-interesting buildings. But winters are bitterly cold, and the public transit system leaves a lot to be desired.
You won't see French in Edmonton outside of French-cuisine restaurants or the airport, because nobody there speaks French. (Well, two of my friends in Edmonton do, but they speak English in their everyday affairs, because nobody else speaks French there. But my gosh, when my buddy speaks to his wife on the phone, it's rapid-fire French that goes right over my head.)
In short, it's a nice city, but not one that's any kind of a vacation destination.
I would want to visit Edmonton one day but yeah, it doesn't offer enough tourist venues and is so far north and away from any other tourist place that it ranks lower on my list of must see places. My former coworker flew into Edmonton to drive the long drive to Jasper National Park but unlike my former coworker, I am not into wild, off the beaten path places where you really commune with nature so that is ruled out. The Muttart Conservatory is probably the best landmark I'd like to visit and maybe the West Edmonton Mall just to see it (I'm no enthusiastic shopper as well), then dine at Chinatown (Edmonton and Winnipeg are the last two Canadian cities with Chinatowns that I have not visited) and ride the light rail system but that's about it. Otherwise what else is there to do in Edmonton? Calgary at least is much closer to other interesting places like Banff.
Yes, it seems like you came right at the time our winter fun was closed & summer fun had yet to begin. We have the Edmonton riverboat in the summer, fort Edmonton park & Ukrainian center as you said, we have the segway adventure thru the river valley, the high level bridge street car, the muttart conservatory, Telus world of science, the new museum, the old historic theatre on 109th usually has something neat going on. Then there is galaxyland and water park for the kids. We have a full city murder mystery going on next month. There is also our huge flea market, farmers market and antiques market. Plus Whyte Ave with little shops and tonnes of food and turns into a pub crawl at night. And of course we have some great parks like hawrlak and rundle for BBQ's, volley ball, paddle boating and what not in summer. And things like heritage festival and outdoor music.. And in the winter, they both have outdoor skating and hockey. I do hope you still enjoyed your visit. And ftf, I always get my oilers hats at game on sports as the generally have a two for one or sale. I never buy hats a full price as they're my addiction. Haha
I'll have to return. in the meantime, next week off to Quebec City for 4 days. It will be interesting to compare to Edmonton - and plus I'll get a chance to pratiquer my high school French. Should be a very different experience
2) CBSA customs questioning is tough - they seem to think it is very strange for an American to come to visit Edmonton - perhaps I should go to Niagara Falls Ontario where there are tons of tourists.
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This is not too unusual for them to use this tactic and don't at all take it personally. Although Edmonton isn't a tourist mecca, it receives its fair share of visitors and many use it as a launching point to visit the Rockies - Jasper etc. Point being it is NOT strange for an American or anyone to visit - they are just trying to rattle you 'in case' you were there for nefarious purposes.
BTW, I passed through Toronto Airport on the way to Quebec City and I was only at customs one minute so yes, it all depends on time of day and who is the admiting CBSA agent.
This is not too unusual for them to use this tactic and don't at all take it personally. Although Edmonton isn't a tourist mecca, it receives its fair share of visitors and many use it as a launching point to visit the Rockies - Jasper etc. Point being it is NOT strange for an American or anyone to visit - they are just trying to rattle you 'in case' you were there for nefarious purposes.
American border guards do this even more I think.
Invariably, the third question (after where you from and where you goin') is "what's in New York, Syracuse, Washington, Miami, etc.?" (I.e. whichever place you've named as your destination.)
Invariably, the third question (after where you from and where you goin') is "what's in New York, Syracuse, Washington, Miami, etc.?" (I.e. whichever place you've named as your destination.)
I would agree with this based on my experiences but its all anecdotal. I had an experience with one USCBP Officer a few weeks ago. Started off super nice talking small talk etc, buttering me all up and we were even laughing and then BOOM he just rifled off 'those' questions - have you been arrested, are you meeting up with someone, any cannabis in the vehicle, what is in the trunk if I opened it. Started soft finished hardcore - usually it is the other way around. In a nutshell, you never know what you're gonna get with either USCBP or CBSA but yes, I'd say CBSA are a bit more consistent and predictable.
Last edited by fusion2; 06-27-2022 at 08:12 PM..
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