A Prosperous City
After Calgary, Edmonton is not only the 2nd largest city of the Canadian region of Alberta (approximately 700,000 inhabitants) but is also the capital of this region.
The founding of the city goes back to the times of the fur-trading posts of the “Hudson’s Bay Company”. This company was founded in 1795 so that the Cree and Blackfoot Indians who populated this area at the time, could trade. After a mere hundred years happily trading fur, in 1898 was the city’s first boom during the time the city was going through the gold rush and attracted many fortune hunters- they were hoping to find huge riches and move on to Yukon. This part of the history of the city lives on still today. In your cheap hire car in Edmonton, you can reach “Fort Edmonton Park” – you can experience the biggest open air museum in Canada at first hand. Not only will you find an accurate replica of the historic city centre from the late 19th century but you can also see the fur-trading posts of the “Hudson’s Bay Company”.
The second boom of the city happened in 1947 after the discovery of crude oil which caused the population to double over 10 years and today is the fundamental reason for Edmonton’s prosperity.
Experience Shopping Like Never Before
But you don’t necessarily have to be interested in history in order to really enjoy a trip to Edmonton as the city offer a huge range of opportunities that you can just simply live in the here and now. For example the most famous tourist attraction is the “West Edmonton Mall”. This mall is not just any old shopping centre but with around 800 shops including the Amusement park “Galaxy Land” and one of the world’s largest indoor Fun Pools it is the biggest shopping centre in the world.
After a Dose of History, Chill Out in a Restaurant
For those of you that would like something a little more historic can take a trip to “Old Strathcona” in your cheap car rental. In the district that was urbanised in 1912 you can either relax and enjoy the historic buildings, stroll down the streets where you will find the area is a unique mixture of a student district and a shopping paradise- there are around 300 shops that vary in style from chic to strange so you can spend on your credit card to your hearts desire. There are also around 100 restaurants, pubs and clubs in the district where you can either dine royally or just go out and celebrate!
"City of Champions"
For those of you that are looking for a healthy mass euphoria then you should definitely go to one of the home games of the “Edmonton Oilers” (Ice Hockey, NHL) or the “Edmonton Eskimos” (Canadian Football, CFL) Both teams have already brought the championships to Alberta and consequently Edmonton is also called the “City of Champions”.
A further title that Edmonton is pleased to declare is the “Festival Capital of Canada” Over 19 huge art, music and theatre festivals attract thousands of visitors year after year to the city located north of the Saskatchewan River.
Escape the Hustle and Bustle
Find a nice place to sit in the sun (the chance of which is good as Edmonton gets more hours of sun per year than any other large city in Canada) in the city park in North America- the “River Valley Park” or you could venture out in your cheap car hire in Edmonton and really explore the fascinating surrounding area of the city such as the “” Elk Island National Park”. With a little bit of luck you may even catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
