First impressions are everything. Within 20 minutes of arriving at Edmonton International airport, in the province of Alberta, we had cleared customs and been reunited with our luggage. This was a taste of things to come.
Edmonton is as well organised as it is cosmopolitan. It has great nightlife, restaurants and shopping and is known as Canada’s Festival City, hosting events throughout the year, including fringe theatre, folk and blues events. It also lies on the edge of nature. In Elk Island National Park, just 45 minutes away, you can see bison, deer, moose and, of course, elk.
Nicolas Fournier, travel trade manager for the Canadian Tourism Commission in the UK, says the tourist board is keen to show that Edmonton is more than just a gateway city and works well as either a city-break destination in its own right or combined with Jasper as a twin-centre holiday.
“Together they offer urban excitement married with the great outdoors,” he says.
Edmonton is served by daily year-round Air Canada flights from Heathrow and a weekly Air Transat flight from Gatwick between May and October.
“The region can appeal to holidaymakers of all ages,” adds Natacha Fudem, international leisure travel manager at Edmonton Tourism. “Visitors can either self-drive or take the VIA Rail from Edmonton to Vancouver, spending a few days in each city and stopping in Jasper in between, with the option to add an Alaskan cruise at the end. Edmonton is the gateway to Alberta.”
Edmonton
Edmonton’s population has boomed in recent years and with this growth has come investment.
The city’s airport is undergoing a $1 billion expansion and this year saw four properties open, including The Holiday Inn Express Suites South Edmonton. New attractions include Fort Edmonton Park, and an open-air history museum where actors in period dress guide you through Canadian history.
We stayed at the 199-room Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. Built in 1915, it overlooks the river valley and has grand public areas with majestic chandeliers. The sixth floor was fully refurbished in 2009 and further renovations are planned this year.
In contrast, the centrally-located Matrix is a contemporary-style boutique hotel. Fully renovated in 2008, it has 200 rooms. It is also home to one of Edmonton’s best restaurants, The Wildflower Grill, where we sampled vibrant salads and succulent Alberta steaks.
The wackiest place to stay is the Fantasyland Hotel, where a third of the 355 rooms are themed, including in western and igloo styles. It is conveniently attached to the West Edmonton Shopping Mall, which boasts 800 stores, dozens of eateries, a water park, ice rink, rollercoaster, boating lake, mini golf, cinema and casino.
A bustling hive of activity, it’s a world away from Edmonton’s River Valley parks that stretch along the banks of the North Saskatchewan river. We explored them on an Enviro-Glide Segway Tour. These nippy upright scooters are easy to drive and fun to whizz about on – in fact we couldn’t stop laughing as we tried to outmanoeuvre each other.
Jasper
Three hours’ drive from Edmonton, small-town Jasper became our base for exploring the Canadian Rockies. Lying in Jasper National Park, it’s friendly and full of character and old-world charm.
Accommodation is either in town or tucked away in the surrounding countryside. With 97 rooms, Amethyst Lodge is a good option for those who want to be a stroll away from the shops and restaurants, while the Coast Pyramid Lake Resort is framed by mountains and offers seclusion.
We stayed at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, a 1,000-acre lakefront property with 446 units that range from suites to self-catering cabins.
Activities abound in Jasper National Park. Hikes to canyons and waterfalls, mountain biking, kayaking and white-water rafting are all readily available. We took a Jasper Adventure Centre guided bus tour to the Columbia Icefields.
This dramatic tongue of ice is wedged between the mountains and glistens like a sea of blue diamonds as it catches the light. Boarding super-sized snowmobiles, we crunched our way to the glacier’s centre where you can watch swirls of milky water trickle across the snow.
It’s hard to top that as an experience – unless you are into black leather. We didn’t turn down a chance to get kitted out in biker gear and take a chauffeur-driven ride on Harley-Davidsons with Jasper Motorcycle Tours. Climbing high on mountain roads with the wind in our hair, we enjoyed spectacular views across the national park. For me it was the highlight of the trip.
Our final view of the Rockies was from the water. The sheer, jagged rock of the surrounding mountains towered above us as we took a boat cruise across the turquoise-hued Maligne Lake. Stopping at Spirit Island we captured the vista with our cameras. Jasper National Park certainly cast its spell on us – just as Edmonton had done.
Sample product
Air Transat Holidays offers a seven-night package to Edmonton and Jasper from £1,137 per person. The price includes flights, accommodation and car hire.
transatholidays.co.uk0870 074 7474
Jetsave has a 10-day Rockies By Rail tour which passes through Alberta’s spectacular scenery, including Jasper. Prices this year start at £1,939 per person, including flights, accommodation and itinerary excursions. jetsave.com0871 664 0293
