Day 4 (May 17, 2026): Biting into Edmonton

It was 2 AM by the time we got to bed. We were supposed to have picked up a rental car at the airport when we landed last night, but the Thrifty Car Rental counter was closed when we got to it, despite having confirmed that we would be picking the car up at 1 AM. In any case, I took a shuttle back to the airport this morning, picked up the rental car, and then we headed north to downtown Edmonton, which is 30 minutes by car from Edmonton International Airport.

We splurged and stayed at the J.W. Marriott Edmonton ICE District Hotel, which is connected to Roger's Centre, home of the Edmonton Oilers. Built eight years ago, the hotel is complete luxury. We received an upgrade to the top floor and had access to the Club Lounge for the duration of our stay.

We spent the afternoon taking in some sights in the downtown area, and we also drove around the University of Alberta campus. We ate our evening meal at the hotel, thoroughly enjoying the “lap of luxury”.


The view from our 22nd floor hotel room at the J.W. Marriott. The spaceship-like white area is the roof of Roger's Centre, home to the Edmonton Oilers.

This delicious appetizer was awaiting us when we checked into our room.


Muttart Conservatory

The Muttart Conservatory was founded in 1976 and is operated by the City of Edmonton. It comprises four glass pyramids, each of which presents plants and trees from a specific type of forest.

View of the Muttart Conservatory complex.

The Temperate Biome.

The Arid Biome. 

The Tropical Biome. 




Adjacent to the Muttart Conservatory are the Edmonton Horticultural Society Gardens. We saw so many people using electric unicycles.


University of Alberta Campus


Rutherford House is a museum on the edge of the University of Alberta campus, in the Strathcona area of Edmonton. It was was the home of the first Premier of Alberta, Alexander Cameron Rutherford, from 1911 to 1940.


Downtown Edmonton and the North Saskatchewan River

The view of the impressive downtown core, from the south side of the North Saskatchewan River.

Along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.



A very modern observation deck on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.

Funicular from the Fairmont MacDonald Hotel to the observation deck.

The Edmonton Convention Centre sprawls its way down over the embankment toward the river, on the east side of downtown.

This is the Fairmont MacDonald Hotel, Edmonton‘s most historically grand hotel. It was built from 1912 to 1915, at a cost of $1.25 million. The furnishings cost $750,000. 

The lobby of the Fairmont McDonald Hotel.

This historic cash register sits in the lobby of the Fairmont MacDonald Macdonald.


It was so neat to see an evening rain storm move in over the west of the city.




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