r/Edmonton • u/Zestyy-Gold • 9d ago

Question Why does everyone say “skip Edmonton” when visiting AB?

I’ve seen a lot online where tourists will ask for a Alberta itinerary, which I understand they are excited to see mountains…but people would add the extra “skip Edmonton” line even as if there’s nothing to embrace here. I have never been to Edmonton, but as the capital of Alberta, is there really nothing to see as a traveller? I read that there is an interesting food scene, cool museums (Reynolds, Telus World of Science, Royal Alberta Museum, etc), chill neighborhoods like Whyte Ave, and a big ass shopping mall? Do people say this just so the city wouldnt be clustered with tourists or is the city really that skippable? I don’t think anyone expects it to be a Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto…but I’m sure it still has it’s charm?

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u/Surfing_puffin 9d ago

I took my girlfriend to the mall recently. We froliked with and gently held African Penguins in our hands.

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u/theluckiest13 9d ago

I personally see that as being more of a negative X on the city myself. I mean I understand what you're saying but I think African penguins (or any animal) shouldn't have to live their lives in a mall.

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u/Surfing_puffin 9d ago

It's litterally a conservation breeding effort to help save the species. They are being wiped out in the wild.

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u/theluckiest13 9d ago

I'm sure they are but breeding penguins to live in aquariums and malls where they're forced to perform, for our entertainment, doesn't sound like a great existence to me. I especially think that keeping them in a mall where they are being handled by mall patrons is sounds like the opposite of protecting an animal. Most of the malls penguins were born in the mall so I can't help but wonder, are they preserving the African penguin or their tourist attraction?

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u/Surfing_puffin 9d ago

That's a good point. The staff told me they fully expect that whole species to go extinct in the wild but hopefully not.

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u/theluckiest13 9d ago

I also hope not. And I hope I'm not coming off at being rude or argumentative. I truly don't mean to be. I've always been an animal lover and there was a time when I'd have driven across the country for a chance to pet a penguin. Or any wild animals for that matter (I'd still have trouble saying no to petting a tiger to be honest). But as I've gotten older I began to realize that wild animals being kept in captivity for the entertainment of people is a horrible existence

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u/Surfing_puffin 9d ago

It’s all good constructive criticism. I have only lived in Edmonton for a few years.

To me it is a wonderful place but I will admit for a while I didn’t like it one bit. It grew on me.

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u/theluckiest13 9d ago

I'm in Alberta Beach now but I lived there for the first 51 of my 54 years (55 in August). By no means did I hate living there but I never thought of it as having anything that would result in Edmonton being thought of as a legitimate tourist destination. However if someone was here for business, visiting someone or passing through on the way to somewhere better (I know it sounds rude but it's true lol) then sure go check out the river valley or take in a festival if there's one going on.

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u/Surfing_puffin 9d ago

Ironically shortly after writing that I was beginning to enjoy Edmonton, someone broke into my car and now it smells weird. They left a bag of idk what behind and did up the seat belt?

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u/theluckiest13 9d ago

Damn that's a new one even for me. It's one thing to to leave whatever it is in a car you just broke into, it's still weird but I can understand the thought process of an asshole deciding to go farther to be a bigger asshole by adding a humiliating inconvenience to clean up. But doing up a seatbelt is weird enough that I can't wrap my head around the reasoning.

Either way I'm sorry that happened. That's really fucked up