North, Edmonton: neighborhood guide

North Edmonton is the city's suburban belt: mostly low-density residential streets of detached houses, plus a few power centres where the shopping is. It grew after oil was found near Edmonton in 1947 and has kept expanding since, so neighbourhoods range from pre-war to still under construction.

Two former federal sites are being redeveloped: Griesbach, a former armed forces base, and Blatchford, the old municipal airport. The district also holds the city's Arab district and a large Filipino neighbourhood, which is why the food here is often cheap and good.

It is not a sightseeing district. You come here for practical reasons: a cheaper room, a specific restaurant, a museum, or to visit people. Downtown is a drive or a bus-and-train ride away.

Stay if you are driving. Hotels along the Yellowhead Trail and 137 Avenue corridors usually cost less than downtown and include parking, and you can reach the rest of the city quickly by car. The trade-off is that almost nothing is on foot.

Skip it if you want to walk out of your hotel to restaurants, bars and the river valley. Central Edmonton gives you that; North does not. Transit exists across the north side, but buses are infrequent in the outer residential areas, and the LRT only covers the far east.

A middle option: base in North for a night or two around a specific event, such as a football or soccer game at Commonwealth Stadium, then move central.

The strongest reason to spend time in North Edmonton is food. The Arab district and the Filipino neighbourhood concentrate inexpensive restaurants, bakeries and groceries, mostly in strip malls and along 97 Street and 137 Avenue. Portions are large and prices are lower than central Edmonton.

Old Towne Beverly, once a separate mining town absorbed into the city in the 1940s, has streetfront shops and cafés that are easier to walk than the rest of the district. Griesbach has a small commercial cluster of its own.

Expect casual, order-at-the-counter places rather than a restaurant row. If you are here for one meal, pick the cuisine you came for and go straight there; there is no single strip to wander.

By car is simplest. 97 Street (Highway 28) runs from Central Edmonton through the north side and out into the countryside. 137 Avenue crosses east–west and is lined with shops. Fort Road, Victoria Trail, 167 Avenue, 66 Street, 127 Street and St. Albert Trail/Mark Messier Way are the other main roads.

Three highways serve the area: Yellowhead Trail (Highway 16) west–east, Manning Drive (Highway 15) toward Fort Saskatchewan about 14 km away, and Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216), the ring road, with several north-side exits.

By transit, four LRT stations sit in the far east of the district: Stadium (Commonwealth Stadium on game days), Coliseum (now closed as an arena but still a bus transfer point), Belvedere (bus transfers and a casino) and Clareview (northern terminus, large park-and-ride, nothing within walking distance). The rest of the north side relies on buses, which run less often the further out you go.

The Alberta Aviation Museum on Kingsway Avenue covers aviation history with aircraft, uniforms and equipment going back to the 1920s. The Alberta Railway Museum, at 24215 34 Street NW, keeps locomotives and buildings from the Canadian National Railways and Northern Alberta Railways; it opens weekends from Victoria Day to Labour Day, with trains running only on holiday weekends in summer.

Griesbach Central Park, also called Maple Leaf Park, is a chain of small parks linked by trails; the central one has a man-made hill, the highest point on the north side, with a downtown skyline view. It closes at 11pm and is free.

Old Towne Beverly is worth a short walk for its remaining small-town streetfront. For entertainment, Century Casino on Fort Road and the Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton cinemas on 137 Avenue are the main indoor options.