Into downtown and back

6.2.1The line

1. Name and route. The Capital Line runs from north-east Edmonton through downtown to the University of Alberta and on to Century Park in the south. It has 15 stations, six of them underground, and shares seven stations with the Metro Line.
2. Belvedere's position. Clareview, about 2.2 km north-east of the hotel by road, is the northern end of the line. Belvedere is the next station south of it.
3. History. The first section opened on 22 April 1978 between Belvedere and Central, in time for the Commonwealth Games, 6.9 km long. Belvedere was the north-east end of the line until the Clareview extension in 1981.

6.2.2Downtown destinations, with drive times

We give road distances because they are stable. Train times vary by timetable and connection, and Google Maps shows them live; use the transit routes in chapter 6 for those.

6.2.3Three downtown days from Fort Road

1. Museum day. The Royal Alberta Museum, the largest museum in western Canada by Wikipedia's account, moved into its new downtown building in 2018. Take the train in, walk the downtown core, and be back for an evening show on Fort Road.
2. Game day. For an Oilers game at Rogers Place, the Metro Line serves MacEwan station. The Google Maps transit route shows where to change from the Capital Line on the day you travel.
3. River valley day. The Muttart Conservatory's pyramids sit in the North Saskatchewan River valley across from downtown, about 10 km by road. A short drive, or a train ride plus a connection.

6.2.4Why some guests prefer to sleep out here

1. The car. The garage here is free and heated, so the car costs nothing overnight and starts easily in the morning.
2. The evening. If the reason for the trip is a show on Fort Road, the bed is in the same building.
3. The train. The station is next door, so a day downtown does not depend on the car.

6.2.5Why some should not

If you want to walk out of the hotel into restaurants, galleries and the river valley, Fort Road is the wrong base. The area around the hotel is a mix of residential streets and light industry, and most evening options are inside the building itself. Chapter 7 describes the neighbourhood honestly.

For hotel details, use the official site; for transit, the City of Edmonton's ETS pages.Official site: cnty.com/edmonton ↗