[V]

Yeah, our kid's school was out by Chestermere, so it was always nice to head out east to see the mountains. Trust me, I loved the mountains more than most, but I mostly had to leave the city if I wanted to see them. It depended, of course, there are some spots on the Deerfoot that have a glorious view, and the more west you go the better your odds of seeing the mountains, but when you live in the NE, and spend most of your time in the east, you don't see the mountains a whole lot.

Anyways, to answer your question, I can only say for myself that there's way more to do here inside the city, so you're going to get my slant on it. I'm no shill for Edmonton tourism, so I'm sure they have a different take on it. Just like anyone in Edmonton, I start with the river valley, because it really is world class. Back before we had kids my wife and I would go for 8 hour walks along the river, from downtown to Fort Edmonton Park and back, and never feel like we were in the city. Biking, running, snow shoeing, cross country skiing is all amazing in the river valley, and all things I do on a fairly regular basis. I never did that in Calgary becaue it never really feels like you left the city.

It's not just the big acts that don't come to Calgary. Edmonton and area have fantastic little theatres that put on acts that you just can't see in Calgary. When the Montreal Guitar Trio came to town they didn't go to Calgary. They aren't going to sell out the Jack Singer, so they don't seem to have much of another option in Calgary.

I don't remember anything like Hawrelak Park in Calgary. The outdoor skating there is awesome and I go multiple times a year with the kids. They also have an awesome Silver Skate festival every winter that I don't remember seeing rivalled in Calgary.

Speaking of which, the festival scene in Edmonton is awesome, any season. In Calgary you get a bunch of whining about traffic on a lazy Sunday if they try to do something, here they shut down entire portions of downtown for a festival.

The Alberta Art Gallery here is amazing, and I don't think anything in Calgary rivals it. I also don't think Calgary has remotely the quantity or quality of galleries as Edmonton.

Funny, I know AlpineOracle said we're a bunch of blue collar rednecks, but I also think you see significantly more leftist artsy hippy types too. The arts scene here is so good.

The Leg grounds are really nice too, multiple times per year we'll be there wading in the pool or bbq-ing in the park. I don't remember doing that in Calgary.

Anyways, that's my take. I think part of why I didn't do much in the city in Clagary was because the mountains were a big part of my life, so if I did something it was usually in Kananaskis. Man do I miss Kananaskis.