A Few Hours Well Spent: Art, Treats & Hidden Gems in Edmonton

You don’t need a packed itinerary, a full tank of gas, or even an entire day to have a little adventure with your family. Sometimes, a few hours and a handful of great local stops are all you need! Welcome to A Few Hours Well Spent, a new Family Fun Edmonton series dedicated to making the most of those little pockets of time. We’ll be exploring neighbourhoods, attractions, nature, local businesses and hidden gems in Edmonton and beyond, then pairing them together into easy mini-adventures your family can follow.

As someone who genuinely loves playing tourist in my own city and province, outings like these have become one of my favourite ways to spend time with my family, especially when a full day of adventure just isn’t in the cards.

For our first adventure, we spent an afternoon surrounded by art, light, colour, cinnamon buns and a little bit of magic. Our travels took us from downtown Edmonton to the 124 Street District, with four stops that paired together perfectly for a fun and affordable family outing.

⏰ A Few Hours at a Glance

3.5 HOURS · 4 STOPS · 2 EDMONTON AREAS

🎨 A little art
🥮 Something sweet
🔮 A quirky local find
✨ A FREE hidden gem

📍 Downtown Edmonton → 124 Street

🎨 Start with Art at the Art Gallery of Alberta

📍 2 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton

Our afternoon began downtown at the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA), where we went to check out all the current exhibitions and ended up spending much of our visit exploring two favourites: The Light Fantastic and Sports! The Art of Competing.

The Light Fantastic (August 29, 2026 to February 21, 2027) was an especially memorable experience. Filled with light, reflections and fascinating installations, there was something interesting to discover around every corner. Several interactive components gave us the opportunity to do more than simply look at the artwork, including experimenting with light and creating your own colourful projections. We also really enjoyed Sports! The Art of Competing (June 20, 2026 to January 3, 2027), which explores sport through art in a way that felt playful and approachable for families, with a small mini golf setup, jump ropes, and foosball tables.

As a homeschool mom, I’m always drawn to places where learning happens almost accidentally, where we’re having fun, following my son’s interests and suddenly realize how much we’ve explored along the way. This was definitely one of those experiences. Both exhibitions offered plenty of visual and sensory interest, giving him opportunities to interact, experiment and move around rather than simply walking from piece to piece. I love finding spaces where we can follow his curiosity, linger at the things that capture his attention and move along when he’s ready.

Family Fun Tip: Don’t shy away from these kinds of experiences or assume an art gallery has to be a hands-off experience for kids! Look for interactive exhibits (the AGA frequently has them) and take your time. You may be surprised by what captures their attention.

🥮 Next Stop: Something Sweet at Lift Me Up Bakery

📍 10750 124 St, Edmonton

After all that exploring, obviously we needed a snack! We headed toward the 124 Street area (approximately a 10-minute drive from the AGA) and stopped at Lift Me Up Bakery, where the display case made choosing one thing considerably more difficult than anticipated.

We tried one of their epic Caramel Biscoff Cinnamon Buns topped with an abundance of icing, and it was exactly the kind of ridiculously good treat that made me very happy we decided to add an unplanned bakery stop to our afternoon. There were plenty of other beautiful treats tempting us from the display case too, so this is definitely one we’ll need to revisit. For me, finding somewhere local to grab a treat is half the fun of exploring a neighbourhood anyway.

🔮 Discover A Little Magic at Mercurius Curio Shop

📍 12330 106 Ave NW, Edmonton

From there, we continued exploring the area with a short walk down 124 Street until we came across Mercurius Curio Shop. If your family has someone who loves crystals, unusual treasures, sparkly trinkets, or simply browsing somewhere completely different, this is a fun little stop to add to your outing.

My son loves discovering interesting little treasures and adding to his collections, so there was plenty here to catch his attention. He eventually chose a few crystals and stickers along with a cool LED display base for his pillar crystals at home, which immediately became one of his favourite finds of the day. I could’ve happily spent much longer browsing all the unique and beautiful things in the shop myself!

But don’t rush off immediately after shopping! The exterior is part of the experience. We loved the colourful murals and gorgeous outdoor seating tucked alongside the shop. It was one of those little Edmonton spaces that made me stop and appreciate just how much interesting art and character can be found throughout the city — not just inside galleries.

✨ Finish with a FREE Art Experience at The Roxy

📍 10708 124 Street, Edmonton

Our last stop brought us back to art, but in a completely different way.

Inside The Roxy Theatre, the Miller Art Gallery is currently home to Coast to Coast to Coast by Woodland Cree artist Jason Carter (September 10, 2026 to October 18, 2026) — and visiting the gallery is completely FREE! The exhibition brings together colourful paintings depicting animals and Canadian scenery, beautiful soapstone animal carvings and an immersive installation featuring illuminated animals.

The glowing installation was an immediate favourite for us. Walking into the darker space surrounded by colourful illuminated animals felt a little magical, and it was such a fun contrast to the more traditional gallery spaces we’d explored earlier in the day.

I particularly loved that we could end our outing with something this beautiful without adding another admission cost to the day. Finding free experiences like this and pairing them with other nearby attractions is one of my favourite ways to make family outings a little more budget-friendly without making them feel like we’re doing less.

A Few Hours, Very Well Spent

By the time we headed home, we’d experienced two completely different art spaces, played with light, admired murals, supported local businesses, discovered new treasures and eaten a cinnamon bun that was absolutely worth writing about.

And we’d done it all in just a few hours! We headed out at 11:00 a.m. and were home by 2:30 p.m., feeling like we’d packed a whole lot of fun into one memorable little afternoon.

That’s exactly what A Few Hours Well Spent is about.

Family adventures don’t always have to mean elaborate plans, expensive full-day excursions or travelling far from home. Some of my favourite days with my family have been the ones where we choose one place we want to visit, explore what’s nearby and let the day unfold from there.

For this adventure, our itinerary looked like this:

• 11:00 a.m. – Art Gallery of Alberta
• 12:15 p.m. – Lift Me Up Bakery
• 12:45 p.m. – Mercurius Curio Shop
• 1:10 p.m. – Miller Art Gallery at The Roxy Theatre

A little art. A really good treat. A few local gems. Some quality time together. And plenty of reasons to fall in love with exploring Edmonton all over again.

Bookmark this itinerary for your next free afternoon, and keep an eye out for the next edition of A Few Hours Well Spent as we share more mini family adventures and local gems in Edmonton and beyond!

We know life gets busy, and finding time for family adventures isn’t always easy. This series is all about making the most of the time you do have, even if it’s just a few hours on an otherwise ordinary afternoon.