Ottawa

Canada's capital: the Gothic Revival buildings of Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal (a skateway in winter) and several national museums, with brilliant fall foliage in Gatineau Park.

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, located in eastern Ontario on the south bank of the Ottawa River. Directly across the river is Gatineau, Quebec, and together the two cities form the National Capital Region, where English and French are used side by side. The city is compact, and its main sights cluster around Parliament Hill: Parliament Hill, the Château Laurier, the UNESCO-listed Rideau Canal and the Ottawa Locks, the National Gallery of Canada, Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica and the ByWard Market are all within a 15-minute walk, and across the Alexandra Bridge is the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau. Northeast along Sussex Drive are Rideau Hall, Rideau Falls and the Royal Canadian Mint; to the south, the canal leads to Dow's Lake and the Tulip Festival grounds; farther afield are Gatineau Park, Nordik Spa-Nature, the Diefenbunker Cold War museum and Parc Omega. Every season has its highlights: February brings Winterlude and skating on the canal (in mild winters the number of open days varies); May has the Tulip Festival; late June through August features the Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill, with Canada Day celebrations on July 1; and from late September to mid-October Gatineau Park blazes with fall color. Winter temperatures often drop below −15°C, so bring proper cold-weather gear. Getting there: Ottawa International Airport has flights to Toronto, Vancouver and US cities; the train takes about 4.5 hours from Toronto and about 2 hours from Montreal; in town there's the O-Train light rail and buses, and downtown is easily walkable. Allow 2–3 days, plus a day for Gatineau Park or the surrounding area. Parliament's Centre Block is closed for a long-term renovation, but you can tour the West Block and the Senate of Canada Building; several national museums offer free admission on Thursday evenings.

Top sights

• Parliament Hill – A Gothic Revival parliament complex overlooking the Ottawa River. The Peace Tower is a symbol of Canada, and in summer the lawn hosts Chang…
• Rideau Canal & Ottawa Locks – A World Heritage canal opened in 1832. The eight-step lock staircase beside Parliament Hill is still operated by hand, and in winter the ca…
• National Gallery of Canada – A glass-spired building housing Canada's most complete collection of homegrown art. The giant spider sculpture Maman outside is a city land…
• ByWard Market – An open-air market and dining district dating back to 1826, packed with produce and flower stalls, bars and restaurants from around the wor…
• Canadian Museum of History – A sweeping curved museum across the Ottawa River in Gatineau. Its Grand Hall displays an impressive row of totem poles from the Indigenous…
• Gatineau Park – A 361-square-kilometer forest and lake park beside the capital, with hillsides ablaze with autumn foliage and Champlain Lookout overlooking…
• Rideau Hall – The residence of Canada's Governor General, with 32 hectares of grounds open free of charge, where visitors can join a tour of the state di…
• Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa – Ottawa's oldest church, with twin silver spires and a sky-blue vault dotted with golden stars, and richly carved wooden interior.
• Canadian War Museum – A national military museum housed in an angular metal building that symbolizes the trauma of war, tracing Canadian military history from In…
• Canadian Museum of Nature – A national natural history museum in a castle-like sandstone building, where dinosaur fossils, a blue whale skeleton and Arctic galleries a…
• Canada Aviation and Space Museum – A large aviation museum at Rockcliffe Airport with more than 130 aircraft, including remnants of the Avro Arrow fighter and the Space Shutt…
• Ingenium – Canada Science and Technology Museum – A highly interactive national science and technology museum, with a steam locomotive hall, an illusion kitchen and hands-on experiment area…
• Château Laurier – A castle-style railway hotel opened in 1912, next to Parliament Hill and the canal and nicknamed 'the third building on Parliament Hill.'
• Major's Hill Park – Ottawa's oldest park, on a hill between Parliament Hill and the ByWard Market, with panoramic views of Parliament across the canal.
• Kìwekì Point – A promontory behind the National Gallery reaching into the Ottawa River, with views of Parliament Hill, Alexandra Bridge and the museum acr…
• National War Memorial – A granite arch and bronze sculpture group at the center of Confederation Square, with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front and ceremoni…
• Sparks Street – A century-old pedestrian shopping street south of Parliament Hill, lined with historic buildings, restaurant patios and souvenir shops.
• Bank of Canada Museum – A free interactive museum on money and the economy, showing the evolution of Canadian banknotes and giant stone money, where visitors can e…
• Supreme Court of Canada Building – An Art Deco building on the west side of Parliament Hill with a green copper roof, where visitors can join free tours of the courtroom.
• Rideau Falls – Here the Rideau River splits into two streams and drops from a cliff into the Ottawa River, forming a shape like a 'curtain'; the French wo…
• Royal Canadian Mint – A Gothic Revival castle on Sussex Drive that mints commemorative gold and silver coins and Olympic medals, with tours that show the product…
• Dow's Lake – An artificial lake at the southern end of the Rideau Canal, where canoes, kayaks and pedal boats can be rented in summer. In winter it is t…
• Commissioners Park – The main viewing area of Canada's Tulip Festival, where about 300,000 tulips bloom along the shore of Dow's Lake in May, making it Ottawa's…
• Hog's Back Falls – A stepped waterfall formed where the Rideau River has eroded its rock bed south of the city, beside the canal's Hog's Back locks and a favo…
• Mackenzie King Estate – The summer estate of former Prime Minister Mackenzie King in Gatineau Park, where old architectural fragments moved from various sites have…
• Nordik Spa-Nature – One of North America's largest Nordic-style outdoor hot spring complexes, with hot pools, cold pools and saunas built into the hillside. So…
• Diefenbunker: Canada's Cold War Museum – A four-level underground government bunker built during the Cold War to withstand nuclear war. Visitors can walk through the Prime Minister…
• Parc Omega – A drive-through wildlife park in Montebello, Quebec. Drive through the forest and feed elk and bison from your car window, then see wolves…

Where to eat

• Shawarma Palace – An iconic local shawarma spot opened in 1996, which won the blind taste test at the inaugural Shawarma Festival in 2025.
• BeaverTails (ByWard Market) – BeaverTails fried dough pastries were born in 1978, and their very first stand was in the ByWard Market, making this th…
• Atelier – A famous modern restaurant founded by Chef Marc Lepine in 2008, topping Ottawa's Top 50 list.
• Riviera – A seafood and modern Canadian restaurant on Sparks Street next to Parliament Hill, ranked 8th in Ottawa's Top 50.
• Coconut Lagoon – A famous Kerala restaurant opened in 2004 by Chef Joe Thottungal, with a highly popular lunch buffet.
• Elgin Street Diner – A legendary 24-hour diner opened in 1994, famous for its all-day breakfast and multiple varieties of poutine.

Itineraries

• Classic Eastern Canada by Rail – Travel from Toronto to Quebec City by VIA Rail, connecting Niagara Falls, the Thousand Islands, and historic French-spe…
• Eastern Canada Maple Road Self-Drive Loop – A self-drive grand loop from Toronto, connecting Algonquin, the Laurentians, La Mauricie, and historic French-speaking…
• US & Canada East Grand Loop – A cross-border long-haul route from New York via Washington, D.C., Niagara Falls to Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec City.