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Capital city of Canada
Photo: Allice Hunter, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ottawa is Canada's capital. With over a million citizens, it is Canada's fourth-largest city, and Ontario's second-largest city. Visitors often come to Ottawa to see Parliament Hill and Canada's national museums, but the city also has much shopping, many restaurants, and lively nightlife.
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A collection of historic and current currencies from Canada and around the world, history of Bank of Canada and the application of interest rate in the society and economy.
A small museum at the foot of Parliament Hill with a focus on Ottawa's early history.
A working animal farm in the city. You can visit animal barns, see various demonstrations and exhibitions, and ride on a horse-drawn wagon. The museum also has a playground and picnic area. It is very popular with young children and a welcome change of pace for kids who have seen enough history after visiting some of the other sights.
Former RCAF base with civilian and military aircraft ranging from pre-World War I to modern, including 1920s-1940s bush planes, war planes from both World Wars and the Cold War, surviving components of the 1950s' Avro Arrow interceptor and Space Shuttle Endeavor's Canadarm, a Canadian-built robotic arm. Guided tours, boutique.
Galleries of fossils, mammals, birds and geology among others. Free admission Thursdays after 4PM and all day Canada Day (July 1st).
The museum presents Canada's involvement in armed conflict beginning with battles between the French and British, through to the World Wars, Korea, and the country's current involvement in NATO and UN operations.
Art exhibitions and educational events to explore and activate the ideas that shape contemporary society.
A museum village featuring buildings from the early 20th century including a railway station.
Built to protect the government from nuclear attack, this once-secret bunker is now a museum and National Historic Site of Canada. "Diefenbunker" is a play on "Diefenbaker", the Canadian prime minister in the 1950s who authorized the construction of the facility. In addition to preserving and promoting Canada's Cold War history, the museum offers a variety of visitor programs and services. You can learn, play or shop as you discover the bunker's secrets and relive the experience of the Cold War. Guided tours by reservation only. If you do not have access to a vehicle and are willing to do a 50 minute bus ride plus pay a $30 taxi, you can # take the OcTranpo #95 or #97; # Transfer to the #93 at Lincoln Fields; # Get off at the Legget / Ad. 515 stop; # Walk 3 minutes to Brookstreet Hotel; # Take a taxi to the Diefenbunker.
1878 house that is the former residence of two Canadian prime ministers: Sir Wilfrid Laurier (for whom the house is named) and William Lyon Mackenzie King.
Photography, traditional and modern art from Canadian and international artists. Housed inside a glass building with a giant spider structure on the outside.
Several displays are popular with children, including massive locomotives inside the building and electricity demonstrations. Re-opened on November 17, 2017, after years of renovations because of a mould problem, this museum is even more family-friendly than it was before its forced closure.
Municipal art gallery.
Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Replacing the city's former Ottawa Fury FC is this club owned by Spanish soccer giants Atlético Madrid. Unlike Fury FC, which played at the second level of US soccer (the USL Championship), Atlético Ottawa plays in the domestic Canadian Premier League.
Rugby Canada Super League
Canadian Football League (CFL)
National Hockey League (NHL)
Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Shares an arena with the Ottawa 67's.
Downtown park, designated as a National Historic Site of Canada, featuring a fountain, totem pole, statues.
A quiet place to watch the sun set, or to take photos of Parliament Hill, the National Gallery, the Museum of History, and the Royal Canadian Mint from angles that don't usually end up in the tourist brochures. Kiwekì (pronounced key-WHECK-ee) Point is also home to a statue of Samuel de Champlain, and the Astrolabe Theatre (one of the better places to watch the fireworks from on July 1). As of May 2025, the point is wheelchair-accessible.
Strathcona Park is at the eastern end of the Sandy Hill neighbourhood, and is the centrepiece of "Embassy Row". Be sure to see the Lord Strathcona Fountain at the park's north end, and Stephen Brathwaite's play structure (which looks like a ruined building in miniature) in the middle of the park.
Located adjacent to Dows Lake, where you can rent boats, it features the Festival of Tulips in May. In summer, there are a number of flower beds with flowers arranged by colour in attractive patterns.
Picturesque lock station within a park along the Rideau Canal. One could walk across the locks and continue north to Dows Lake near Carling O-Train station, or northwest to the Canada Agriculture Museum.
The official residence of His Majesty King Charles III and his representative the Governor General of Canada. The grounds and the residence are open to the public for tours. Reservations are recommended during the low season (September 1 - April 30).
Canada's commemorative and collectable coinage is minted here (circulation coinage is minted in Winnipeg), as were the medals for the 2010 Olympics. Tours are available, and there is no charge if you only want to visit the boutique.
Canada's highest court and the best example in Ottawa of Art Deco architecture. Its marble Grand Entrance Hall is particularly impressive. The visit includes a tour in the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada hearing room. The visits last about 30 minutes and are provided by law students hired at the Court. The Court is a 5-minute walk from Parliament. Tours are offered in French on the half hour and in English on the hour. No reservations are needed between May 1 and August 30. Visitor reservations are required between September 1 to April 30.
The official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada. While you cannot enter the building, you can look through the fence from the outside.
Also provides a major venue for dance and orchestral performance.
GCTC
A more intimate jazz and blues venue, away from Downtown's beaten path.
When the temperatures are at their coldest, go skating on the largest outdoor skating rink in the world, the Rideau Canal. Skates, sleighs and ice "tricycles" can be rented, and refreshments purchased from vendors right on the ice. This is also a great place to enjoy a "BeaverTail" (see the listing under "Eat"). Rest areas with heated changerooms, washrooms, firepits, picnic tables, snacks and warm drinks are on the ice at various points. At the end of the boating season, the canal is drained, stairs, chalets, and temporary structures lifed in, and the water level raised just enough to provide .3 m of ice thickness. The ice surface is at the bottom of the canal, so it can only be accessed where stairs or ramps have been installed. Professinonal crews plow snow, fill cracks, and maintain the ice surface around the clock as soon as the ice is thick enough. The "skateway" can stretch for 7.8 km from the locks next to Parliament Hill to Carleton University, though some sections may be closed if ice conditions are too poor. It's possible to walk along the skateway if you want to visit a fire pit or snack bar. The ice surface is open 24 hours every day, but the vendors and amenities close in the evening. The 2023 season was cancelled due to high temperatures.
The city's trail system serves as an excellent cross-country ski trail system. The city-run ski centre at Mooney's Bay Park is a good starting point if you want classic cross country or skate skiing lessons or need to rent equipment. Trails along the Ottawa River (the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail or Britannia Winter Trail, Rideau River (the Rideau Winter Trail) are other public and scenic routes that are groomed and maintained by volunteers.
For about two weeks each February, Winterlude (French: Bal de Neige) is the national capital's annual winter festival featuring ice carving and snow sculptures. The festival is spread throughout both Ottawa and Gatineau. Sparks Street is home to the ice-carving competition and public art installations. The Byward Market hosts food experiences, winter activities, and additional locations for interactive art. Other locations throughout the city offer special events throughout the festival, focusing on family activities, Indigenous culture, and the LGBT community. Some museums offer special programming during the festival. The snow playground, with tubing, ziplining, slides and obstacles courses is in Gatineau.
In early spring (typically peaking in March), when the daytime temperatures are above freezing and night temperatures are below freezing, consider visiting a sugarbush (or sugar shack) for fresh maple syrup, tours of orchards, and demonstrations of the maple syrup boiling process. Taffy on snow is a sugary treat made with freshly boiled maple syrup on fresh snow. There are many to choose from on farms in the countryside. Maple products are also sold at vendors in the Byward Market, and some bars will serve seasonal maple-infused craft beers from local breweries. Ontario's sugar shacks focus less on the culinary aspects of maple syrup than the Cabanes à Sucre found in Quebec, where you could expect a feast of hearty dishes alongside the season's syrup harvest.
The Vanier Museopark's "Sugar Shack" offers the sugarbush experience without needing to leave the city. Reservations can be made at the website.
During the Second World War, the Government of Canada sheltered exiled members of the Dutch Royal Family in Ottawa, and even declared part of the Ottawa Hospital as "extraterritorial" so that Princess Margriet of the Netherlands would not be born a British citizen (making her ineligible for the throne of the Netherlands). After the end of the war and every year since, the Dutch royal family has sent thousands of tulip bulbs in gratitude. Each May, they blossom into a spring bonanza of flowering bulbs, and a concert series features well-known Canadian rock and other popular music groups. The festival activities focus on Commissioner's Park, but over a million tulips bloom in public gardens in parks throughout the city.
Known as the IFFO, occurs for 12 days in March and showcases a selection of contemporary Canadian and international films.
Occurs in late March for two days and showcases a selection of African and Afro-diasporic films.
In late June.
In summer, one of the largest in the world.
Also in summer: The largest blues festival in Canada. It also features rock, pop and world music, and attracts visitors from Atlantic Canada and New England.
Another summer offering with theatre performances.
In June, on Preston Street.
Celebrate Canada's birthday in Ottawa on July 1. While the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings is being renovated, the official spot to gather on Canada Day is Major's Hill Park. As of 2022, the events have been moved to LeBreton Flats Park.
Ottawa's annual LGBT pride festival, taking place at Somerset Village (Bank & Somerset), the core of Ottawa's LGBT community.
One of the largest animation festivals in the world, the OIAF is held in September.
During the summer months, a free weekly yoga class is offered on Parliament Hill most Wednesdays beginning at noon. The class is very popular—sometimes attracting more than a thousand people—so it's recommended to arrive a bit early to claim a spot on the grass. Yoga mat recommended but optional; bring your own.
Doors Open Ottawa, the second-largest Doors Open architectural event in North America, takes place during the first weekend in June. Over 100 buildings (many of which are normally closed to the public, such as embassies, official residences, museum storage buildings, and city infrastructure facilities) open their doors to the public, offering free admission to part or all of the premises. Most participating buildings also allow photography. While the event takes place Saturday and Sunday from 10AM to 4PM, not all buildings are open both days. It is a hybrid event, with virtual and physical visits. Reservations required at some participating buildings (including the US Embassy).
An annual festival of free neighbourhood walking tours organized by volunteers. Jane's Walk is a pedestrian-focused event that improves urban literacy by offering insights into local history, planning, design, and civic engagement through the simple act of walking and observing. They are a lot of fun and you will hear stories that you won't find in any guide book.
Try the tasty BeaverTail, a fried-dough pastry associated with Ottawa, although a number of places claim to have created it. It's available in sweet and savoury versions, topped with cinnamon, sugar, icing sugar, etc. In the winter, many places will offer it on the canal. During the summer, the only places downtown to offer it are in the Byward Market on George St., and a small counter in a corner of the Canadian Museum of History. There are a variety of toppings and the taste of the beaver tail stands out more with the classic sugar & cinnamon. However, the locals' favourite is the Killaloe Sunrise, a topping of cinnamon sugar and lemon juice.
A good little Mexican canteen. It serves up mains, zippy margaritas, and drinks imported from Mexico.
A fantastic little Italian specialty market, Nicastro's is a contender for the city's best $5 sandwiches, featuring amazing bread (esp. the focaccia) usually baked on the premises. The sit-down lunch kitchen is also well worth a visit.
This little deli tucked away in Little Italy, a secret known to many locals, is famous for the best and freshest deli sandwiches in the city for $5 (taxes included). During the week the lineup can stretch outside the packed little store, but they are arguably the fastest sandwich makers anywhere so don't worry about a long wait. There is also another newer location run by the family at Meadowlands Drive and Fisher Avenue.
A popular 24-hour diner. One of its specialties is the ESD (Elgin Street Diner) Poutine (though true Quebecers should probably abstain). Generally, poutine is French fries, served with cheese curds and gravy on top; they have several versions including the addition of caramelized onions and bacon, Montreal smoked meat, Philly steak, a four cheese blend or Chili. The substitution of mashed potatoes fried with onions and seasoning (called their home fries), or onion rings instead of regular French fries is also an option. Expect the adventure to set you back $16–21 depending on toppings. The diner's hamburgers/cheeseburgers are significantly better than typical fast food fare, and breakfast is served 24/7 365 days a year with no exception. The breakfast menu includes Kettleman's bagels.
A one-of-a-kind family-run Burmese restaurant with cheap lunch specials where you can get an appetizer, main course and a drink for about $10! Try the fish noodle soup (mohingha), chicken curry or eggplant curry. A real hidden gem.
El Furniture Warehouse
Warehouse, in the heart of Byward Market, has a sidewalk patio and a roof patio. Inexpensive meals are available. Busy every day of the week, especially after 8PM when it is mostly a bar which may have a DJ.
Coconut Lagoon serves Kerala cuisine, subtly different from other South Indian styles (although people kept asking for Butter Chicken so it's on the menu as well). The restaurant's executive chef and owner Joe Thottungal took the silver medal at the Canadian Culinary Championships in 2017, and the gold medal at the Gold Medal Plates Culinary Competition 2016. There are vegan-friendly dishes on the menu. The restaurant is re-opening in August 2022.
The best milk-shakes are found at Zak's, a 24-hour diner in the Byward Market. They're really good, made with ice-cream, and for the $6.99 they cost you get a large glass full plus the shaker with what didn't fit in the glass. Other dishes are quite good, with a "more calories for your money" attitude (as illustrated by the massive amount of milkshake served), which is nicely honest about fast food; however it may seem a bit expensive as the burgers start at $14.49 and if you add on the paid extras you can easily get in excess of $19. Late on week-end nights (2-3AM), it's packed as people go for their after-bar poutine. There are two additional locations on Elgin Street and in Kanata.
Traditional Chinese noodle shop with hand pulled noodles in warm rich broth.
Has a great patio in the summer and delicious food year-round. Expect to pay more than $25 for an entree.
Italian food
Hard to argue that these are not the best burgers around. The selection is top notch and toppings are bountiful. Also served are delicious onion rings, milk shakes and cold beer, all in a funky industrial decor. Choose your burger from the traditional beef, elk, vegetarian, or other options. Expect to pay $20 or more for a burger with sides, and not to regret it. They're becoming an Ontario-wide chain, but Ottawa is where the Works started, and where they have their largest market penetration (seven locations as of January 2017). There are three locations where tourists in Ottawa might stumble across them; these are the ones listed below.
If you're looking for Mexican cuisine (not Tex-Mex or Cal-Mex) in Ottawa, they're worth the drive out of downtown. La Bonita is a small restaurant - while you don't need to make reservations, they're recommended during busy hours.
Mexican restaurant (not Tex-Mex or Cal-Mex)
Excellent modern restaurant with a variety of tastes centred on locally available foods. Also features an extensive wine list.
E18hteen
An upscale, modern restaurant and bar located in a renovated 19th century heritage building. It is the place to see and be seen.
At Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute is a French restaurant with a five-diamond rating from CAA/AAA that is considered among the very best in the city.
A small second-floor walk-up in Westboro, the Wellington Gastropub changes its menu daily and has over a dozen craft and microbrewery beers on tap.
French-inspired restaurant that uses local ingredients. Great wines and creative cocktails. Gitanes also has sister restaurant across the street, Gitanes Burger, with amazing burgers.
offers a simple vegan buffet. The best cheap eats in town. Operated by ISCKON (Hare Krishna movement).
At offers a vegetarian and vegan buffet and is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Ottawa. It offers private and communal tables.
Hip restaurant serving vegetarian and vegan food. Wraps, burgers, rice bowls, salads. Bar offers juice, beer, wine. Reservations only for parties of 6 or more. Second location in Centretown at 340 Elgin Street.
A microbrewery with two locations. Excellent beer at a good price with a very tasty and well priced menu.
An Irish/Italian pub with hundreds of bottled beers listed in its "Beer Bible", especially Belgian. Decent pizza and pastas, but other places in Little Italy have better; you're going here for the beer, not the food. Intimate faux Medieval/Gothic décor; a bit strange, but the patio is very nice.
Several cozy locations, serving traditional pub food from lunch into the late evening.
Pleasant bistro and bar, serving pub fare including excellent burgers and fries. A good selection of microbrew beers.
Irish Village, Peter Devine's
Ottawa's largest pub complex, forming a maze of busy bars and restaurants. Including the eponymous Irish Village (loud, lots of live music) and The Heart and Crown. The fish and chips has a generous serving of fish.
Simple beers and some pool: picture your friend's basement apartment, even serving 40s of beer (a 40-ounce glass).
They have a very popular "bois night" on Thursday that attracts lots of people. Drag shows on Friday and Saturday nights.
Multi-story bar with live music throughout the week. Dedicated regulars mingle with local and well-known names in the jazz and blues scene.
Craft beers, cocktails, and creative sangria with a seasonal locally sourced menu for snacks and meals.
A small but cozy sports bar and pub located next to the Mayfair Theatre. Expect good pub fare, a nice ambiance and good selection of beers.
Brewery and restaurant, with an extensive kitchen menu and full bar
Pub with weekend brunch, and a busy calendar of music and events throughout the week.
Lively Irish pub. Beautiful architecture with impressive food selection.
British pub with a good variety of food selections and inexpensive draught beer.
Great microbrews, wide Scotch selection, bohemian/hipster feel.
A restaurant during the day, pumping club/lounge at night. The Standard is popular Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with a different style of music each night. Friday is excellent old-school and modern hip-hop/R&B while Saturday is a little of everything. Excellent beer tap selection and daily drink specials.
A clean, modern hostel located downtown, offering only private rooms. Included for use is a mini-kitchen (no stove), back patio with lounge chairs, common room with a TV, computer (with internet), free WiFi, plush bed linens, lockers and three shared bathrooms. The check-in desk is at The Swiss Hotel, around the corner at 89 Daly Ave.
Ottawa Hostel
Part of Backpackers Hostels Canada, includes kitchen, free and fast WiFi and free coffee/tea. In a converted house into hostel, in the Byward market block and downtown. The staff and the atmosphere are very friendly.
From May to August, university housing is offered as hotel-like guest rooms in one of its newer housing complexes.
Well-preserved Victorian architecture packed with character. Free parking and WiFi.
Run by an Australian expat, this 2-room B&B gets praise for fresh-cooked breakfast. Free Wifi. Limited parking available, ask.
A B&B hotel in the picturesque Byward Market with refrigerators, microwaves, private balconies.
Pet friendly downtown suite-style accommodations. Rooms provide small kitchens and seating areas. Hotel offers fitness center with pool and sauna.
Complimentary internet access and parking. 395 guest rooms, each with wet bar. Indoor pool, whirlpool, 24-hour exercise room, and business center. Bistro and meeting facilities on-site.
formerly Novotel Hotel
Modern hotel with an emphasis on energy conservation. Modern restaurant and banquet facilities. This location offers internet access.
Comfortable rooms in a partially-renovated hotel tower. On-site restaurant, fitness, and concierge services.
A charming, cozy, 22-room hotel located in the heart of Ottawa. The Inn was built in 1872 from limestone in a 19th-century Vernacular Classical Revival. Swiss Hotel offers traditional Swiss hospitality with modern comfort. Free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, rooms are equipped with iPads. Optional healthy buffet breakfast is offered daily with Bircher-Muesli and fresh ground Swiss espresso.
Sleek 1967 modernist tower on the quieter west side of downtown. Includes wireless Internet. Fitness center has a large pool and sauna. Underground parking available on-site at an additional cost of $26/day.
Owned by Hyatt. Spacious, pet friendly rooms, with a 24-hour fitness center.
A trendy boutique hotel with prices to match its style.
Fairmont Chateau Laurier
The city's grand old hotel: its oldest and most famous luxury hotel as well as one of its landmarks. Rooms facing west overlook the Rideau Canal locks and have stellar views of the Parliament buildings. This hotel once housed the offices of CBC Radio in Ottawa and the studio of well-known portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh. Several framed Karsh photographs are hung in the hotel lounge. His (and his wife's) home suite is now available for guests and displays a small sampling of framed prints on the walls. Extra daily charges for parking or Wi-Fi. If you're not staying overnight, you can also experience the hotel's grandeur in one of the bars or restaurants. Traditional afternoon tea is served daily.
Centrally located on Elgin Street across from the National Arts Centre, a stone's throw from Parliament Hill, and one of Ottawa's two classic hotels (the other being the Chateau Laurier). While it has "splurge" rates, most rooms are reasonably priced. Good value, and a Starbucks off the lobby.
The tallest hotel (and briefly the tallest building) in Ottawa, one block from the Parliament Buildings. Features a revolving restaurant, Kids’ Zone, an indoor pool, sauna and fitness center.
This hotel is also connected to the Rideau Centre and the Ottawa Convention Centre by a walkway. It is steps from Parliament Hill and the Byward market and each of the 496 rooms features the ten-layer Heavenly Bed.
Boutique hotel. Has a great view of Parliament Hill. Rooms include full kitchen.
Well-equipped bike rental service. From this central location, pathways along the Rideau Canal are suitable for cycling south or north.
Among other things, this is a farmer's market; in summer, stalls selling fresh produce and flowers line the streets, and maple syrup bought at the farmer's market costs half the price of the same bottle sold at souvenir shops elsewhere in the Byward Market or anywhere else in the city. It is also a craft and tourist market with a range of shops and the city's busiest entertainment district with restaurants, pubs, bars and many street performers. Interesting to see it first during the day (when it's a shopping destination) and then in the evening (when it's a nightlife destination).
A pleasant pedestrian street one block off Parliament Hill; a common tourist thoroughfare for seeing the sights. Along this street you'll find the majority of the tourist shops selling postcards, magnets, and maple syrup. The Astrolabe Gallery, located on this street, is a treasure trove of antique maps and vintage posters. There are several outdoor cafés and restaurants to choose from.
A stretch along Richmond Road in the "near west" of Ottawa from Golden east to Tweedsmuir has become a popular tourism and shopping zone with several outdoor stores (clothing and equipment), restaurants and coffee shops. Notable shops include the Mountain Equipment Coop, lululemon, Starbucks, Bridgehead (fair trade coffee), Kitchenalia, a chocolatier and several others.
Great mix of stores ranging from chain restaurants to specialty shops. District extends from Wellington St to Gladstone Ave.
Wellington West is the commercial district of Hintonburg and Wellington Village, located in the west end between Little Italy and Westboro. It is home to independent businesses in Ottawa, such as boutiques, restaurants and food shops, and local art galleries, as well as the Parkdale Market. Notable shops include Hintonburger, Suzy Q Doughnuts, Elmdale Tavern and several others.
By bus
By train
It is possible to get downtown from the main train station on foot, although it requires a bit of navigation.
By boat
The Ottawa River is navigable to Ottawa from Montréal, but is blocked to the west by rapids in Ottawa-Hull. There are no ferry services to Ottawa.
By car
Ottawa can be reached from Sudbury and North Bay by traveling east on Highway 17 and 417, which are part of the Trans-Canada Highway.
By taxi
Taxis are easy to find downtown; elsewhere, phone for a cab.45, and overall rates are quite high compared to most other North American cities.
By ride hailing
By car
Parking at most attractions is convenient, though on-street parking in downtown areas is at a premium (more expensive than most other cities in North America).
On foot
Ottawa is a great city to explore on foot, though in winter you need good clothes and warm boots to consider it.
By bicycle
Bicycling is one of the best ways to see Ottawa up close. You can cover a lot of ground, stop anywhere to sight-see, and enjoy the ambiance of the city.
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