We tried a new tour called Hidden Ottawa. It's Not a haunted tour. It's a history based tour that…read morehighlights things even most locals don't know or have never noticed about the town. Our group were all locals and we all enjoyed the tour and didn't know the majority of what was talked about. Get ready to learn some real colourful stories of Ottawa! I also appreciated the path the tour takes. It's very scenic and uses areas none of us had been before which was also super cool to learn about and made for some amazing photo locations too!

Walking through downtown Ottawa and came across the sign for a ghost tour. They tend to be fun. So…read morewe inquired and wound up taking the 8pm haunted prison tour. Cost me for 2 adults, 2 kids just under 100 cad. Our guide was Hanna and she was excellent. Overall she seemed extremely knowledgeable about the area and added a little theatrical approach to her story telling. It's a short walk to the prison but once inside it's a throw back to 100+ years in the past. Spooky and fun. Not overly scary for my 10 and 7 yo. If I'm ever back in the area I'll definitely be checking out one of their other tours. My kids loved it.

We should go back when COVID is over. We discovered this shop when we attended an event by Small…read morePony Barrel Works. Oddly, this plaza has 2 breweries in it. Maybe we are drinking more now with COVID? That would not surprise me! This outlet is more casual and way smaller than the Big Rig on Iris, but we are very glad to have small businesses join us in the west end of Ottawa. We enjoyed our brief visit to this outlet, ordering sandwiches to eat on the patio. They were good. The shop is small, and I imagine that during non-COVID times, they would offer a small seating area with a few tables (the space would not hold more than a few tables). We will have to try this place again, in less uncertain times.

Wesley Clover Parks has several areas of interest, of which some are: Ian Miller School of…read moreHorsemanship, Ottawa Equestrian Tournaments, Sports Fields, Trails, Campground, Farming, and a Forest School. It's difficult to fully review the "parks" - so this review will focus on the Equestrian Park. The parks have an interesting history - the National Equestrian Park was the first iteration with construction starting in 1974 via a lease of the lands by the City of Ottawa. In 2012, the city gave up the lease. The land use was up in the air for a few years, until a new lease was awarded to Wesley-Clover Foundation - my best guess was in or around 2018. Over the past several years, incremental improvements have been made. Was out there today and it is looking beautiful. The grounds are in great shape, the show rings are beautifully groomed and the cross-country area was gorgeous. Not sure what the riders thought of the course, but from a spectator point of view, I was able to see 80% of the course from my chosen vantage point. (The one draw back to this course is how flat it is - but you can't have everything!) In addition to the grounds improvements, there is now what seems to be a semi-permanent café for special events with typical horse-show foods (coffee, grilled food - like grilled cheese, pastries) - and another Coffee trailer was also on the grounds (with delicious butter tarts by the way), so I hope this trend keeps up. I was there for a Horse Trial, which tends to be lower key than Hunter Jumper, Stadium Jump and Dressage - I can only imagine that more horse-related vendors show up at the bigger shows. Very glad to see such great things happening here.

Around Christmas they hold "Magic of Lights" at Wesley Clover Park. This year it is November 21,…read more2019 - January 4, 2020, every night 5pm-10pm. Magic of Lights is a drive through light display. It's $20-30 a car, depending on day of the week (more expensive on weekends) and method of payment (cheaper if you buy in advance online, more expensive if you pay cash at the entrance). You can also tune into MAJIC 100.3 FM on your radio to hear Christmas music while you drive through the lights show. I did Magic of Lights with my husband and father-in-law. It was fun to do once, but I don't think that I would do it again, especially considering the cost. They had different themes through the display such as fairy tales/nursery rhymes, Nativity scene, the 12 Days of Christmas, Christmas around the world, and a few others. I think its something I would have enjoyed more if I was a kid. I have never been to Wesley Clover Park except for the Magic of Lights. However, the park is a campground. You can also do cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, field sports, and horseback riding there too.

Not recommended to french speakers. It was not a good experience for us. We are a mixed language…read moregroup and specifically wanted a double language tour (it is advertised as such). The guide wants to speak english only and will ask to do so 2 minutes into the tour. The tour is short and very uninformative, mostly jokes about how bad the streets in Quebec are or how lazy the canadian politicians are. The bus is very loud which makes understanding the few informations given a challenge. I can guarantee you any ferry or bus tour i had in my life was better than this.

This is a fun way to see Ottawa. You get a nice overview of sites on land then you head into the…read moreriver which gives you a great view of the city. We had an informative host. It was a fun way to start our visit in Ottawa. Thanks!

Nice ride - very interesting tour- staff were pleasant and helpful. Had a very nice time.read more

Relaxing boat cruise & tour, beautiful view of the Rideau canal, locks & some history of Ottawa…read morefrom a wonderful guide! Overall great experience!

TL;DR/The Short Version: The Business Lounge at the Ottawa…read moreVIA Rail train station has been newly renovated (around 2020) and is much bigger with a few private meeting rooms. The Long Version: This lounge is for VIA Rail passengers travelling VIA 1/Business Class. There's a front desk where you must show them your ticket before entry. This lounge underwent major renovations which started in 2019. I'm not entirely sure when they were completed because my next visit after 2019 was in 2024, lol. I'm pretty sure it didn't take 5 years. Haha. The new lounge is much more spacious, has lots of different set ups when it comes to seating, from desks, to couches, to tables, to even a couple of mall private meeting rooms. They have several Van Houtte coffee dispensers that make coffee, lattes, hot chocolate, etc. They have several varieties of teas, as well as sodas and juices. The only food they have is apples. They have lovely sinks for you to wash your hands near the food area, but no soap (!) Like they didn't have any soap dispensers, not they ran out of soap. Please install some soap dispensers. Luckily they have soap in the washrooms, which are all gender-neutral/unisex and wheelchair accessible. They are all single rooms, not stalls. There are several televisions in the lounge some show the news (with closed captioning) and some show a slideshow of Canadian landscapes. There's also a screen that shows the station's departures. The lounge is big, bright and clean. I like it. My only complaint is lack of soap by the sinks in the food area. Review #30 (2025)

My wife and I took VIA business class across and between Ontario and Quebec four times in early…read moreNovember and it was truly top notch. Spacious seating is way better than plan and even beats Amtrak Acela. They also have great meals with beer, wine, and cocktails. Their staff has been very helpful with helping us and our bags board and inboard the train with our disabilities and my wife got to ride with me for free as my caregiver which made this a great deal. The lounges are very nice as well and provide free coffee, apples, and juice. We even made a new friend as the lady in front of us ok our first ride from Montreal to Ottawa is autistic and recently married like us.

It's difficult planning out the day. You research, make reservations, buy tickets, and do…read moreeverything you can. Then the traffic takes longer than anticipated, you got lost on the way, the card was declined because you forgot to call your credit card company. For some people, these little disasters ruin trips. Me? Just roll with it. For our schedule we wanted to do a canal tour, but it wasn't going to work for itinerary, so we opted for the river cruise instead. I am very glad we had done so. Rolling down the Ottawa river was a welcome break from all the walking, and you get to see these beautiful views of the city from the water that you otherwise would be completely unknown to you, like who really shot JFK. Our guide was a sweet and cheery girl, she enjoyed talking with guests and answering questions. The other staff were quite friendly, the boat was clean, and even had a bar (thank you sweet baby Jesus!) which allowed for my wife and I to enjoy a glass of wine on the river. Definitely recommend.

We took this boat cruise for a birthday adventure. Booking was easy (online) and we didn't check…read morethe reviews in advance. The location was easy to find, and parking (Ottawa City Hall) a piece of cake. The guided tour hit many of the highlights and took maybe 45 minutes. The next 45 minutes was a complete waste of time I.e. no information, no questions answered, nothing but radio silence. Not recommended.