Beautiful surprise to us! We were visiting and knew nothing of Ottawa. It is a relatively clean and…read moresafe. The people are very nice and French is primary spoken but English speaking. Visitors are made to feel very welcomed. The canals and waterways are stunning and Parliament Hill is an absolute must to visit. Summer time changing of the guard is a great experience and has to be on your list to watch. There are free tours of the Parliament buildings. I highly suggest doing this. It is a delightful city with boat tours, walking tours and interesting history.

Ottawa is the capital of Canada and is located in Southeastern Ontario on the Ottawa River. The…read morecity is famous for its grand Victorian architecture of Parliament Hill. We stayed at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, a historic 1912 French Gothic Revival hotel situated adjacent to Parliament Hill. It was so easy to walk to many sites in Ottawa. We took a river boat tour on the Rideau Canal. We shopped and dined at restaurants in ByWard Market. We enjoyed the National Gallery of Canada. We learned so much at the Royal Canadian Mint and we explored Parliament Hill. It was a nice little trip.

Beautiful building inside and out. So much history and paintings inside of past prime ministers…read moreand their cabinet members. The Parliament has several artifacts and memorabilia and the fallen soldiers memorials with an eternal flame outside the building. There's also a River cruise beside to go around it.

Parliament Hill in Ottawa is an amazing place full of national history, gorgeous architecture,…read morepleasant walkways, numerous statues and monuments, well-maintained landscaping, and incredible views of the Ottawa River and beyond. I really enjoyed walking around to see this beautiful place in person. I would have stayed longer but it was getting dark. I did not enter any of the buildings and am unsure how many are open to the public. If any are, I would assume there is some kind of security protocol for safety. The Parliament Building itself is currently under renovations, so much of the outside is covered with a temporary facade. Next time, I need to schedule a longer stay to enjoy and appreciate more of what Ottawa has to offer.

Commenting as a tourist, I was able to go there even though it's being renovated (will be complete…read moreby 2032, apparently). You can even go into a legislative session (need to bring a governmental ID and pass a security check) to see parliamentary procedures and democracy in action. Definitely worth checking out!

The place that runs Canada. The parliament building, modeled after the Big Ben in London, has an…read moreamazing site. Currently it's going through some renovations, so two gigantic cranes are towering over the building. Very popular site with tourists. There are huge boards that provide details of the building and the government. Visitors can the building too but we saw a long line. Lots of law enforcement officers in the area to keep everything safe and in order.

Canada Day is always celebrated in my family. We have a lot of friends and family living in Canada…read more Most of them live in Toronto. We definitely share our love of hockey and go to each other's games as much as possible. I also have my dearest Yelp friend Jasmine in Vancouver! I have a recent Yelp friend in Toronto too. I feel a special bond with them all. So keep an eye on the calendar and when Canada Day arrives find a way to celebrate like I do!

Happy Canada Day to my northern neighbors! I haven't made it to Canada this year for the…read morefestivities but I have happy memories of a long weekend in Montreal when I got to celebrate Canada Day with fireworks, poutine, smoked meat and vague French accents. Canada is one of three countries that make up North America, the others being the United States and México. Canada was granted independence from the United Kingdom on July 1 1867 as part of the formation of the Dominion of Canada though the term has faded as part of post-colonial nationalism. And that's about all I know about Canadian history. Sorry, friends. We just don't teach it much (or much of anything outside America) in American schools. I've been all about (aboot?) your wonderful nation though I have way more to explore. Only around 240 reviews across six of your ten provinces. I'll do better, I promise! https://www.yelp.com/collection/Gxf6xvx-hAJmXl4V_7f3gw/ [Review 19963 overall - 96 in Ontario - 937 of 2023.]

I visited with family during one of their Free Thursday evenings (5-8pm) over the summer last year…read more I was a bit shocked that it was not as busy as I thought, especially during their free Thrusday evenings. The museum is pretty large. There was a lot of beautiful art and exhibits. A few exhibits had some sort of interactive function (like interactive screens and screens to flip through info). Depending on your vacation schedule and free time, you may not be able to see everything in a couple of hours.

Amazing art museum! From the spider outside to the massive amounts of artwork especially Canadian,…read moreQuebecois, Native, and First Nations artwork and the historic Catholic chapel inside it is totally with a visit.

The Oscar Peterson Statue is popular with tourists, who I often see snapping pictures of themselves…read moresitting on the piano bench next to the jazz legend. Oscar Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist. His statue sits by the National Arts Centre at Elgin St and Albert St. It was commissioned by Canadian artist Ruth Abernethy and was unveiled in 2010. The statue is of Oscar Peterson sitting by his piano. It is life-size. There are speakers by the statue that play his music. It's a beautiful work of art that commemorates a most talented musician.

Oscar Peterson was incredibly successful. He was a legendary pianist, recording artist, and…read morecomposer. If you're downtown, around the National Arts Centre, you should definitely stop by his memorial statue and take a look, if you haven't already. Thanks to great fundraising efforts, this bronze statue of the late Canadian jazz icon was created by sculptor Ruth Abernathy and unveiled by the Queen on June 30th as a part of Ottawa's Canada Day celebrations just this year. The sculpture is outside and has a grand piano, which is attached to the NAC building, and a bench with Oscar Peterson sitting on it, turned away from the piano. He has a big smile on his face and looks very jolly. There's even room on the bench to sit beside him and take pictures, which you'll often find people doing.

When I was heading back home from my trip to Ottawa in November 2015, I wanted some bagels and a…read moresnack to keep me content during my drive. I stopped by Kettleman's and got my onion bagels, and snacked on a chocolate puff as I drove home. It took me this trip to realize that I had stopped by the Kettleman's location in The Glebe. I have been here. I just didn't know it! Earlier this month, I got an extensive tour of The Glebe (thanks, Jennifer!). I learned that glebe, the word, means church lands. It was originally known as the glebe lands of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. How fascinating! The Glebe reminds me of Osborne Village in Winnipeg. There are a ton of eclectic, unique stores. You can walk for hours, exploring various stores and stopping for a bite to eat or a drink as you continue leisurely checking out everything. Parking can be a challenge. I remember parking in a lot where construction is happening next to Kettleman's these days. I parked on a residential street this time around and walked over to check out 613flea. Even though it was a three-hour parking limit, I exceeded it by nearly an hour (oops). Luckily, the parking police were probably consuming a baked good in the area somewhere and I was okay. The residential part of this area felt great to walk through. There is a sense of community, with folks being friendly and smiling as you pass by them. This area has a nice, safe vibe. I need to return and explore some more. (297)

Ok folks, I'm trying to make it through some more Ottawa Local Flavour. Today it's The Glebe. The…read moreGlebe is a very eclectic neighbourhood. Technically I think it spans from Highway 417 to the north, to the Rideau Canal to the south and east, and then Bronson Ave to the west. However, the action really is along Bank St from about Glebe Ave to Lansdowne Park. There are a variety of businesses in the Glebe that range from kitchen supply stores, to specialty paper stores, to a compounding pharmacy (called The Glebe Apothecary - sounds a bit archaic yet cool, huh?). There are also lots of restaurants, cafés, and bakeries. It's considered a well-heeled neighbourhood, so prices are set accordingly. It's no surprise that The Glebe is home to Ottawa's only Whole Foods, and only Sporting Life. Since The Glebe is an old neighbourhood, houses are mostly very old and large, but some have been torn down and newer in-fill construction have been erected. Walking around, you will see lots of "book sharing structures" that people built and put on their lawns. They are like mini libraries. Very cute. Yay, literacy! The Glebe is home to the Great Glebe Garage Sale which is always the fourth Saturday in May (rain or shine) and it's been going on every year since 1986! Glebe residents pretty much sell things from their lawns, driveways, or porches. I've heard of people who don't live in The Glebe renting people's driveways/lawns in The Glebe to sell their stuff because the event attracts so many potential buyers. I hate crowds, traffic, and getting up early, so I have never been to this famous event, but apparently it's awesome (if you like garage sales). At the northern part of The Glebe, there's a park called Central Park which is quite pretty. You'll often see couples taking wedding or engagement photos there. Central Park is also where The New Art Festival takes place every June (it used to be called Art in the Park from 1992-2008). It's essentially an outdoor art exhibit that features artists from across Canada. The art is in all media - paints, woods, ceramics, metals, textiles, photographs, etc. This I have been to, and it's cool. Parking is a bit of a pain in this area. There are some paid parking lots and street parking is available but difficult to find. Read the parking signs carefully, folks, because some places are limited to 1 hour, others 2 hours, and others 3 hours, and there are limitations depending on day of the week and time of the day. Each street is different, and some stretches of the same street are different. Parking enforcement are usually out in full force (I see them often when I'm in the area) and ready to ticket you for parking infractions. If you don't want to deal with parking, there are several buses that run along Bank Street. Overall, a charming and eclectic part of town with some interesting shops, good restaurants, and pretty parks.

The Ottawa River Pathway is a pedestrian and bicycle path along the Ottawa River. The scenery is…read morevery beautiful year-round, but especially in the autumn. The pathway is about 30km, but you can get on and off at certain points, so you definitely don't have to do the entire length. It's fully paved and not particularly hilly. Just watch out for goose poop along certain parts of the path during certain times of the year, lol. Goose poop aside, the Ottawa River Pathway is beautiful. It's great for getting some exercise, be it cycling, rollerblading, jogging, Nordic walking, power walking, or even taking a leisurely stroll, while admiring nature. Sunsets along certain parts of the Pathway are especially breathtaking.

This is a great little escape for the government workers in Tunney's pasture, to break away from…read moretheir computers for a few minutes of fresh air and R&R while they come outside for lunch or a walk or bike ride along the river. Be careful of the goose droppings on the grass, though. The cyclists using this path would rather the pedestrians walked on the grass, and the walkers would prefer if the cyclists used the grass! All of us are avoiding the droppings left by the Canada Geese that frequent this area. Also, look for the man who builds Inukshuk (if I've spelled that right?) For many years now, a man has been building amazing statues out of the rocks at the shoreline - they rocks balance on each other at seemingly impossible angles, threatening to drop at any moment, but seem to keep their balance! There was an article about him several years ago in the Canadian Geographic. It's been a pleasure to watch him work, and he's become something of a tourist attraction. It's May now, and I haven't seen him there yet this year, but maybe the water's too cold yet. Maybe he begins this work after the Victoria Day weekend.