The staff here is helpful, and the lines go fairly quickly - it gets quite busy here. Driver…read moreLicense and Health Card renewals can be done here, now that they are linked (and the photos are equally as bad!) You can also get fire permits here; $13.00 to the end of the year. Meant to get it earlier but it wouldn't have mattered with all the rain we've been getting this year. At least we should be able to burn this year as opposed to last year's drought. I'm ready with the marshmallows!!

I went at 3:30 on a Thursday afternoon and was in and out in a half hour so that was good. You just…read morehave to walk up to the counter at 1 or 2 to get a number. This isn't clear so I asked the security guard and as I was waiting almost everyone else who walked in asked also.

Since I live right pretty well on the border of Rockcliffe Park, I often go walking there. It is…read morereally nice to walk by all the different residences of ambassadors. Not only are the houses huge, but they seem to have lots of character of the countries that they represent. People in the neighbourhood are always friendly and greet eachother when passing. There are always plenty of people out walking their dogs, cycling and jogging. The neighbourhood is really safe and I have gone walking at night on several occasions without any problems.

I am writing this review in regards to the cycling available along the rockcliffe parkway, which…read moreruns through the park. This is a wonderful route to follow, especially if you can find a time when it is not busy with cars. I went out on March 7th around 1pm, and it was lovely. The air was crisp, and there were no cars. The view along the river is breathtaking, and offers several opportunities to venture off the road and shore. The whole parkway is about 22km one-way, and there seemed to be a gentle slope. The actual parkway road is decent, however the surround streets you use to access it are ridden with potholes. I would suggest bringing your bike to one of the parking lots in the park and setting out from there. I am sure it can only get lovelier as the weather gets warmer, and the festivals and tourists dots the landscape. From my understanding the parkway is heavily used by cyclists in the summer, this is comforting. Also, I found drivers passing me on the road gave me a lot of room. I will definitely keep riding this route, and return once the snow clears to explore the park! The only downside to cycling, is the actual parkway is not very long. You could do the stretch multiple times but your passing the same scenery which is boring. Once the parkway ends the roads get considerably more busy.

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.

Local road and pedestrian bridge connecting Ottawa ON with Gatineau QB. Located right in downtown…read more Great view of Parliament Hill and the History Museum. Currently closed to cars for construction.

The purpose of Library and Archives Canada is to preserve and display various pieces of Canadian…read moreheritage, such as art, music, archival records and books. There are many interesting events constantly being offered at this building, often for very cheap. However, the reason I'm reviewing this government building is to reveal one of my favourite offerings that perhaps more people could benefit from. The Library and Archives often runs film festivals, usually focusing on films from specific countries. It's even less known that even when they don't have a festival running, the LAC often screens foreign and Canadian films and docs. Admission is almost always cheap. Keep an eye on their event listings through the above website link.

I came here for a Architecture lecture in the library. The place itself is beautiful and…read morewell-maintained, with a lot of white as part of the décor. Washrooms are clean, there is always security on site, and the models and art on the walls are beautiful as well.

Nice place overall. Not a welcoming entrance, but once you're past that it's very welcoming. Very…read moremuch a "find it for yourself" feel, rather than help you find what you need. However I'm sure if you ask, you'll be helped. Incredibly quiet, especially for the number of people in the building. Every floor is silent. There's big open seating areas as well as many computers and chromebooks to loan (in library only).

This library is huge! I used to love coming here as a child for storytelling in the children's…read moresection. Now, as an adult, it's kind of like a candy store for those that love to read. They have 3 levels of pretty much any kind of reading and research materials that you would need, including maps, academic journals, public records, dictionaries, encyclopedias, historical/special collections, fiction/non-fiction, children's books, comics, and audio tapes/CDs and videos. There is plenty of tables and seating for reading and studying, computer stations for Internet browsing and catalogue searching, and even a small coffee and tea shop with very reasonable prices. The library is fully accessible and easy to navigate around, and they have the most helpful staff. The 24-hour book drop and the fact that they take Interac are extremely convenient. The only problem I ran into was trying to get a library card. They have separate desks just to sign up for a library card, but they wouldn't let me because my ID didn't have an Ottawa address on it. I had just moved here and they were asking me for utility bills or a tenant's agreement, which, of course, I didn't have on-hand. So I decided to just sit and read inside the library, and before I knew it, I ended up spending hours there!

This government research facility is located at Ottawa airport. They conduct human factor testing…read morewith mock airport terminal and aircraft cabin setups that feature high tech air and sound simulation. They can even perform pathogen testing to understand distribution and disbursement patterns. They have a hangar full of experimental aircraft that are used for atmospheric research, icing research, hybrid electric propulsion and much more.