Enjoy spectacular Ottawa River views, visit the beautiful Parliament Hill, stroll along the Rideau Canal, and explore famous museums, including the National Gallery, the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Ottawa Art Gallery. Best things to do in Ottawa with kids include Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo, Wild Bird Care Centre, the Royal Canadian Mint and the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal is a long and historically significant waterway that twists through the downtown core of Ottawa. The canal connects the city to major nearby bodies of water, including the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario. The canal itself dates back to 1832 when it was used as a military defense system, but today the canal serves as a year-round recreational attraction.
In warmer months, people walk, bike, or ride on the walkways that line the canal, or boat and paddle through the water itself. In the colder seasons, the river freezes over and transforms into an expansive public ice-skating rink that weaves through the city. Map
Parliament Hill and Buildings
Ottawa’s Parliament Hill is a complex of buildings that plays host to Canada’s federal legislature. The expansive array of striking, neo-Gothic structures sits on the edge of the Ottawa River in the core of central, downtown Ottawa. The buildings, while functioning as the official government body, are open to the public for guided tours that go through the interior of the historical complex and around the lush gardens and monuments that cover the grounds.
Throughout the summer, daily performances of Changing of the Guard occur at Parliament Hill. This elaborate and colorful event, complete with a marching routine, demonstrates Canada’s authentic royal uniforms and is accompanied by a musical performance.
Parliament Hill and Buildings Wellington St, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-992-4793
National Gallery of Canada
Considered one of the premiere art galleries in Canada, the National Gallery of Canada is a prized collection located in downtown Ottawa. The building itself, a massive construction of glass and granite, is recognized for its contribution to Ottawa’s spectacular skyline.
In 2000, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada named the gallery one of the top 500 Canadian buildings built in the last one thousand years.
The gallery interior holds one of the most notable collections of Canadian art, including painting, prints, drawings, modern and contemporary art, sculptures, and photographs. A significant number of American and European works are also on site. The gallery has a series of permanent exhibits and rotating works.
National Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Dr, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-990-1985
Peace Tower
Formally known as the Tower of Victory and Peace, the tower known colloquially as Peace Tower extends over 300 feet high and is a distinctive component of the Ottawa skyline. Situated in the core of Ottawa’s Parliamentary Hill, the Peace Tower contains a focal bell and clock, and it serves as an icon of the country; Peace Tower is even featured on Canada’s twenty-dollar bill.
Peace Tower replaced Victoria Tower, which burned down in 1916 and was rebuilt in the ornate Victorian Gothic style to complement the remaining Parliamentary complex buildings. The tower is considered a memorial to the Canadian soldiers who died during the First World War, and contains extensive symbology, design features, and architectural details depicting Canadian history.
Peace Tower, Wellington St, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-992-4793
Canada Aviation and Space Museum
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum is located at the Ottawa Rockcliffe Airport. Home to a vast array of military and civilian aircraft, the museum’s collection demonstrates an extended period of Canadian aviation history, beginning in the pioneer era, covering both World Wars, and reaching to the present day.
Vintage bush planes from the 1920, 30s, and 40s are a primary attraction, along with military crafts that flew during both World Wars and the Cold War. The most popular attraction is the museum’s exhibit on the Avro Arrow interceptor’s remaining pieces, which date to the 1950s.
The museum also contains a Space Shuttle Endeavor’s Canadarm, the Canadian built robotic arm that was once installed on the International Space Station. Guided tours, interactive exhibits, demonstrations, and films are also available on site.
Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Rockcliffe Airport, 11 Aviation Parkway, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-993-2010
Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada
The Canadian Museum of Nature is a museum of natural history based in Ottawa. The museum provides education and insight into a variety of topics through interactive activities and interpretive, educational tours. Information about temporary, visiting, and rotating exhibits are available on the website calendar.
Permanent exhibits include skeletons and demonstrations on dinosaurs in the Talisman Energy Fossil Gallery, while the Vale Earth Gallery depicts geological forces, the rocks and minerals that shape the planet, and the changes they underwent over time. Additionally, a mammal gallery displays mounts of several significant well-known creatures in Canada, including moose, grizzly bears, caribou, cougars, and others.
Other features explore marine life, aviary species, live insects, and more. Each gallery hosts several displays and exhibits along with information and interactive opportunities.
Canadian Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod St, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-566-4700
Major's Hill Park
On the banks of the Rideau Canal at the mouth of the Ottawa River sits Major's Hill Park. A downtown based urban green space, Major’s Hill Park is situated among several of the most notable buildings in Ottawa, including Parliament Hill, the National Gallery of Canada, the U.S. Embassy, and the Byward Market.
Paved walking paths, a series of historical interpretive panels, carefully tended gardens, open grass land, and picnic facilities make this park a widely used space. The Major's Hill Park is also the home to Ottawa’s Canada Day celebrations, and it hosts numerous other events throughout the year.
Hog's Back Falls
Hog's Back Falls, whose formal name is Prince of Wales Falls, is a series of waterfalls along the Rideau River outside of downtown Ottawa. Serving as an urban green space, the park is composed of several heritage locations, including a pavilion and historical displays with interpretive information.
The park has several miles of hiking trails and walking paths, along with picnic tables and a concession stand that has snacks available for purchase. The park opens in May and closes in December, but the on site facility availability may vary based on weather.
Laurier House National Historic Site
Laurier House National Historic Site is located in the Sandy Hill district of Ottawa. Once the private home of two past Canadian Prime Ministers, the home is now a museum, open to the public for guided tours and interpretive learning. The home is filled with period décor and authentic artifacts pertaining to the two leaders and their families.
Information is also provided on the notable guests who were entertained in the home, including the United Kingdom’s King George VI and Sir Winston Churchill, and the United States’ President Franklin Roosevelt. The home is open to the public seasonally, from May until October.
Laurier House National Historic Site, 335 Laurier Ave East, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-992-8142
Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum is located just outside of downtown Ottawa on the grounds of an actual working farm. The modern structure is designed to demonstrate to guests how modern developments in farming science and technological advances have changed the course of Canadian history and subsequently impacted the lives of the Canadian population.
The museum contains compelling exhibits, hosts educational and community based programs, and provides live demonstrations throughout the facility in addition to an interpretive and guided farm tour. The topic of events, availability of produce, and livestock presentations vary based on the season in order to demonstrate the actual progression of events that occur on the farm throughout the year.
Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, 901 Prince of Wales Dr, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-991-3044
Bytown Museum
Just below Ottawa’s towering Parliament Hill on the banks of the Rideau Canal sits the small Bytown Museum. The historic museum, founded by the Women’s Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa, opened in 1917 to preserve early Ottawa artifacts that the group had collected since their initial 1889 founding.
Today, this collection, which contains artifacts from the earliest point in Ottawa’s history, is housed in the Commissariat Building.
The British military commissioned this stone house in the early 1820s, and it was used as a treasury and storehouse. In 1951, it was moved to the banks of the river and assumed the role of museum. Today, visitors can enter the historic building and view the artifacts dating back to Ottawa’s initial development.
Bytown Museum, 1 Canal Ln, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-234-4570
Ottawa Art Gallery
The downtown based Ottawa Art Gallery opened in 1980 after local artists advocated for their work and organized a municipal location to demonstrate the local artistic population and talent. The Ottawa Art Gallery was opened as a result of public attention and urging, and it has been functioning since 1988.
Today, the Gallery is open to public, and visitors are able to view the art and learn about the process the local artistic community took to secure a platform for their expression.
The Gallery hosts a permanent collection of varying works, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, and modern pieces. Rotating and visiting exhibitions are also on display, highlighting both local and national artists, and educational programs and community classes are hosted on site.
Ottawa Art Gallery, Arts Court, 2 Daly Ave, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-233-8699
Ottawa Farmers' Market
Located in Landsdowne Park, Ottawa Farmers' Market is a year round staple in the Ottawa food-shopping scene. Beginning in May and lasting throughout the warmer months, the market is an outdoor, open-air market that features locally grown produce, products, and handmade goods.
During winter months, the market moves to another location in the Park, the Aberdeen Pavilion. In this covered space, shoppers can peruse the warm stalls where producers and sellers provide locally produced baked goods, cheese, produce, and meats. The Market’s website provides an ongoing calendar of events and seasonal produce updates.
Ottawa Farmers' Market, 1015 Bank St, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-218-7502
Central Experimental Farm
Just outside of downtown Ottawa sits the Central Experimental Farm, the research facility for Canada’s Department of Agriculture. The Farm also serves as an attraction, and it is open to the public throughout the year for various seasonal events. Major attractions on the farm include an arboretum, ornamental gardens, a wildlife garden, and heritage buildings and greenhouses.
The heritage buildings, a collection of early 20th century structures, range from dairy barns and storage houses to observatories and arboretums. The structures at the Central Experimental Farm, many of which are open to the public, give visitors a glimpse of historical farming practices, and they highlight the unique architectural features of early farm buildings.
Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Canada, Phone: 613-230-3276
