🇨🇦 Canada

10 best places in Ottawa

Ottawa is a calm, green capital at the meeting of three rivers, where a Gothic parliament building sits alongside world-class museums and a canal that becomes the world's longest skating rink in winter.

Sight

Parliament Hill

The neo-Gothic seat of Canada's government, with the Peace Tower and a summer changing-of-the-guard ceremony.

Sight

Rideau Canal

A UNESCO World Heritage waterway, great for boating in summer and skating for kilometers in winter.

Museum

National Gallery of Canada

A glass-walled museum fronted by a giant bronze spider, Maman, and home to Canada's finest art collection.

Museum

Canadian Museum of History

Across the river in Gatineau, home to the world's largest collection of Indigenous totem poles.

Market

ByWard Market

The city's oldest farmers' market, buzzing year-round with street food and BeaverTails pastries.

Sight

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica

A 19th-century Gothic cathedral with a stunning star-studded ceiling right in the ByWard district.

Park

Gatineau Park

A vast forested park across the river, with lakes, trails, and brilliant fall foliage.

District

Little Italy (Preston Street)

Ottawa's Italian quarter, known for its truffle festival and the city's best pasta.

Café

Bridgehead Coffee

A local coffee chain built on ethical sourcing that became the taste of Ottawa mornings.

Restaurant

Riviera

A stylish restaurant in a former bank building, ranking among downtown's best dinners.

FAQ

Best time to visit Ottawa?

Late May to September is the easy answer: warm weather, patios open and the tulip festival in May. Autumn brings strong colour and comfortable walking weather. Winter is genuinely cold, but that is when the Rideau Canal sometimes becomes a skateway, though mild winters have made recent seasons short or nonexistent.

How many days in Ottawa?

Two days handle Parliament Hill, ByWard Market and one or two of the national museums. A third day fits the Canadian Museum of History across the river in Gatineau. The core is compact and walkable.

Is Ottawa safe?

Ottawa is one of Canada's calmer big cities, and downtown and the tourist areas are fine in the evening. Normal caution applies around parts of Rideau Street and on late night transit. In winter the real hazard is ice and cold, not crime.

Is Ottawa a good place to move to?

Ottawa appeals for its public sector and tech jobs, bilingual environment and housing far cheaper than Toronto or Vancouver. The main routes into the country are Express Entry for skilled workers, provincial nominee streams and study permits with post graduation work. Cut off scores and rules change almost every year, so work from current IRCC guidance.