54 Sights in (Old) Ottawa, Canada (with Map and Images)
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Welcome to your journey through the most beautiful sights in (Old) Ottawa, Canada! Whether you want to discover the city's historical treasures or experience its modern highlights, you'll find everything your heart desires here. Be inspired by our selection and plan your unforgettable adventure in (Old) Ottawa. Dive into the diversity of this fascinating city and discover everything it has to offer.
Sightseeing Tours in (Old) OttawaActivities in (Old) Ottawa1. Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall is the official residence in Ottawa of both the governor general of Canada and the Canadian monarch. It stands in Canada's capital on a 36-hectare (88-acre) estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of approximately 175 rooms across 9,500 square metres (102,000 sq ft), and 27 outbuildings around the grounds. Rideau Hall's site lies outside the centre of Ottawa. It is one of two official vice-regal residences maintained by the federal Crown, the other being the Citadelle of Quebec.
2. Rideau Falls
The Rideau Falls are two 11-metre waterfalls located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where the Rideau River empties into the Ottawa River. The falls are divided by Green Island, with Ottawa's Old City Hall just to the south. To the west of the falls is the headquarters of the National Research Council while to the east are the Canada and the World Pavilion and the French Embassy. Samuel de Champlain described the falls as "...a marvelous fall...it descends a height of twenty or twenty-five fathoms with such impetuosity that it makes an arch nearly four hundred paces broad." The falls were named by the early French for their resemblance to a curtain, or rideau in French. The Rideau River was later named after the falls. The Rideau Canal was constructed to bypass these falls and the Hog's Back Falls.
Major's Hill Park is a park in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. The park stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River. The parliament buildings can be seen across the canal to the west, to the north of the park is the National Gallery of Canada, and to the east are the United States embassy and the Byward Market. To the south is the Chateau Laurier hotel, built on land that was once part of the park.
4. Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose architectural elements were chosen to evoke the history of parliamentary democracy. Parliament Hill attracts approximately three million visitors each year. The Parliamentary Protective Service is responsible for law enforcement on Parliament Hill and in the parliamentary precinct, while the National Capital Commission is responsible for maintaining the nine-hectare (22-acre) area of the grounds.
5. National War Memorial
The National War Memorial, titled The Response, is a tall, granite memorial arch with accreted bronze sculptures in Ottawa, Ontario, designed by Vernon March and first dedicated by King George VI in 1939. Originally built to commemorate the Canadians who died in the First World War, it was in 1982 rededicated to also include those killed in the Second World War and Korean War and again in 2014 to add the dead from the Second Boer War and War in Afghanistan, as well as all Canadians killed in all conflicts past and future. It now serves as the pre-eminent war memorial of 76 cenotaphs in Canada. In 2000, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was added in front of the memorial and symbolizes the sacrifices made by all Canadians who have died or may yet die for their country.
6. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a tomb situated before the National War Memorial in Confederation Square, Ottawa, Ontario. The tomb is dedicated to Canadian service members, and holds the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died in France during the First World War; selected from a Commonwealth War Grave near Vimy, in the vicinity where the Battle of Vimy Ridge took place.
7. Sir John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political career that spanned almost half a century.
8. Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum (CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history and a place of remembrance. The 40,860 square metres (439,800 sq ft) museum building is situated south of the Ottawa River in LeBreton Flats. The museum houses a number of exhibitions and memorials, in addition to a cafeteria, theatre, curatorial and conservation spaces, as well as storage space. The building also houses the Military History Research Centre, the museum's library and archives.
9. National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada, located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up 46,621 square metres (501,820 sq ft), with 12,400 square metres (133,000 sq ft) of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the largest art museums in North America by exhibition space.
10. Centre Block
The Centre Block is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members of parliament, senators, and senior administration for both legislative houses. It is also the location of several ceremonial spaces, such as the Hall of Honour, the Memorial Chamber, and Confederation Hall.
11. Lansdowne Park
Lansdowne Park is a 40-acre (16 ha) urban park, historic sports, exhibition and entertainment facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by the City of Ottawa. It is located on Bank Street adjacent to the Rideau Canal in The Glebe neighbourhood of central Ottawa. Lansdowne Park contains the TD Place Stadium and Arena complex, the Aberdeen Pavilion, and the Horticulture Building.
12. Maman
Maman (1999) is a bronze, stainless steel, and marble sculpture in several locations by the artist Louise Bourgeois. The sculpture, which depicts a spider, is among the world's largest, measuring over 30 ft high and over 33 ft wide (927 x 891 x 1024 cm). It includes a sac containing 32 marble eggs and its abdomen and thorax are made of rubbed bronze.
13. Fairmont Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a 660,000-square-foot (61,000 m2) hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to complement the adjacent Parliament buildings. The hotel is above the Colonel By Valley, home of the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal, and overlooks the Ottawa River. The main dining room overlooks Major's Hill Park. The reception rooms consist of the Wedgewood-blue Adam Room, the Laurier Room defined with Roman columns, the Empire-style ballroom, and the Drawing Room decorated with cream and gold plaster ornament. The hotel was designated a national historic site in 1980.
14. Library of Parliament
The Library of Parliament is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The library survived the 1916 fire that destroyed Centre Block. The library has been augmented and renovated several times since its construction in 1876, the last between 2002 and 2006, though the form and decor remain essentially authentic. The building today serves as a Canadian icon, and appears on the obverse of the Canadian ten-dollar bill.
Wikipedia: Library of Parliament (EN), Website, Heritage Website
15. Chaudière Falls
The Chaudière Falls, also known as the Kana:tso or Akikodjiwan Falls, are a set of cascades and waterfall in the centre of the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area in Canada where the Ottawa River narrows between a rocky escarpment on both sides of the river. The location is just west of the Chaudière Bridge and Booth-Eddy streets corridor, northwest of the Canadian War Museum at LeBreton Flats and adjacent to the historic industrial E. B. Eddy complex. The islands surrounding the Chaudière Falls, counter-clockwise, are Chaudière Island, Albert Island, little Coffin Island was just south of Albert Island but is now submerged, Victoria Island and Amelia Island,, Philemon Island was originally called the Peninsular Village by the Wrights but became an island when the timber slide was built in 1829 it is now fused to south shore of City of Gatineau, and Russell Island, now submerged, was at the head of the Falls before the Ring dam was built. The falls are about 60 metres (200 ft) wide and drop 15 metres (49 ft). The area around the falls was once heavily industrialized, especially in the 19th century, driving growth of the surrounding cities.
16. Canadian Museum of Science and Technology
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is a national museum of science and technology in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum has a mandate to preserve and promote the country's scientific and technological heritage. The museum is housed in a 13,458 square metres (144,860 sq ft) building. The museum is operated by Ingenium, a Crown corporation that also operates two other national museums of Canada.
Wikipedia: Canada Science and Technology Museum (EN), Website, Opening Hours
17. Kìwekì Point
The National Capital Commission is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region, including administering most lands and buildings owned by the Government of Canada in the region.
18. Bytown Museum
The Bytown Museum is a museum in Ottawa located in the Colonel By Valley at the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal at the Ottawa River, just below Parliament Hill. Housed in the Commissariat Building, Ottawa's oldest remaining stone building, the museum provides a comprehensive overview of the origins of Bytown and its development and growth into the present city of Ottawa.
19. Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The church is located at 414 Sparks Street in the northwest section of the city's downtown at the western end of Sparks Street on top of a promontory looking down to the Ottawa River.
20. Centennial Flame
The Centennial Flame is a monument on Parliament Hill commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. First lit in January 1967, the Flame worked with natural gas and as of 2021 uses biogas, presenting a fountain that does not freeze in winter. Money thrown into it is a donation for people with disabilities, some of whom have received over $5,000.
21. Aberdeen Pavilion
The Aberdeen Pavilion is an exhibition hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Overlooking the Rideau Canal, it is located in Lansdowne Park, Ottawa's historic fairgrounds. For many years, the building was known as the "Cattle Castle", due to its use for the Central Canada Exhibition's agricultural exhibits and shows. It is the last surviving Canadian example of what was once a common form of Victorian exhibition hall, and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1983.
22. Confederation Park
Confederation Park (French: Parc de la Confédération) is a public park and National Historic Site of Canada, located in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on the east by the Rideau Canal and National Defence Headquarters; on the north by the Mackenzie King Bridge, the Rideau Centre and the National Arts Centre; and to the west by Elgin Street and the Lord Elgin Hotel.
23. Laurier House
Laurier House is a National Historic Site in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly the residence of two Canadian prime ministers: Sir Wilfrid Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King. The home is now a historic house museum that is open to the public for guided tours from Victoria Day in May until Thanksgiving in October. Its address is 335 Laurier Avenue East.
Wikipedia: Laurier House (EN), Website, Opening Hours, Heritage Website
24. Ottawa Art Gallery
The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) is a municipal gallery in Ottawa, Ontario that opened in 1988 at Arts Court. The gallery has a permanent collection of over one thousand works, houses the City of Ottawa-owned Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, and provides community, educational and public programming. The OAG focuses on acquiring, interpreting, and sharing art as well as acting as a cultural meeting place.
25. Loeb House
James William Strutt was a Canadian architect. Practising between 1950 and 1999 and working primarily in the Ottawa area, Strutt is noted for his role in the development of modern architecture in Canada following World War II.
26. Garden of the Provinces and Territories
The Garden of the Provinces and Territories is a 4-acre (1.6 ha) site along Confederation Boulevard in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital city. It is bounded by the Sparks Street escarpment on the south, Wellington Street on the west and north, and Bay Street to the east between Christ Church Cathedral and the Library and Archives Canada. It was officially opened on September 25, 1962, as a western gateway to the Parliament Buildings. The park was renamed from "Garden of the Provinces" on October 6, 2005 to recognize and include Canada's three territories. Scott Brison, then the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, officially renamed the park.
27. Centretown United Church
Centretown United Church is an historic church located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada at 507 Bank Street at Argyle in the Centretown area. It was built in 1906 as the Stewarton Presbyterian Church using Gothic Revival architecture under the architecture of Moses Chamberlain Edey, (designer of Heritage site the Aberdeen Pavilion and the Daly Building. The corner stone was laid by Sir Mortimer Clarke, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Centretown United Church is a member church of the United Church of Canada.
28. St. Bartholomew's Church
St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church is a place of worship in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The building was constructed in the latter half of the 19th century and serves the surrounding neighbourhoods. Additionally, St. Bartholomew's is, due to its location next to Rideau Hall, the place of worship for various Governors General of Canada and some members of the Canadian Royal Family. It is also the regimental chapel of the Governor General's Foot Guards.
Wikipedia: St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church (Ottawa) (EN), Website
29. National Holocaust Monument
The National Holocaust Monument is a Holocaust memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, across from the Canadian War Museum at the northeast corner of Wellington and Booth Streets, and about 1.5 km away from Parliament Hill. The memorial was designed by Daniel Libeskind.
30. Hog's Back Falls
The Hog's Back Falls, officially known as the Prince of Wales Falls, but rarely referred to by this name, are a series of artificial waterfalls on the Rideau River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The falls are located just north of Mooney's Bay and the point where the Rideau Canal splits from the Rideau River.
31. Earnscliffe
Earnscliffe is a Victorian manor in Ottawa, Ontario, built in the Gothic Revival style. During the late 19th century, it was home to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Since 1930, it has served as the residence of the British High Commissioner to Canada.
32. Peacekeeping Monument
Reconciliation: The Peacekeeping Monument is a monument in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, commemorating Canada's role in international peacekeeping and the soldiers who have participated and are currently participating, both living and dead.
33. Valiants Memorial
The Valiants Memorial is a military monument located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It commemorates fourteen key figures from the military history of Canada. Dedicated by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on 5 November 2006, the work consists of nine busts and five statues, all life-sized, by artists Marlene Hilton Moore and John McEwen.
34. Lord Stanley Cup Monument
The Lord Stanley's Gift Monument is a monument in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It commemorates the donation of the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship trophy by Canada's Governor-General the Lord Stanley of Preston in 1893. It is located on the eastern end of the Sparks Street Mall. It was constructed at the culmination of a public campaign to commemorate the donation of the trophy.
35. St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada situated on Ottawa's ceremonial route and overlooks the Garden of the Provinces, the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills. St. Peter's is an Ottawa landmark. The motto is "A community of faith seeking to grow in God's grace and love".
Wikipedia: St. Peter's Lutheran Church (Ottawa) (EN), Website
36. St. Paul's-Eastern United Church
St. Paul's-Eastern United Church is one of the oldest congregations in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The stone Romanesque church building is located in the heart of downtown Ottawa on the corner of Daly and Cumberland Streets, near the University of Ottawa and two blocks east of the Rideau Centre.
37. Confederation Square
Confederation Square is an urban square in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and is considered the second most important ceremonial centre in Canada's capital city, after Parliament Hill. Roughly triangular in area, with Canada's National War Memorial at its centre and the Valiants Memorial at its periphery, the square is bounded by Wellington Street to the north and branches of Elgin Street to the east and west.
38. Canadian Tribute to Human Rights
The Canadian Tribute to Human Rights, also known as the Human Rights Monument, is a monumental sculpture located at the corner of Lisgar and Elgin streets in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was designed by Montreal artist and architect Melvin Charney and unveiled by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, on September 30, 1990.
39. Billings Estate Museum
The Billings Estate National Historic Site is a heritage museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 2100 Cabot St. in the former home of one of the region's earliest settlers. The oldest wood-framed house in Ottawa was built in 1827-9 by Massachusetts-born Braddish Billings. It became the home for the following four generations of the Billings family. It is Ottawa's oldest surviving house, though the Bytown Museum building is older. Billings had moved to the area in 1812, and was the first settler in Gloucester Township.
40. Connaught Building
The Connaught Building is a historic office building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by Public Services and Procurement Canada. It is located at 555 MacKenzie Avenue, just south of the American Embassy. To the east, the building looks out on the Byward Market, and to the west is MacKenzie Avenue and Major's Hill Park. Today, it houses a portion of Headquarters operations for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The Minister and Commissioner of the CRA have offices in the building.
41. MacKay United Church
MacKay United Church is a United Church of Canada church in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The church is located at the intersection of 39 Dufferin and Mackay at the southwest corner of the Rideau Hall estate. MacKay's present minister is Reverend Peter Woods.
42. Ottawa Chinatown Arch
Ottawa's Chinatown is located along Somerset Street west of downtown Ottawa. It runs from Bay Street in the east to Preston Street in the west. Signs for Chinatown continue along Somerset until Preston Street, and Chinese/Asian restaurants can be found even farther west.
43. Maplelawn Historic Garden
Maplelawn is an historic house and former estate located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The house was built between 1831 and 1834 as the centre of a farming estate by the Thomson family. In 1877 the Cole family bought the estate and lived there until 1989. The house is now owned by the National Capital Commission and it is a designated national historic site. It is particularly noted for the well preserved and rare walled garden next to the house, The Maplelawn Garden. Since 1999 the Maplelawn has been the location of the Keg Manor restaurant. Today the house is located in Westboro at 529 Richmond Road.
44. Monument to Canadian Aid Workers
The Monument to Canadian Aid Workers is a monument in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is dedicated to Canadian aid workers who have lost their lives during foreign deployments. As a monument, it is internationally unique in its form and purpose.
45. Sir Leonard Tilley Building
The Sir Leonard Tilley Building and Annex, is a Government of Canada office building property consisting of two buildings and operated by the Public Works and Government Services Canada and located at 719 Heron Road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was designed by architect Jean-Serge Le Fort. The floor space covers 23,832 square metres and the land area covers 4.527 hectares. Until 2015, the building housed the headquarters of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE). This building was named in honour of Samuel Leonard Tilley, federal Finance Minister in 1873–1878.
46. Central Chambers
Central Chambers is a building at the corner of Elgin Street and Queen Street in Ottawa that is a National Historic Site. It is located at 42 to 54 Elgin Street, next to Bell Block. It faces the Canadian War Memorial at Confederation Square. Central Chambers was built between 1890 and 1893 and designed by John James Browne of Montreal, an example of Queen Anne Revival commercial architecture. Formerly serving as an office for the Canadian Atlantic Railway, it now houses the National Capital Commission.
47. Église Unie St-Marc
Église Unie St-Marc is a small but historic church in Ottawa, Canada. It is the main church for francophone Protestants in the Ottawa Gatineau region. French speaking Protestants are a very small minority in Canada, but one with a history dating back to early Huguenot settlers.
48. St. Theresa Roman Catholic Church
St. Theresa's Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church on Cartier Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The church is located in the eastern section of downtown Ottawa, on Somerset Street between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal.
Wikipedia: St. Theresa's Catholic Church (Ottawa) (EN), Website
49. National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre (NAC) is a Canadian centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is operated by the eponymous performing arts organisation National Arts Centre. The National Arts Centre was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2006.
Wikipedia: National Arts Centre (building) (EN), Website, Heritage Website
50. Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica
The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada located on 385 Sussex Drive in the Lower Town neighbourhood. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990.
Wikipedia: Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica (Ottawa) (EN), Website, Heritage Website
51. St. Patrick's Basilica
St Patrick's Basilica is a Roman Catholic Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located at 281 Nepean Street in Downtown Ottawa, it is the oldest church in the city that serves the English-speaking community. The Basilica is one of the regular buildings featured in the Doors Open Ottawa architectural heritage day.
52. Bank of Canada Museum
The Bank of Canada Museum, formerly known as the Currency Museum, opened in 1980 on the ground floor of the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Temporarily closed in 2013 for major building renovations, the museum reopened in a new space on July 1, 2017, in a new building, with a completely new design and concept. It is, however, connected to the main building through the Bank of Canada's underground conference centre.
53. Canadian Police Memorial
The Canadian Police and Peace Officers' Memorial is a memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, commemorating approximately 900 Canadian law enforcement officers killed in the course of their duties. Dedicated in 1994, it is located at the northwest corner of the Parliament Hill grounds, overlooking the Ottawa River. The memorial consists of the Police Memorial Pavilion, a reconstruction of a 1877 gazebo by Thomas Seaton Scott, and a glass-and-steel perimeter wall etched with the names of the fallen officers, which was designed by landscape architectural firm Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg.
Wikipedia: Canadian Police And Peace Officer's Memorial (EN), Website
54. Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Memorial
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patricia of Connaught, daughter of the then-Governor General of Canada. The regiment is composed of three battalions, for a total of 2,000 soldiers. The PPCLI is the main lodger unit of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton in Alberta and CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and attached to 3rd Canadian Division; as such, it serves as the "local" regular infantry regiment for much of Western Canada. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (LER), a Reserve Force battalion, is affiliated with the PPCLI but is not formally part of it. As part of this affiliation, the LER carries the designation '4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry'.
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