22 Sights in Ottawa, Canada (with Map and Images)
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Welcome to your journey through the most beautiful sights in 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 Ottawa. Dive into the diversity of this fascinating city and discover everything it has to offer.
Sightseeing Tours in OttawaActivities in Ottawa
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. 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.
The Bytown Museum is a museum in Ottawa located in the Colonel By Valley at the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal on 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.
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.
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.
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.
6. Billy Bishop Park
Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War. He was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war, and also received a Victoria Cross. During the Second World War, Bishop was instrumental in setting up and promoting the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
7. 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.
8. 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
9. Marlborough Forest
This is the outline of the geography of the city of Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Ottawa's current borders were formed in 2001, when the former city of Ottawa amalgamated with the ten other municipalities within the former Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton. Ottawa is now a single-tiered census division, home to 1,017,449 people.
10. 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
11. 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.
12. Major's Hill Park
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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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 United States 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.
17. Petrie Island Park
Petrie Island is an island of parkland and recreational areas situated in the Ottawa River in the eastern part of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The island has several nearby islands and the general collection of islands is also called Petrie Island.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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
21. Diefenbunker
The Diefenbunker, formerly known by its military designation, Canadian Forces Station Carp (CFS Carp), is a large underground four-storey reinforced concrete bunker and nuclear fallout shelter located in the rural area of Carp, Ontario approximately 30 km (19 mi) west of downtown Ottawa. Between 1957 and 1961, during the Cold War the Government of Canada led by then Prime Minister John Diefenbaker authorized the Diefenbunker to be designed and built as the Central Emergency Government Headquarters (CEGHQ Carp) in an attempt to ensure the continuity of government subsequent to a nuclear weapons attack by the Soviet Union. In 1994, CFS Carp was decommissioned and closed.
22. 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. A similar memorial was installed in June of 2024 at the National War Memorial in St. John's, Newfoundland to contain the unidentified Great War remains of a soldier of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.
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