Places to Visit in Ottawa, Canada: Winter is a Great Time!
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Ask someone outside of Canada to name our capital, and you’ll hear plenty of wrong answers.
Many assume it’s Toronto – our largest and most famous city. But Canada’s capital is actually Ottawa, located northeast of Toronto in Ontario.
(Non-Canadians also get stumped understanding our home city of Victoria. It’s the capital of British Columbia, but it sits on Vancouver Island, while the city of Vancouver is on the mainland. Confusing, right?)
Back to Ottawa – where grand Parliament buildings, uniquely designed museums and a thriving downtown core make for a fascinating visit.
Here’s the scoop on the best places to visit in Ottawa.
Famous Ottawa attractions
And seeing as it’s the New Year, we’re putting a wintery spin on our winter guide to Ottawa.
Parliament Hill
Conceived as early as 1859, Parliament Hill has housed Canada’s federal government ever since the complex was completed in 1876, nine years after the formation of Canada in 1867.
A major fire destroyed much of the complex in 1916, and though Canada was at war at the time, rebuilding Parliament became a priority.
Eleven years later, the Peace Tower was built as well, commemorating those lost in World War I.
Parliament Hill has been the scene of many historic ceremonies in Canada, including the VE Day celebrations, the first raising of Canada’s new flag in 1965, and the celebration of Canada’s Centennial in 1967.
Today, Parliament Hill is a beautiful area to tour on foot.
It features many statues of famous Canadian figures (like Sir John A. Macdonald, our first prime minister), monuments commemorating veterans and police, and also the Rideau Canal.
Rideau Canal
One of Canada’s most popular and iconic sites, the Rideau Canal is a top Ottawa attraction – and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For decades, families have skated and played ice hockey on the canal.
Skating in winter, in fact, is what the Rideau Canal is most famous for today.
You’ll love skating on the groomed “Skateway.” It stretches for almost five miles from Ottawa’s downtown area to Dows Lake.
Cool fact: Together, the canal and Dows Lake form the “largest, naturally frozen skating rink in the world”.
Gliding along the ice as a way of getting around has even been done by members of Parliament and prime ministers over the years!
Yes, it’s a truly Canadian tradition.
If you get the chance, do hop on the ice and go for a skate on this picturesque canal.
It’s one of the best things to do in Ottawa in winter!
Museums in Ottawa
There are three Ottawa museums you’ll want to check out.
First is the National Gallery of Canada.
Considered one of Canada’s finest galleries, this museum focuses on Canadian art.
But it also has some foreign collections, including several of Andy Warhol’s most famous pieces.
Outside in front of the gallery, you can’t miss the sculpture of a gargantuan spider (“Maman”), complete with a sac of large white marble eggs under her belly – a great photo opp, by the way!
Next is the Canadian Museum Of Nature. It has an impressive fossil collection, a live insectarium and other nature-inspired exhibits.
And then there’s the Canadian War Museum, which features displays from Canada’s war history.
Ottawa in winter
Enjoy your trip to Ottawa.
Pack woolies if visiting in winter, and stay warm!
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About the authors
Hi Janice and George. Having grown up in Ottawa, I love seeing posts about my home town. Just to let you know you can skate from Carleton University to Ottawa University!
Thanks for taking the time to write in :-).
I’ve always wanted to visit Canada! Lovely photography in this post, I love the photo of the Peace Tower, and the one of the spider sculpture!
You must visit Canada! But it’s a BIG country here. So you have to choose what you want to do and see. Of course, we’d say be sure to include the beautiful west coast and our home city of Vancouver in your visit :-).
I lived my teenage years in Ottawa, living there 10 years. When I hit 18 I was happy to move to Montreal, a much more exciting city. But having come back a few times to Ottawa, and now being older, there is a LOT to appreciate about Ottawa. It is a quiet, clean, safe capital with tons of green spaces (well, in the summer – can be really nasty in the winter), has great museums, nice cafes, and the people are much more laid back than in either Montreal or Toronto. At this age, having to chose between any of these cities, it would be Ottawa.
Nice post,
Frank (bbqboy)
Okay, we secretly agree with you – Montreal is more exciting (hope people in Ottawa don’t mind us saying that). Montreal is bigger and has a European flair, very cosmopolitan… But Ottawa, as you know, still has its own charms, as we’ve written about :-). We hear it’s also a great place to actually live (and great for raising a family).
Yes, exactly – a great spot to raise a family and they can go out in the street and not have to worry about getting run over by one of the crazy Quebec drivers :)
Ha! That’s funny :-)
Thanks for the refresher on our capital of Ottawa. Our most memorable time in Ottawa was during Canada Day celebrations with our 3 preteens. The city was alive with special events, concerts and street buskers. We viewed the evening fireworks – spectacular from our spot on the lawn beside the Rideau Canal.
Too bad Ottawa is a long drive from the populated GTA. We would visit more often. Always, of course, recommend a trip to our capital to our visitors from abroad.
The “back road” drive to Ottawa can be very picturesque as well, as my daughter and I discovered when we drove to Ottawa for her summer posting at the Natural Science Museum. We did not encounter a single fast food chain between the 401 and Ottawa, quite remarkable in itself! Small town Ontario still existed at the turn of the millennium.
That would be something – to take in the Canada Day fireworks in Ottawa :-). Amazing there was no McDonalds staring down at you on your back road drive to Ottawa! Sounds like it was a lovely drive…