Page 9 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to Canada

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GATINEAU PARK • NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMISSION
Ottawa-Gatineau:
A Capital Idea
BY LAURA BYRNE PAQUET
Award-winning vegetarian fare? Check.
A bus that turns into a boat? Ditto.
Festivals, the world’s largest skating
rink and wolves? You’ll find all that and
much more in Ottawa—Canada’s
capital—and its sister city of Gatineau,
directly across the Ottawa River.
WHAT’S NEW?
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa is set to
welcome high rollers and super fans at a new
entertainment destination located just 15
minutes from downtown. Opening in spring,
the new luxe 150-room hotel will drip with
rock ‘n’ roll glam and priceless memorabilia
from Canadian music legends expertly
curated. Guests will be able to catch a show at
the 1,800-seat Hard Rock Live theatre, and yes,
try their luck at the tables and slot machines
(www.casino.hardrock.com/ottawa).
Ready to have a bowl of a good time?
Splitsville Entertainment has unveiled its
newest bowling flagship at the Kanata
Entertainment Centrum. Redefining family fun,
guests can bowl in their own shoes with 18
lanes of 10-pin bowling (www.splitsville.ca/
kanata-bowling).
This summer, the National Gallery of Canada
will present two compelling solo exhibitions
by leading Indigenous artists: Nadia Myre's
Waves of Want and Skawennati's Welcome to
the Dreamhouse, both running from May 30
to September 1, 2025. Myre, an Algonquin
artist from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg
First Nation, explores themes of resilience,
language, memory, and longing through her
multidisciplinary practice, while Skawen-
nati, a Kahnawà:ke Mohawk multimedia
artist, envisions Indigenous futures by
blending Haudenosaunee storytelling with
digital media, including avatars and
machinima films (www.gallery.ca).
SIP AND DINE
Ottawa chef Briana Kim took home top
honours at the Canadian Culinary Cham-
pionship a couple of years ago. As a result,
one of the capital’s hottest dining options is
the plant- and fermentation-based tasting
menu at Kim’s intimate restaurant, Alice
(www.alicerestaurant.ca).
For craft cocktails, try the Apothecary
Cocktail Lounge, hidden away on the lower
level of a Victorian building in the ByWard
Market area (www.apothecarylounge.ca).
A block south of Parliament Hill, the tiny
Stolen Goods Cocktail Bar serves innovative
drinks and small plates late into the night
(www.stolengoodscocktailbar.com).
TAKE A TOUR
Can’t decide between a boat tour and a bus
tour? You don’t have to. Partway through an
excursion on the Lady Dive amphibus, the
vehicle that takes you by road through the
parliamentary precinct becomes a boat. It
slips into the Ottawa River to give you an
interprovincial view of Ottawa and Gatineau.
The company also offers double-decker bus
tours and winter trolley tours (www.lady
dive.com).
Add a totally unique tour to your trip list.
Outside Ottawa (35 km) far beneath the earth
stands The Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War