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.
This year and next, Ottawa is marking the 200th anniversary of its founding as Bytown, with a year‑long program of city‑wide festivities that thread past and present together. Themed “Celebrate Together,” expect everything from a special Ottawa Bluesfest featuring icons like The Guess Who, to Heritage Day celebrations highlighting two centuries of collective stories, interactive animation art trails along Rideau Street, spring tulip installations and community block parties that invite visitors to dive into Ottawa’s rich cultural heartbeat (www.ottawatourism.ca/en/see-and-do/ottawa-200).
What’s New?
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa welcomes high rollers and super fans at a new entertainment destination located just 15 minutes from downtown. The new luxe 150-room hotel drips with rock ‘n’ roll glam and priceless memorabilia from Canadian music legends expertly curated. Guests can 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).
Opening in August 2026, HISTORY Ottawa is set to inject fresh energy into the ByWard Market with a 3,251-sq.m. (35,000 sq. ft.) state-of-the-art new venue featuring premium seating and a convertible main floor. Insiders report the inaugural lineup at this 2,000-capacity, two-tier concert hall will span Canadian and global talent (www.historyottawa.com).
This summer, the National Gallery of Canada with the Audain Art Museum will celebrate Takao Tanabe’s extraordinary contributions to Canadian art in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Takao Tanabe: Inside Passage on exhibition from June 13th until October 19th, examines the seven-decade career of the renowned artist who will celebrate his 100th birthday on September 16, 2026 (www.gallery.ca).
Sip And Dine
Ottawa chef Briana Kim took home top honours at the Canadian Culinary Championship a couple of years ago. As a result, one of the capital’s hottest dining options is her new intimate restaurant, Antheia (www.exploretock.com/antheia).
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 from 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 bus, the vehicle that takes you by road through the parliamentary area, prepare to splash as she 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.ladydive.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 Museum. Named after Prime Minister John Diefenbaker who commissioned this top secret structure in 1959, Canada’s most significant Cold War site is open for guided tours. At this National Historic Site, you can see Cold War era rooms like the War Cabinet Room and the Bank of Canada Vault and learn about the purpose of this secret underworld (www.diefenbunker.ca).
Don’t let the renovations of Canada’s Parliament Buildings delay your tour plans. While closed until the scheduled completion date in 2032, visitors can embark on a virtual tour (www.lop.parl.ca/sites/Learn/default/en_CA/VR).
Outdoor Fun
To skate or paddle on a UNESCO World Heritage Site, head to downtown Ottawa’s Rideau Canal. The 19th-century engineering wonder, and the recreational paths alongside it, attract runners, cyclists, boaters and paddlers from spring through fall. In winter, its groomed ice surface becomes the world’s largest skating rink (www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/on/rideau).
Seeking wilderness? Just a 15-minute drive from Parliament Hill, you’ll find an entrance to Gatineau Park, a 361-sq. km (139 sq. mi.) retreat studded with lakes, rocky outcrops, hiking trails, waterfalls and historic sites (www.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/gatineau-park).
Captivating Museums
You can get a sense of Canada’s history, geography and culture in Ottawa-Gatineau’s national museums by visiting major institutions located there.
Learn about plants, animals and landscapes across this vast country and beyond at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Highlights include national dinosaur and mineral collections, mammal and bird galleries (www.nature.ca).
At the Canadian Museum of History, don’t miss the towering totem poles and Pacific coast Indigenous dwelling facades in the museum’s Grand Hall, which offers a spectacular view of the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill (www.historymuseum.ca).
The Canadian War Museum illuminates the stories of conflicts in Canada from the early days of human settlement until the present day (www.warmuseum.ca).
The Sporting Life
What would a visit to Canada be without hockey? In Ottawa’s west end, you can catch home games of the National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre (www.nhl.com/senators).
Close to downtown, TD Place (www.tdplace.ca)—the arena and stadium complex at Lansdowne Park—is home to the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa REDBLACKS (www.ottawaredblacks.com), the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s (www.ottawa67s.com), the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Ottawa BlackJacks (www.theblackjacks.ca) and Atlético Ottawa, the city’s Canadian Premier League soccer team (atleticoottawa.canpl.ca).
And just east of downtown, the Ottawa Titans of the independent Frontier League play baseball at Ottawa Stadium (www.ottawatitans.com).
Retail Therapy
A few minutes’ walk east of Parliament Hill, quirky shops, busy restaurants and brimming farmers’ stalls keep things lively in the heritage ByWard Market area (www.byward-market.com). Nearby, the CF Rideau Centre is home to leading fashion, electronics and lifestyle retailers (www.cfshops.com/rideau-centre.html).
A short drive or transit trip beyond downtown, you’ll find popular shopping neighbourhoods such as the Glebe (www.intheglebe.ca), Wellington West (www.wellingtonwest.ca) and Westboro (westborovillage.com).
Festival Fun
If you love a big celebration, Ottawa won’t let you down. The festival season starts with Winterlude in February (www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/winterlude.html), followed by the Canadian Tulip Festival in May (www.tulipfestival.ca), the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival in June (www.ottawajazzfestival.com), an enormous rock festival called RBC Bluesfest in July (www.ottawabluesfest.ca) and the CityFolk folk music festival in September (www.cityfolkfestival.com).
For more information, visit www.ottawatourism.ca.
