Ottawa

Introduction

Ottawa

© All Rights Reserved -reece-

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, built on a high cliff to protect against the potential advance of American invaders, the capital is now a welcoming place for visitors. The winters offer the opportunity to skate on the world's largest skating rink, at the end enjoying a sugary treat called a Beavertail. The summer provides festivals, the beautiful flowering of the tulip festival and the biggest Canada Day party on July 1st.

Neighbourhoods

• Hull - across the river from Ottawa and in the province of Quebec, Hull boasts many attractions, and provides the gateway to the Gatineau hills.

Sights and Activities

Ottawa

© All Rights Reserved -reece-

Parliament Buildings

Visitors can tour the grounds and buildings of the Parliament buildings, site of architectural beauty, historical significance and federal political power in Canada. Tours are free, lasting between 20 and 60 minutes. See the Official Tourism Website for more details.

ByWard Market

The ByWard Market is one of Canada's oldest and largest public markets. Roughly four blocks square, the market contains museums, cafés, food shops, boutiques, galleries, restaurants and pubs.

National Art Gallery of Canada

Known locally as the "NAG", the National Art Gallery hosts a large collection of Canadian and international art in a beautiful Moshe Safdie designed glass and granite building in downtown Ottawa. The gallery is open from 10:00am until 5:00pm (8:00pm on Thursdays) 7 days a week. Admission is $5.95 for adults for the main collection. Special exhibits have additional costs.

Museum of Civilization

In Hull, Quebec sits the most visited museum in Canada, providing a history of Canadian civilization: the Museum of Civilization. There are two halls, the Native Peoples' Hall, documenting the pre-European lifestyle of the indigenous population of Canada and the Canada Hall, documenting the history since the initial contact between European and Native Canadian.

Skating on Rideau Canal

In the winter, the Rideau Canal becomes the world's largest skating rink. The Rideau Canal Skateway is 7.8 kilometres long, starting in downtown Ottawa and running down to Dows Lake in the south. Along the way are a number of huts to get warm drinks and sugary snacks to fuel your skate.

Summer biking

Ottawa has over 170 kilometres of bike paths, many of them completely isolated from car traffic and winding through beautiful natural settings. A map of the bike paths can be obtained from the internet at the City of Ottawa website.

Events and Festivals

• Canada Day - July 1st is Canada's national holiday, and no one celebrates it like the Canadian capital. Fireworks and concerts on Parliament hill. Check out the Canadian Capital Region website for more details.
• Canadian Tulip Festival - In the fall of 1945, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs. Since that time, the Canadian Tulip Festival has grown into the largest Tulip Festival in the world, displaying millions of blooming tulips and hosting cultural and musical events.
• Winterlude - Every February, Canada's Capital Region is host to the winter festival of Winterlude. Running for three weekends in the dead of winter, Winterlude provides an opportunity to kkate on the world’s largest skating rink, see majestic snow sculptures and glittering ice sculptures or catch musical acts at the Snowbowl.

Weather

Ottawa has warm summers and cold winters. Temperatures range from 24 °C during the day in summer on average, to -16 °C in winters at night. Temperatures have been recording though of 38 and -37 °C respectively. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year with around 10 to 14 days of rain or snow each month. From November to March, most of it is actually snow. Summers are a little wetter regarding the amount of precipitation, around 90 mm a month, compared to around 60 in winter.

Getting there

By Plane

Ottawa International airport (airport code: YOW) is located to the south of the downtown area. The majority of flights arriving at the international airport are from Canada or the east coast of the USA. From the airport, travellers can use the OC Transpo Route 97 to get downtown.
Some of the main destinations include Frankfurt, London, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C. and quite a few seasonal flights to Caribbean destinations like Jamaica, Cuba and Cancun.

By Train

Intercity train service arrives at the Ottawa Train Station to the east of downtown. Via Rail operates service from Ottawa to Toronto and Montreal. Information on routes, schedules and times can be found that the Via Rail website. Travellers arriving at the train station can take OCTranspo bus routes 94 or 95 from the train station to downtown Ottawa.

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting around

By Public Transport

OCTranspo is the public transit service in Ottawa. They run light rail service (O-Train) and bus service in the Ottawa area. A number of the bus services run in the "Transitway," a bus only road system. Fares, routes and schedules can be found at the OCTranspo Website.

By Car

Some of the options to rent a car include the following companies:

• Avis
• Budget
• Discount
• Hertz
• National
• Enterprise
• Thrifty

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Try walking down Elgin Street as there's loads of Irish, British and Canadian Bars and restaurants very close to one another.

Sleep

Converted Jailhouse hostel in Ottawa

© All Rights Reserved shinenyc

Backpacker dorms can be found for $20-30 a night. Bed and Breakfasts can be reserved for $80 and up. Hotels are $90 and up.

• The HI Ottawa International Hostel, also called the Jail Hostel, at 75 Nicholas Street, is a unique experience for the traveller. Located in downtown Ottawa, the hostel was a prison prior to being converted into a hostel. Originally known as the Carleton County Gaol, the jail was open from 1862 until 1972 when it was closed for unsanitary conditons. The jail was one of the most disheartening buildings in Canadian history, and is rumoured to be haunted. The hostel provides a tour of the facility and explains it's past. Rates are $24.15 in a shared dormitory or $56.70 for a double room, which is not much more per person. Reservations can be made at their website.
• The Business Inn is a great and cheap hotel with suites to stay at while in Ottawa. For less than $100 (up to 3 people per room) you get a large room with cable TV, a kitchen with cooker, fridge and microwave and most importantly, a free PC and printer in your room with Broadband Internet. For 3 of you sharing this would cost you $33 a night. It is within walking distance of the bus station and very central. And there is even a bar on the lower floor.

For more options and traveller ratings, see below:

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• Université d'Ottawa
• Ottawa University
• Carleton University

Keep connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Postal service is provided by Canada Post, a crown corporation owned by the government but run as an independent business. The lettermail service allows the mailing of a letter. The basic rate is currently set at $0.52 for one standard letter (30 grams or less). The rates for lettermail are based or weight and size and determine whether the article falls into the aforementioned standard format, or in the oversize one. The rate is the same for a postcard. Mail sent internationally is known as letterpost. It can only contain paper documents. The rate for a standard letter is of $0.93 if sent to the United States, and $1.55 if sent to any other destination. Oversize or overweight letters may be charged a higher fee ^[1]. Larger parcels can be shipped via Canada post both domestically and internationally, the rate is dependent on the weight and destination. ^[2]. Federal Express or DHL also provide interntional shipping from Canada.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website