Destination information
Located in the South-East of the country, Ottawa is Canada’s capital, and as you’d expect, boasts an array of tourist attractions. There’s a wealth of family-friendly things to do from fascinating museums and the country’s parliament buildings (which host free 30-minute sound and light shows about Canada twice-nightly throughout summer) to outdoor delights like the winter wonderland of Rideau Canal which freezes every year to become the world’s largest outdoor skating rink or the sticky-fingered fun of ‘sugaring off’ in the springtime, where farmers offer sleigh rides through maple bushes and you can visit a sugar shack to watch that delicious amber gold being made.
Looking for something more sophisticated? Ottawa’s a hub for festivals of all kinds, celebrating everything from music and comedy to Ferraris and tulips!
Love to shop? The Byward Market area has tempting one-off boutiques and for big-name stores check out the Saint Laurent Centre. While you’re bagging bargains (thanks to a generous exchange rate, you’ll get far more Canadian dollars to the pound than in the USA) don’t forget that Ottawa’s bilingual, so you can also practice parlez-ing francais as everyone speaks French as well as English!
Eats & drinks
Ottawa has a diverse immigrant community which is reflected in its wide variety of delious international cuisine. The Byward Market area is a great place to sample everything from Brazilian Churrasco barbecue to French haute cuisine. Local speciailities include the Beaver Tail - a fried dough cake with lemon and sugar and the Poutine, a tastes-better-than-it-sounds blend of french fries, curd cheese and gravy.
Getting around
You can leave the car for travelling out of town as Ottawa has an integrated transit system. Children under 11 years ride the train for free and on the weekend a family of 4 (2adults, 2 children under 11 yrs) can enjoy unlimited travel on just one $7 day pass. Bargain!