Ottawa

Ottawa – the city that started as a sleepy lumber town on the banks of the Ottawa River and rose to become Canada’s capital – is an absolute treasure to explore.  Compact, filled with green space, and replete with diverse museums and landmarks, it is easy to fill 36 hours in the capital also known as “Bytown.”

Ottawa buzzes year-round.  Whether it is late Spring – when the city’s Tulip Festival is in full bloom (the bulbs are donated annually by the Netherlands in gratitude for Canada’s role liberating the country in World War 2); the July 1st Canada Day celebrations or mid- summer Bluesfest; or in the depths of winter when the city turns into a winter wonderland complete with a 7km skating trail along the Rideau Canal – there are memories to be made year-round.

Downtown Ottawa and Parliament Hill

Start your journey with mass at St. Patrick’s Basilica in downtown Ottawa. This is the mother church of the English Catholic population in the city, built primarily for the Irish labourers who arrived en masse to construct the Rideau Canal.  The sanctuary is framed by two massive paintings of Christ’s Ascension and Mary’s Assumption and the church is one of the few in the city to retain its communion rail.  The Basilica’s side altar houses a relic collection, including St. Paul, St. Pius X, and St. Marguerite Bourgeois, and there is a full scale replica of the Lourdes Grotto in the basement.

From the Basilica, it is a short walk to the Parliamentary precinct to see the Parliament Buildings, the Supreme Court of Canada, the National War Memorial, and the Rideau Canal Locks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Every morning in the summer months, there is a 10:00am parade of the Governor General’s foot guards to the green lawns of Parliament Hill for the Changing of the Guard Ceremony, the same ceremony with the scarlet clad and bearskin hat wearing soldiers that parade in front of Buckingham Palace in London.

Byward Market and Sussex Drive

After visiting Parliament Hill, it is a short five minute walk to the Byward Market – Ottawa’s original farmers market – to sample the many delectable fares from the restaurants and vendors that jam this tight district. This is the best spot in Ottawa to sample a Beaver Tail (a delightful Canadian sugar coated pastry).  The afternoon can be spent working your way up Sussex Drive, north from the market. Two of Ottawa’s most famous attractions – the Art Gallery of Canada (largest art collection in Ottawa) and the Royal Canadian Mint (a popular tour showing how coins are manufactured) are located here. There is also the lovely Confederation Park, set high atop the cliff overlooking the Rideau Canal Locks, the Parliament Buildings, and the Ottawa River below.

Directly across from the Art Gallery is Ottawa’s stunning Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica, the seat of the Archbishop of Ottawa.  Upon entering, visitors are immediately drawn to the ornate sanctuary with its statues of over 80 saints and ornate wooden choir stalls, that appears almost like a heavenly sandcastle. The main altar contains the relics of four Canadian saints – St. Jean de Brébeuf and St. François de Laval, as well as the first Canadian born female saint, St. Marguerite d’Youville and the first Canadian born male saint, St. Brother André. On either side of the high altar are Ottawa’s two patron saints: St. Patrick, representing the Irish Catholics, and St. John the Baptist, representing the French Catholics.  At the side altar dedicated to the Sacred Heart is the glass enclosed relics of St. Aemilius, a first century Roman martyr, whose relics were translated to Ottawa from Rome as a gift following the Cathedral’s designation as a basilica. The other side altar is framed with statues of two wonderful French Canadian saints: Marguerite d’Youville and Andre Besette.

Outside the cathedral is a statue of Joseph-Eugene Guiges, the first bishop of Ottawa, who was appointed in 1847 and was the first leader of the Oblate Fathers of Mary Immaculate missionary enterprise in North America from the U.S. northwest to the Arctic Circle. Pope Pius IX spoke of the Oblates, based in France, as being specialists in the most difficult missions and the Oblates gained a reputation for going to the ends of the earth to spread the Good News of the Gospel.

Across the street from the Cathedral is the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity, a congregation of the Grey Nuns established in Montreal by St. Marguerite d’Youville. Their first superior – Venerable Elizabeth Bruyere – who took up her post at the age of 26 in 1845 – was viewed as a city builder, opening a number of hospitals, schools, hospices and orphanages in the city, including the first bilingual school outside of Quebec. At the time, Ottawa was a rough and unruly lumber town, desperately in need of these basic civil institutions.   There is a museum open to visitors detailing the history of the Order. Venerable Elizabeth Bruyere is also buried in the oratory of the mother house and visitors can ask to pray at her tomb.

Continue further up Sussex Drive and you will come across the official residences of Canada’s leaders:  24 Sussex Drive (home of the Prime Minister) and just around the corner, Rideau Hall (home of the Queen’s representative in Canada, the Governor General).  Rideau Hall offers public tours and it also has extensive parks and gardens worth exploring.  If you miss the Changing of the Guard ceremony on Parliament Hill, a smaller scale ceremony occurs regularly at the guardhouses to Rideau Hall.

If you are looking to extend your time in the region, Montreal – with its many historic churches and shrines – is less than a two hour drive from Ottawa and can easily be added as a day trip from Canada’s capital.  Read my Montreal travel guide here.