Ottawa, Ontario

Ottawa is the capital that Canadians sometimes overlook and visitors invariably discover with delight. Set at the confluence of the Ottawa, Gatineau, and Rideau rivers, the city of one million combines the ceremonial grandeur of a national capital with the outdoor accessibility of a wilderness gateway. The Parliament Buildings, a Victorian Gothic complex perched on a bluff above the Ottawa River, are as photogenic as any legislature in the world—their copper roofs, pointed arches, and the Peace Tower's carillon bells create a silhouette that is quintessentially Canadian. The Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 1830s as a military waterway, runs through the heart of the city and in winter becomes the world's largest naturally frozen skating rink—7.8 kilometers of ice that office workers, families, and tourists navigate between Parliament Hill and Dow's Lake.

The cultural institutions of Ottawa are world-class and—in keeping with Canadian values—largely free or affordably priced. The National Gallery of Canada, housed in a Moshe Safdie-designed glass and granite building, contains the country's most comprehensive collection of Canadian art, including extensive works by the Group of Seven, indigenous artists, and contemporary creators. The Canadian Museum of History, across the river in Gatineau, is the country's most visited museum and traces the human history of Canada from indigenous creation stories through European contact to the present. The Canadian War Museum, the Aviation and Space Museum, and the Museum of Nature complete a constellation of national institutions that together provide one of the most accessible museum experiences of any capital city.

Ottawa's food scene reflects the city's bilingual, multicultural character. The ByWard Market, one of the oldest and largest farmers markets in Canada, is the culinary anchor—its indoor and outdoor stalls offer artisanal cheeses, maple products, freshly baked bread, and the famous BeaverTails pastries (fried dough stretched to resemble a beaver's tail and topped with cinnamon sugar, chocolate, or fruit). The city's dining scene has matured significantly, with restaurants like Atelier (molecular gastronomy), Supply and Demand (Mediterranean-inspired seafood), and the string of pho and banh mi shops on Somerset Street (Ottawa's Chinatown) providing range and quality. Poutine—Quebec's gift to late-night cuisine—is available at its finest in Ottawa's proximity to the Quebec border.

The natural surroundings of Ottawa are remarkable for a national capital. Gatineau Park, a 361-square-kilometer wilderness preserve just fifteen minutes from Parliament Hill, offers hiking, swimming, and cross-country skiing through Laurentian forest and along the Eardley Escarpment—a dramatic cliff face overlooking the Ottawa Valley. The Rideau Canal system, stretching 202 kilometers from Ottawa to Kingston, is navigable by pleasure boat and passes through a landscape of locks, lakes, and riverside communities that have changed little in two centuries. The Ottawa River itself provides kayaking, rafting (the world-class whitewater at Rocher Fendu is ninety minutes upstream), and cycling along the riverside pathways that make Ottawa one of the most bike-friendly capitals in the world.

Ottawa is served by Macdonald-Cartier International Airport and is included in Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, and Canadian touring itineraries. The city is spectacular in every season: spring brings the Canadian Tulip Festival (over a million blooms), summer fills the city with festivals (including Canada Day celebrations on July 1 that transform Parliament Hill), autumn produces brilliant foliage in Gatineau Park, and winter offers the Rideau Canal skating experience and the Winterlude festival.