Beginner’s Guide to Ottawa, Ontario

Beginner's Guide to Ottawa
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Meggan: Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast. We appreciate you tuning in as always. Jenn, how are you doing today?

Jenn: I am doing well. How are you?

Meggan: Dandy, thank you. And this week in particular, I'm excited because we want to focus on our nation's capital, Ottawa, and give everyone a good introduction to the city so you can start planning a visit. It's an amazing city. Of course, we highly recommend. Otherwise, we wouldn't be talking about it. As always, with our beginner's guides, so just a caveat, we won't cover every single thing to do, or every area, or every restaurant. You may have some favorites that we don't mention. This is literally more of a guide with some basics to help you get started and hopefully inspire you to do some more research and get planning a visit.

Jenn: Yes perfect. So let's start with just a little bit about Ottawa. And like we said, Ottawa is the capital of our country, of Canada, which is shocking to some people. A lot of people assume it is Toronto because, Toronto is the biggest city, but we kid you not, it is actually Ottawa. So, Ottawa was founded in 1826.

It was then known as Bytown and became Ottawa, as we know it by name, in 1855. It's in kind of the southern portion of Ontario. It's obviously the political center of our country. Our federal government is located there. And Ottawa is made up of 11 historic townships and is home to many universities, museums, and a beautiful canal system that we're going to talk about a lot in this episode.

And so locals tell us that spring between March and May is considered the best time to visit Ottawa. Ottawa kind of makes that transition out of winter. Everything starts to bloom and the city comes alive. I think it also gets very hot there in the summer, so it's not maybe the ideal time to be walking around.

And each year, 11 million tourists visit our nation's capital. So as always, if you are planning to visit, it's a good idea to plan and book in advance. I mean, we're recording this in July of 2024. So you've got lots of time to plan your spring 2025 trip. Like, lots of time. So,

Meggan: Tons of time.

Jenn: Meggan, talk to us about how to, or how you can arrive in Ottawa.

Meggan: Definitely. So there are three main ways to reach Ottawa. The first, of course, is driving. We visited back in 2017 and that's exactly how we did it. We made it part of a road trip from Nova Scotia. Remember though, Canada is very big, so if you intend to visit and make it part of a road trip and you're coming from outside of the country to start with, make sure you are within comfortable driving distance.

Vancouver to Ottawa isn't really possible unless you have lots of time, so do look at the map. The second main way people arrive is by rail. That is often from Quebec or other parts of Ontario. So if you are traveling to Quebec, making that most of your vacation, you could dip in to Ottawa from there. It's also possible to take the train from Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, but it's definitely going to elongate your commute. your travel time. I wouldn't really recommend unless you have unlimited time. And thirdly, of course, by air. The Ottawa International Airport is conveniently located just 20 minutes from downtown. So flying in is a great option. Obviously there are car rental options available at the airport and the city is actually quite walkable with great public transport. So do keep in mind a car may not be necessary depending on what you want to do and with a 20 minute trip downtown, the cab fare won't be crazy expensive, or take the fully accessible bus route 97 into downtown, saving even more I can't say time, but it may save you more money,

Jenn: That's totally fair. Yeah, we also drove to Ottawa before, and I'm, So jealous of people that can take trains places because here it takes us forever to get Somewhere like ottawa from nova scotia and it's like just as expensive basically as taking a flight So it really doesn't make sense, which is quite unfortunate I would love to do more rail travel, but they got to bring that price point down before they do it.

So

Meggan: such a developed country as well, we really should have faster rail options in this country. So that is honestly something I hope. As we move into what the future looks like, how futuristic can we get, hopefully that's on the docket because it's quite sad,

Jenn: It is all right. So we've arrived in ottawa. Where should people stay?

Meggan: Yeah. So sometimes in the past, we, when we, and we may, again, we talk about these beginners guides, we kind of name some places and we all know though that every city has your standard hotels high end, medium lower end, or however you'd like to call it, Airbnbs, inns, bed and breakfast options, and Ottawa is no different. So what we thought we might do is suggest some great areas of the city itself that might be good choices for first timers. or depending on what you want to see and do. So some great central neighbourhoods to see the sights and sounds are the downtown core, around Parliament Hill or the Byward Market area. Like I mentioned, Ottawa is fairly walkable depending on what's comfortable for you, but of course there are also bus and light rail options plus cabs and Ubers if you need to as well. West of downtown are some fun neighbourhoods. If you cannot find accommodations in what I've already mentioned. or you aren't a first timer but not overly familiar with the city. Those spots could include Little Italy, Chinatown, Wellington, and Westboro. As usual, check things out, open up Google Maps, check out what are your important must dos for your visit, and then pick those accommodations accordingly, whatever that looks like for you. On our visit, We stayed near Parliament Hill. My aunt who actually lived a long time in Ottawa, I told her where our hotel was and she told us we were on the borderline of it being kind of sketchy. But honestly, I, I don't recall it feeling that way at all. And we could see Parliament Hill from our balcony. And it was really convenient. We even were able to walk across the bridge to Gatineau, Quebec. Ottawa really felt a lot like Halifax in its walkability. We did have a car with us, but for everything we wanted to do, we actually didn't use our car once.

Jenn: Nice. That's great. Yeah, we visited a family, so we stayed a bit outside the city. Our family lives in Orleans, so we had to drive into downtown to do that kind of stuff, but I agree. It is a really walkable city once you're already in the downtown ish area.

Meggan: So once you're staying wherever it is you're staying, what are some options though of things that people can do? Because Ottawa is a vibrant city with a lot going on.

Jenn: So much going on. So, My first suggestion is to get outside. Ottawa actually has a lot of nature, so walk the canals, head to Dow's Lake where you can rent paddle boards, kayaks, canoes, and paddle boats. Or if you want to travel on land and you're looking for an active way to explore Ottawa, you can rent bikes.

It's also a really bike friendly city and there are tons of biking paths. So our next suggestion is a canal cruise. And so the Rideau Canal itself, I told you we're going to be talking about this canal a lot. Don't say I didn't warn you. It is a National Historic Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So it's kind of a big deal.

So you can take a canal cruise down the canal, see it from the water. A lot of them are narrated or there's a guide telling you about the history of the Rideau Canal. So we think that's a really great way to learn and see some of the sites and get a bit of a, the lay of the land as well.

Meggan: Did you do that when you visited? Did you?

Jenn: No, I want to now,

Meggan: Yeah, it's fun. We did it on our visit and it was really relaxing and enjoyable. Highly recommend.

Jenn: Nice. So the next suggestion is to walk around Parliament and Majors Hill Park. So of course you need to check out the Parliament buildings, like they're kind of a big deal as well. You can book free guided tours of the Senate of Canada building, the House of Commons at West Block, and the Heritage Rooms at East Block.

You have to book these tours in advance, even though they are free. You can't just show up on the day. You can also watch live proceedings in the Senate or the House of Commons or attend a public committee meeting, if that's something that you're interested in. But even if you don't go into the buildings, you should definitely check them out from the outside.

They are beautiful, gothic style buildings, and obviously, if you're a Canadian, A big deal.

Meggan: Well, definitely. I did want to mention and briefly say that the main parliament building is closed.

Jenn: Currently, yes.

Meggan: Yes, for rehabilitation, they're calling it. I love that word. We actually were in the last year before it closed. We got so fortunate because I think it actually might be closed until 2027.

Jenn: Wow. That's a long time. Okay. Well yeah. Hopefully you're listening to this beyond 2027 and they're

Meggan: If not, look at it from the outside, look at some scaffolding, whatever's happening.

Jenn: Let us know. So Majors Hill Park is a great spot to stop and relax. It has some of the best lookouts in Ottawa, offers really stunning views of the Ottawa locks on the Rideau Canal, the Ottawa River, and of course the Parliament Building. So, a great place to relax and maybe have a bite to eat, a little snack after you've explored the Parliament Building.

Our next suggestion is the Byward Market. You can't miss visiting. It's a community filled with cafes, restaurants, museums, shopping, nightlife. This is the type of thing that I love doing when I'm exploring a new city, is to grab a coffee, wander through the shops, sit on the patios, enjoy the people watching.

Check out some museums and the buskers. Like, that sounds like my perfect travel day, if I'm honest.

Meggan: Excellent.

Jenn: So for something a wee bit fancier, you can book the afternoon tea at the Chateau Laurier. The menu looks delicious. The main dining room is currently under refurbishment. This is becoming a theme.

Meggan: Rehabilitation if you, If you must.

Jenn: you must. However, they are serving it in another room at this point. I'm not sure when the regular spot is going to reopen.

I just noticed that it was under renovation. So, hopefully soon.

Meggan: Indeed.

Jenn: Okay. Ottawa has lots of festivals throughout the year, including the Canadian Tulip Festival. My best friend just did that this past spring and her pictures looked gorgeous. Sad I didn't go. The Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival and Winterlude. But there are so many festivals.

There are music festivals, food and drink festivals, film festivals, cultural festivals. Like, I couldn't list them all here. We would be here forever Uh, an inside scoop from a pal is to check out Ottawa is not boring. It is a website and also an Instagram page and they post what is happening on the weekend.

So we'll link them in the show notes, but check it out for the time that you'll be visiting, and there'll be lots of things to do, I'm sure. So other cute neighborhoods to explore, Wellington West is a trendy neighborhood with shopping and dining. You can also find an art gallery and many outdoor murals. You know I love a mural.

Meggan: Yes, this is your jam.

Jenn: I love a mural. Apparently the nightlife is also great. There's lots of pubs and cocktail bars as well. And another great neighborhood is the Glebe. So check out Lansdowne Park. They host a farmer's market. They also do yoga classes, outdoor concerts, and an annual Christmas market. I'm thinking a Christmas time visit to Ottawa would also be lovely. Now

Meggan: would be.

Jenn: about this. It also, this neighborhood also has plenty of cafes, fun bars, boutiques, specialty stores, art galleries. I'm ready to move in here.

Meggan: I really thought when we visited Ottawa, I'm like, I. Could. live here.

Jenn: Yeah, like I really could. As like a kind of funny side note, In my day job, I write for a real estate website, and we have done quite a few articles recently about kind of the best places to live in Canada, and Ottawa keeps coming up on these lists. Like, I'm telling you.

Meggan: Maybe it's trying to tell you something.

Jenn: trying to tell me I should move to Ottawa, I guess.

But yeah, if people are looking for a place to live. They should check out Ottawa. Home prices are surprisingly not insane, so who knew?

Meggan: We need to cut that out of the show because we need to keep that a secret. You didn't hear that everybody.

Jenn: No, no, these people are in the know. They're allowed.

Meggan: All right.

Jenn: So Ottawa also has lots of museums, so the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of History, Canadian Museum of Nature, And more. So we suggest visiting, visit ottawapasses. ca. I'll also link this in the show notes. So it's easy for you to get to, you can get a one day museum pass or a three day at very reasonable prices.

So go check those out.

Meggan: You'll be surprised to know, sorry if you can hear the racer boy going by on the recording you'll be surprised to know we did museums in Ottawa.

Jenn: No.

Meggan: I, and I, my favourite was definitely the Canadian Museum of Nature. Loved it so much.

Jenn: look at you going to a museum.

Meggan: know, I'm so impressive sometimes.

Jenn: So after that, all that exploring, you're probably going to need a spa day, you know, obviously. So Kona Spa or Le Nordique are both in Quebec, but it is a very short distance away from downtown Ottawa. Like these are both 15 or 20 minutes away. So very close. They're both Nordic spas with outdoor pools, saunas, massages.

They look heavenly. I would like to spend a day there as well.

Meggan: Yes, me too. And before we move away from this section, I do want to give a shout out to my pal Heidi. She is an Ottawa local and she gave us a lot of really great selections and ideas to help with the episode so that we could provide you with the best info. So thanks to Heidi.

Jenn: Yeah, thanks! And lastly, lots of sports to take in if you're visiting Ottawa. So they do have the Ottawa Senators, an NHL hockey team, the Ottawa Red Blacks, which is a CFL team, the Ottawa Titans, which is baseball. Professional, but not MLB.

Meggan: Don't get too excited. It's not the MLB.

Jenn: Atletico Ottawa is soccer or football, the UK football and then the Ottawa 67s is their QMJHL league hockey team. And then PWHL Ottawa is their women's team. So lots of options in lots of different sports.

Meggan: Yes, support the gals out on the ice.

Jenn: Yeah, so we've just done a lot of things, and now we are hungry, Meggan. So, where shall we eat?

Meggan: So we've broken it down again with, with a lot of help from Heidi and to sort of a few options for you. So I'm going to talk higher end, mid range, and then like for all. So it's according to what you're looking for. Again, probably especially with the higher end and maybe even mid. But maybe all of them, I would think about reservations. So keep that in mind in advance. If you'd like to book any of these, go online. Everything's usually pretty convenient to do that now. So let's start with higher end. So first one is Riviera. It is located in a former bank building. I can just envision the high ceilings already. It is upscale Canadian cuisine. That to me is quite vague. I, I, I don't know what that means, but it also has some higher end drinks. So Canadian grub. and higher end drinks. Gitanes, so G I T A N E S, in case I'm not pronouncing that properly, is a higher end French restaurant on Elgin Street. So they serve pasta, seafood, steak, and they have a tasting menu at the chef's table, if that is up your alley.

I'm sure it's a little bit pricier, but I did read some reviews and they were raving. And they also have a terrace with outside seating, or a terrasse, I suppose. Another is called Supply and Demand, which I think is a super fun name. They're all about sustainable ingredients. Their website actually says, Our menu offers light, vibrant, raw, var dishes, vegetable focused small plates, as well as savory, rustic pastas, either made by hand or extruded daily.

Jenn: Interesting. That's I like the sound of that place. I'd be trying that one out. Yeah,

Meggan: thinking I'm going to go though and get a vegetable focused small plate. I mean, I don't, I don't think that's going to be, but I mean, if you don't eat meat, that's a perfect option, but I don't think it's going to be my first choice, but it does sound very intriguing.

Jenn: it does. Yeah.

Meggan: Supply and demand. All right. Let's move along to some mid, mid range spots. We'll start with Tavern at the gallery, as indicated, it is located at the National Gallery of Canada. They specialize in shareable plates. They're really sharing a lot there in Ottawa.

Jenn: Into sharing.

Meggan: I love that. Pasta and pizza and sandwiches. It's kind of an overall Italian vibe.

I'm always into an Italian food vibe. I would go. Alora Ottawa. So A L O R A. It has a cute rooftop patio apparently. Love that. It is located in the Byward Market. There are three levels. Obviously including that patio, they're offering drinks and shareables again, come with your friends and share.

Uh, They also of course have Maines including steak, pasta, roasted chicken and the like. And then the last one I'll mention is aroma Meze, MEZE located on Nipean Street, we'll call it that, I'm not sure. It's described as a casual pub serving wine and Greek and Mediterranean small plates. So either you're sharing. Or you're getting a small plate in Ottawa.

Jenn: More sharing. I,

Meggan: Greek and Mediterranean is right in my wheelhouse. I would love that.

Jenn: same. Actually, like one of my favorite things is to order a bunch of small plates with people and share them. Like I, I love that kind of food. So

Meggan: Ottawa's calling our

Jenn: I guess so. I didn't know.

Meggan: I know. All the sharing and the small plates, here we come.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Now, some options for all. If you're looking to have a family, if you're budgeting, if you just don't want to spend any more money because you've had a big large day. First one I'll mention is Pizza Nerds. So there are a few locations, so check out one that might be close to your adventures during the daytime or your accommodations.

They have some really yummy looking and interesting pizza styles. An inside tip is their white sauce pizza with mushrooms apparently is a must try. Or the Grand Tortoboys. A new hand pulled noodle restaurant is Amazing Authentic Artisan Noodles at Somerset Street West. This can help satisfy those Chinese food cravings with soups, noodles, obviously chow meins, and apparently the portion sizes are very generous.

We love that.

Jenn: Not a small plate there.

Meggan: Not a small shareable plate. You get your own food.

Jenn: Yay.

Meggan: Yay. And then last but not least, I will mention Le Moulin de Provence. It is a bakery located in the Byward Market. I've actually seen this on TikTok before. You can get your breads and pastries, some sandwiches and salad options for lunch as well.

I did hear the prices are a bit tad. That's what happens when something goes viral. But it could be a great stop though for lunch or a sweet treat. And it could be a great stop for breakfast because they do open at 7.

Jenn: Oh, I love that. Yeah.

I I get mad when places like coffee shops, pastry shops don't open before like eight or nine in the morning. I'm like, I'm up and I want to drink coffee. I need a pastry. So open these doors. I understand that you have to get up and bake. I understand.

Meggan: mean, proof the bread the night before, I don't know what to tell you.

Le Moulin de Provence will be there for you at 7am.

Jenn: Perfect. I will be there.

Meggan: Right. Wonderful. So we're full. I'd love now to understand a bit more about Ottawa. So you have some fun facts to share. Of

Jenn: I, of course, have some fun facts to share. And the first one is that Ottawa is the seventh coldest capital in the world.

Meggan: course it is!

Jenn: Of course it is. So others that are colder in order of coldest first are Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Astana in Kazakhstan, Moscow, Russia, Helsinki, Finland, Reykjavik, Iceland, and finally Tallinn, Estonia.

So yeah,

we're right up there. Ottawa is famous for being the first city in Canada to have traffic lights. Hmm, fun fact! Yes, this important event happened in 1908 at the corner of Wellington Street and O'Connell, er, O'Connor Street.

Meggan: How historic. So

Jenn: Alright, so the Canadian flag on the Peace Tower is replaced with a new flag every weekday except on statutory holidays and during poor weather conditions, which is probably

Meggan: the winter, it's one flag.

Jenn: To replace the peace tower flag, an employee folds and places a new flag in a satchel, takes the elevator to the observation deck, climbs 33 meters of stairs and ladders, and then once at the top, lowers the currently flying flag and raises the new one up the 10. 7 meter flagpole. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes and the flag is never allowed to touch the ground. I don't know why but that's how it works. You can actually request a flag that has been flown on Parliament Hill My family actually has one, but the wait time is now more than a hundred years.

Meggan: Did you say like a hundred?

Jenn: I did, yeah, 100.

Meggan: Wow.

Jenn: you could now request for like your great grandchildren and they might get one,

Meggan: Not me or you, but someone could.

Jenn: Yeah, no, my uh, my grandparents actually have one of these.

Meggan: That's amazing.

Jenn: it's very cool.

Meggan: Good thing they're not waiting for it now.

Jenn: Good thing. Back to the canal, of course. The, the Rideau Canal is actually man made. Like we said, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it has the oldest operating canal locks in the world.

in North America and in winter it becomes the world's largest skating rink. You can skate along the canal and it's actually a way that a lot of Ottawa, Ottawaians, what do they call Ottawa?

Meggan: I don't know.

Jenn: Anyway, they, a lot of them get around by skating in the winter and just skate along the canal.

Meggan: Yes, I have heard. Sadly, not to be a Debbie Downer. The last few years it hasn't froze properly because of

Jenn: Climate change.

Meggan: mean if it's the seventh coldest capital, we'll hope that that is a resurgence of that.

Jenn: Great. I'm Googling. What do you call people from Ottawa? An Ottowan. Ottowan?

Meggan: Ottawa?

Jenn: Sure. Anybody listening from Ottawa want to give us a better word? Cause Ottowan is weird. Is that the correct one? Do you have a different word? I might need to know in case I move to Ottawa. So,

Meggan: What will I be called?

Jenn: Thank you so much for tuning in.

In case you've missed it, we have Beginner's Guides episodes highlighting a bunch of cities in Canada, the U. S., and Europe, including Halifax, Nova Scotia, Toronto, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Montreal, Quebec, Miami, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada Edinburgh, Scotland, London, Paris, New York, We got so many, so check those out.

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And until next time, bye!

Meggan: Bye!