Ottawa Road Trip

For Canadians a six-hour drive is nothing. This is still something I am getting used to! After three hours my ass is flat and my back is hurting and I’m complaining like a small child. Are we there yet?? I obviously have to get used to drives in a big country.

Ottawa, the country’s capital, is a popular road trip and a major tourist destination. From Toronto it’s about a 4/5-hour drive, depending on how many times you stop for Tim Hortons.

This was my first time sightseeing in Ottawa and there sure is a LOT to do. We only had four days and could have done with a few more.

Staying in the downtown business district made getting around a breeze. It is a very walkable city, and so scenic, with beautiful architecture, the Rideau Canal, markets, cathedrals, and many museums.

We tried to squeeze in as much as possible into two days. Of course, one of the top attractions is Parliament Hill, which was just around the corner.

Nearby was the canal, where we saw statues of The Famous Five – five prominent Canadian suffragists who advocated for women and children.

And the next stop was Byward Market, which was pretty but overpriced, and overrun with tourists. It was still a nice walk though.

We also managed to squeeze in two museums – and boy does Ottawa have a lot to choose from! Being nature lovers we chose the Museum of Nature and spent hours there. The Kid certainly loved it but it was massive.

The next day was the Children’s Museum, which is part of the History Museum. The Children’s Museum was really awesome and well done, making it interesting for the parents too. Kids get a ‘passport’ as they enter, and have to ‘travel’ around the museum getting stamps. There were tuk-tuks in Thailand, tatami rooms in Japan, a Mexican street market, an Egyptian pyramid, and more. Again this is a place you could spend the whole day (it was exhausting, I’m not going to lie). But a great attraction.