Ottawa 22-24/9/12

Trundled across to Ottawa from Toronto on the train. ViaRail is Canada's train network and is really easy to use - even when booking overseas! They have a simple kiosk system and it's all well-labelled. The trip took about four hours and gave nice views of the Ontario countryside.

Ottawa was definitely one of the surprises on the trip - we were wondering whether it was going to be worth a visit however the city and its architecture was impressive. The city isn't big (population 880 000) and is easy to move around.

Had a bit of a laugh when we checked in - within 10 minutes the fire alarm went off! Kudos to these three who carried their wine down 9 flights of stairs without spilling a drop :)



Once again, lots of great buildings to walk around. Here's a taster:


Library & Archives of Canada

Currency Museum

Government of Canada Centre

St Peters Church

National Gallery of Canada

Notre Dame Cathedral AKA the Church of the Holy Arachnid as it's opposite the National Gallery :)

Royal Canadian Mint

House of Parliament


Parliament from across the river (Gatineau, Quebec). Interesting how you cross a bridge and there's a massive influx of French on your ears!

The Ottawa War Memorial at night

The Rideau Canal - a series of locks that connects Ottawa to Lake Ontario for over 200km. In winter, 8km of it becomes the world's longest ice rink :)


This is the Fairmont Chateau Laurier that overlooks the Rideau Canal

Good food too - enjoyed some bison here :)

The Rose