3 Days in Ottawa: Parliament Hill, Rideau Canal, ByWard Market, Great Museums & Gatineau Park

Days 1 and 2 are walkable around the river and canal loop, while Day 3 uses the free NCC Shuttle or a short drive to Gatineau Park and Nordik Spa. Read our O-Train and Aqua-Taxi guide before Day 1.

Day 1: Parliament Hill, Rideau Canal Locks, Château Laurier & 1826 ByWard Market

• Morning: start on Parliament Hill; see the Centennial Flame, take a free guided tour of West Block, walk behind the 1876 Library of Parliament, and visit the Bank of Canada Museum.
• Midday to Afternoon: descend to the UNESCO Rideau Canal Locks to watch the 1832 hand-cranked gates, visit the 1827 Bytown Museum, and take an Electric Rideau Canal Cruise.
• Late Afternoon & Evening: walk through Major's Hill Park into ByWard Market for an original BeaverTails pastry, the Ottawa sign and dinner.

Day 2: Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau), National Gallery ('Maman') & Sunset at Kìwekì Point

• Morning to Early Afternoon: ride the electric Aqua-Taxi across the river to the Canadian Museum of History for the Grand Hall of Totem Poles and Canadian History Hall.
• Afternoon: return to Sussex Drive for Maman at the National Gallery of Canada and the starry vault of 1846 Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.
• Sunset: cross the Pìdàban footbridge behind the Gallery onto Kìwekì Point (Nepean Point) for the grandest sunset panorama in the capital.

Day 3: War Museum or Museum of Nature + Afternoon in Gatineau Park & Nordik Spa

• Morning: ride O-Train Line 1 two stops west to Pimisi Station for the grass-roofed Canadian War Museum, or walk 15 minutes south to the 1912 castle of the Canadian Museum of Nature, followed by a bike ride down the Rideau Canal path to The Glebe and Dow's Lake.
• Afternoon & Evening: take the free NCC Shuttle Bus (or drive 15 minutes north across the river) into Gatineau Park: walk the boardwalk around emerald Pink Lake, explore the forest ruins of the Mackenzie King Estate and take in the view from Champlain Lookout, before soaking in the outdoor thermal pools and saunas of Nordik Spa-Nature in Chelsea.