FIVE MUST-SEES IN OTTAWA
Great food. Sleek new hotels. Lively neighbourhoods. Ottawa (ottawatourism.ca) is a city that’s most definitely moving in the right direction. Here are five things you need to do on your next visit, writes Jim Byers.
1 Parliament Hill I hadn’t visited our nation’s Parliament for at least 20 years. It offers wonderful tours, with fun stories about the history and architecture contrasted with sobering areas, including the Memorial Chamber near the base of the Peace Tower. A few minutes watching the House of Commons is a fascinating experience and the main library might be the most beautiful interior space in the country. (lop.parl.gc.ca/Visitors/visit-e.html)
2 Culture and music The National Gallery is a gorgeous facility just steps from Parliament Hill. You feel like you’re entering a new world as you walk up the ramp toward the main galleries. Of course there’s Canada’s Group of Seven and their famous landscapes, but you’ll also find cutting-edge displays from artists you may not have heard of, but wish you had, not to mention works by the likes of Rubens, Degas and Monet. (gallery.ca/en) On the musical front, Ottawans have been flocking for nearly three decades to Chateau Lafayette in the Byward Market area, where every Saturday afternoon for 26 years or so a country/Canadian guy named Lucky Ron serenades a loyal crowd with everything from Johnny Cash to Stompin’ Tom Connors. Folks know all the lyrics and engage in backand-forth banter and rowdy shouts of encouragement. Stuffy Ottawa? Not a chance. (thelaff.ca)
3 Byward Market You probably know about the famous BeaverTails pastry stand and how U.S. President Barack Obama stopped by the market a few years ago. What you might not know is there are some seriously tasty food options, including the tacos at Corazon des Mais, and across the road from the market building, some seriously inventive fashion. MILK sells lovely jewelry and in-yourface T-shirts with phrases like “Canadian Built” and “Canadian as F---.” (byward-market.com)
4 Rideau and the river The Rideau Canal skating rink in winter is legendary, a frozen trail that starts — or ends, depending on how you look at it — on the Ottawa River. At nearly eight kilometres, it’s said to be the longest natural rink in the world. In spring, summer and fall it’s where folks go to watch boats bob their way along or to stroll arm in arm. You can rent bikes in a number of places along the canal and ride out past Lansdowne Park and The Glebe neighbourhood, with its fine local shops and restaurants.
5 Food and drink You can take a terrific food tour of the Hintonburg and Wellington West areas with C’est Bon Tours (cestboncooking.ca/foodtours), with whom I sampled olive oils and specialty vinegars at Emulsify and nibbled on gluten-free, dairy-free brownies made with quinoa at Thyme and Again. For a sit-down dinner, try Navarra. My dinner of foie gras with shiitake mushrooms, Asian spices and a rabbit confit done up Mexican style with pickled pineapple was as inventive and tasty as any I’ve had on the planet (navarrarestaurant.com). The craft beer scene has exploded in Ottawa and the folks at Brew Donkey ( brewdonkey.ca) can give you a tour of several of the top ones. The best I tried was Waller St. Brewery, located in the basement of a historic building with fantastic India pale ales. And, while the beer isn’t as exotic, it’s hard to beat a sunny afternoon on the patio at Lowertown Brewery.