A Capital Day

Originally founded as Bytown in 1826, Ottawa grew in importance with the construction of the Rideau Canal which connected Montreal to Kingston.  The city's name was changed to Ottawa in 1855 and it was selected by Queen Victoria as the capital in 1857.  At that time, it was a small town and part of the reason for it being selected was that it was far enough from the US border that they thought it would be safe from an American attack.


Today with a population of nearly 1 million, its the fourth largest city in Canada.

Today we do a walking tour of Ottawa's major sites, some of which we saw yesterday.   Stops include Parliament Hill, the National War Memorial, Sparks Street, Major's Hill Park, the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, the Bank of Canada, The Rideau Canal, the Prime Minister's Offices and the ByWard Market

Ottawa’s National War Memorial is a tall memorial arch commemorating all Canadian soldiers who have died in the service of war, past and future. Unveiled for the first time in 1939 after a nation-wide competition for its design, the memorial’s initial intention was to commemorate the Canadian casualties of World War I. However, this intention was subsequently altered to accommodate those who died in World War II, the Korean War and the war in Afghanistan.

Major's Hill Park

The Fairnont Chateau Laurier is a 400 room luxury hotel constructed in 1912 near the Rideau Canal.  Its adjacent to Major's Hill Park.

The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario  to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston, Ontario. It is 202 kilometers in length. The name Rideau, French for "curtain", is derived from the curtain-like appearance of the Rideau River's twin waterfalls where they join the Ottawa River. The canal system uses sections of two rivers, the Rideau and the Cataraqui, as well as several lakes.  In the winter, the canal becomes  a huge ice skating rink.

After seeing some of Ottawa, we head two hours east to Montreal where we will spend the next three nights.  Our hotel is an Embassy Suites in the financial district within walking distance of Old Montreal where most of the tourist attractions are.