Totem poles
The Grand Hall.
Wladyslaw — CC BY 3.0 · shankar s. from sharjah, united arab emirates — CC BY 2.0 · Hayden Soloviev — CC BY 4.0 · Bublegun — CC BY-SA 3.0
Canada's most visited museum, on the north bank of the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec, directly opposite Parliament Hill, in a building of curving lines by the architect Douglas Cardinal, of Indigenous heritage, inspired by a Canadian landscape shaped by rivers and ice. Its best-known space is the Grand Hall, with a tall glass wall looking out on the river and Parliament, home to the world's largest indoor collection of totem poles, standing before wooden house fronts that recreate the villages of the Pacific coast First Nations. The Canadian History Hall tells the country's story from thousands of years ago to the present through artefacts and reconstructed scenes. The building also houses the Canadian Children's Museum, a trip around the world through markets and homes of different cultures that young children love. Tickets are C$25 per adult, with ten per cent off online, per the official site, including the Children's Museum. Visitors cross from downtown Ottawa by bridge, on foot or by bus, in about fifteen to twenty minutes.
The Grand Hall.
Canada's story.
A world tour.
100 Laurier Street, Gatineau, Quebec, facing Parliament Hill
National Gallery of CanadaCanada's largest art museum, in a striking glass-and-granite building by the arc9 minutes walk4.6
Parliament HillThe heart and symbol of Canada's capital, a group of Gothic Revival stone buildi11 minutes walk4.8
Rideau CanalA historic waterway opened in 1832, running 202 kilometres from Ottawa to Kingst15 minutes walk4.8
ByWard MarketOttawa's oldest and liveliest shopping district, which grew from a farmers' mark17 minutes walkIt is in Gatineau across the Ottawa River, roughly fifteen minutes from Parliament Hill.