Road map Ottawa city surrounding area (Ontario, Canada)

Once the rough-and-tumble logging town of Bytown, Ottawa has  blossomed into a national capital to be proud of. Architecturally,  Ottawa is a visually pleasing mix of Gothic towers, copper roofs,  stately greystone buildings, and a fabulous glass edifice housing the  Art Gallery of Canada. In winter, the Rideau Canal becomes the longest  skating rink in the world, and the focus of Winterlude, one of North  America's largest winter festivals. While many of the capital's  attractions-such as Parliament Hill, the Royal Canadian Mint, and the  National Arts Centre-lie in Ottawa, the Casino and the Museum of  Civilization are located across the river in Hull, Quebec. The latter  offers one of the most impressive views of the Parliament Buildings.      

Mounted police at the National Gallery of Canada     

Carp [E1] Located near Carp is Canada's Cold War Museum,  dubbed the "Diefenbunker." Built in secrecy between 1959 and 1961, the  four-story underground facility was to house the essentials of  government in the event of a nuclear attack, including the Emergency  Government Operations Centre, the Bank of Canada Vault (which would have  stored Canada's gold reserve), and a once-secret emergency broadcast  tape at an underground CBC radio studio.      

Cumberland [C5] The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum is a  living history site consisting of over 20 buildings including a train  station, a church, a school, a garage, a community hall, several  historic homes, a period band-shell, and a sawmill. It preserves the  lifestyles, occupations, and industries of Cumberland township and the  Lower Ottawa Valley between 1880 and 1935.     

Gatineau Park, Quebec [C1-C2] Located minutes north of Ottawa,  this Quebec park offers almost 35,000 hectares of wilderness that can  be enjoyed year-round. There are 40 lakes and over 200 km of groomed  trails ideal for hiking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The  Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield train, the last authentic steam-powered train  operating in Eastern Canada, offers half-day trips along the edge of the  park. Kingsmere, Mackenzie King's beautifully restored summer estate,  is also here, and the popular Moorside tearoom overlooks the estate.   

[B8] This resort community is named after the seigneurial  stone manor built here in 1850 by Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786-1871),  leader of the 1837 rebellion of Lower Canada. Chateau Montebello is the  world's largest log building. It was built by the prestigious Seigniory  Club in 1930 out of 10,000 red cedar logs transported all the way from  British Columbia. Its fairly secluded idyllic location, elegant  hospitality, and proximity to Ottawa make it a popular setting for  international meetings as well as passing tourists.      

Ottawa [d3-e3]      

Ottawa's name is adapted from from the First Nations word  adawa ("traders"), the name of an Algonquin tribe who settled and traded  furs at the juncture of the Ottawa, Gatineau, and Rideau rivers. The  area came into prominence after the War of 1812, when Col. John By and  his Royal Engineers arrived in 1826 to build the Rideau Canal, the  largest construction project on the continent. The canal drew a large  influx of workmen to what was then called Bytown. Queen Victoria chose  the renamed Ottawa as Canada's capital in 1857. Today, Ottawa boasts an  impressive array of museums, historic sites, attractions, and over 50  festivals, and the Rideau Canal teems with pleasure crafts in summer,  and skaters in winter. Cycling and walking paths along the Rideau Canal  form North America's longest interconnected city bike path.      

CITY GUIDE      

OTTAWA ATTRACTIONS      

Parliament Hill Rideau Canal National Gallery of Canada  National Arts Centre National Library of Canada Canadian Museum of  Nature National Aviation      

Museum Canada Science Et Technology Museum Royal Canadian Mint Canadian War Museum Canadian Ski Museum Bytown Museum Et      

Ottawa Locks Laurier House (1878) Rideau Hall (1838) Notre  Dame Basilica Supreme Court of Canada Sussex Drive Byward Market  Gatineau Park Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull Casino de Hull      

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