Overnight in Ottawa

On my trip to visit my sister, I requested a day trip to Ottawa. I’ve never been, and on my last trip to the region, it didn’t fit into the schedule.

Because its just over 3 hours away, we opted for an overnight. With a baby, nobody wants to spend that much time driving in one day. Or spend that much time on the go. Staying overnight just made it easier. I found a cheep hotel on the internet, and away we went.

Parliament Buildings

Our first stop was Parliament and the free tour! We caught the 12:40 tour with Walter on my back (he didn’t last long, around the time we got to the Senate chamber’s he was a hungry monster and wanted off and to be fed). I hip carried him, and breastfed him as we finished up our tour.

If you’re wondering Stroller vs. Babywear, the answer is babywear. I don’t think you can bring your stroller, but I do remember seeing one as we exited. There are stairs and small spaces. It would just be easier to babywear. Then you can navigate and explore with the group without taking up too much space.

The tour was definitely cool, but also just a little bit boring. The library was perhaps the most beautiful of rooms and the most interesting to see. I think I might be a little bit jaded because last winter we toured the Budapest parliament buildings and that building is absolutely breath taking and gorgeous. Canada’s looks drab and dreary in comparison.

Handy Tip: security will confiscate any sharp or danger items. You can have them back at the end of the tour, but maybe just leave them in the car. My brother in law had a multi tool gadget in his wallet that he had to claim afterwards.
There’s also a coat check and changing table in the downstairs washroom area.

Rideau Canal

My sister had dreams of going skating. But it’s been a warm/weird winter. Skating wasn’t going to happen. Instead, we just dreamed of skating. We also dreamed it was a nicer day for a beautiful stroll along the banks.

Byward Market

I’m not sure what the hype is all about. This let us down. A collection of restaurants and vendors and not much to see or do unless you want to shop. We came back to this neighbourhood for dessert at the end of the day, but aside from the Beavertail, I wouldn’t recommend it in February (maybe it’s more active in the summer/tourist season?)

Beaver Tail! I needed to have a beaver tail! This is the Canadian thing, isn’t it? I went classic. Why mess with a good thing? Moriah & Greg went fancy, apples and oreo maybe? They were delightfully delicious. Unfortunately, Walter was fast asleep and could not enjoy the sugar goodness that was a Beaver Tail.

That’s all folks

Seriously, that’s about all we did. We finished up and then went for a drive to check out where the Prime Minister lived. We tried to figure out this point where you could get a different perspective of the parliament buildings but failed and didn’t wanna pay for astronomical parking (daytime) again. So instead we tried to find our hotel and had a snooze.

We didn’t hit up any of the big museums. We didn’t quite have the time. The next day a storm was supposed to hit Ottawa so we wanted to leave before 2pm and decided to visit only one museum. We decided on the Defienbunker.

What’s your favourite thing to see or do in Ottawa?