Ottawa Tourist Attractions

By rail:VIA Rail - Ottawa's station was relocated from the center to the south-east of the city. Trains run several times daily to Toronto and Montréal.By bus:The city is well served by the Canadian intercity bus lines.Ottawa Transit's city buses run at short intervals on an extensive and closely integrated system of routes.Ottawa stands at the confluence of the Ottawa and Rideau rivers, and is also the starting point of the Rideau Canal linking it to Lake Ontario.HistoryThe city grew up between 1820 and 1840 from the construction base which had been set up where the Rideau Canal diverged from the Ottawa River. In charge of the project was the British Colonel John By (1779-1836) and consequently the town was known until 1853 as "Bytown". In 1854 the town changed its name to Ottawa.From 1864 Ottawa was developed as the Canadian capital. The Parliament buildings were built in 1865, high above the Ottawa River, and this is where, in 1867, the first Canadian Parliament met following the founding of the Dominion of Canada.In the course of time Ottawa has become a busy government seat, with all the marks of the federal city, but it has some industry too, especially timber, paper and printing.Although the city may have been considered rather provincial in the past, it now has a very real feeling of the international metropolis, due in no small measure to the cosmopolitan nature of the many people who have come to live here.InstitutionsAs Canada's capital Ottawa not only houses the national parliament but also the Supreme Court, as well as the many government departments and cultural institutions such as major museums and two universities, plus a Catholic and an Anglican bishop.ConferencesAs the seat of government of a nation that is an economic force to be reckoned with, Ottawa has also been able to develop into a top-ranking venue for conferences, many of them of worldwide significance.Science and cultureTogether with Hull in Québec Province on the other side of the Ottawa River, Ottawa has succeeded more than any other Canadian city in developing a life of lively intellect and culture. The Royal Society of Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University and several research institutes have all contributed to this, as have such internationally famous venues as the National Arts Center (since 1969; opera, concerts), the National Library and Archives, the National Gallery (since 1988 in a fine new building by Moshe Safdie) and the Canadian Museum of Civilization (since 1989 in an imposing new building by Douglas Cardinal, see Hull).Business interestsAlthough Ottawa cannot be said to have the commercial importance of Montréal or Toronto, in recent years a great many major companies have made it their headquarters, particularly in the high-tech sector, and its status as a capital city and center for the arts have also attracted bankers, stockbrokers, and insurers, together with publishers.The 200km / 124mi long Rideau Canal, only 1.6m/ 5.25ft) deep, connects Ottawa with Kingston on Lake Ontario. It was originally intended as a second strategic route between Montréal and Lake Ontario, the military need for which was demonstrated during the war with the United States in 1812.At the time of building (1826-32) the canal was a triumph of constructional engineering. More than four dozen dams were required to control the water levels, and the 83m (272 ft) ascent to the summit between Ottawa and Lake Ontario meant that boats had to pass through numerous locks.Although steamers plied the canal for over a hundred years it never came to have any major economic significance. Today the waterway with its 24 operational locks is used mainly by pleasure boats and for tourism.It is one of history's curiosities that a camp for 2000 construction workers employed on building a branch of the canal from the Ottawa River should eventually become the capital of Canada.The staircase of eight locks on Parliament Hill is highly photogenic. Ottawa's first stone building was on a site next to the canal.