Recent reviews Ottawa
[magdadh, 21/11/2010] Ottawa's Parliament Hill is a complex of buildings which pretty much from the moment Ottawa was chosen as Canada's capital functioned as the heart of the administration of the country (this, incidentally, was a very clever decision by Victoria, balancing the French and British prides and placating - or at least attempting to - the rivalry between Toronto and Montreal, and not as some might lead you to believe, a choice based on her liking for a romantic watercolour landscape of the town).
The buildings themselves are Neo-Gothic and look like a mixture of London's Houses of Parliament and som
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[magdadh, 21/11/2010] The Canadian Museum of Civilisation in Ottawa (or rather, as it's over the river, in the Quebecois Gatienau) is a large and lavish anthropological museum occupying an extraordinary building designed by the Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal. The building has a prominent position on the riverside, opposite the Parliament Hill, almost as if it was making a statement about a relationship between the federal republic epitomised by the Hill and the peoples (and people) that create it, whose artefacts feature in the museum.
It's a beautiful, striking building designed apparently to represent the
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[magdadh, 16/11/2010] "Women are persons" commemorates a historic case which led to Canadian women being recognised as "persons"and thus being eligible to be named to the Senate. This became known as the case of 'Famous Five' (Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Nellie Mcclung). The Supreme Court of Canada rejected their case in 1928 but the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council decided in favour on October 18, 1929.
The monument by Barbara Paterson is excellent: realistic but larger-than-life figures of all five persons in question engaged in a animated conversation
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[TheDaz, 30/01/2009] Spanning the Ottawa river between Ontario and Quebec, the Royal Alexandra bridge remains an impressive feat of engineering. It carries road and foot passengers between Nepean Point, just below the National Art Gallery in Ottawa, across to Hull in Gatineau, usefully right beside the excellent Canadian Museum of Civilisation.
I should warn you that as a pedestrian, you will have to endure hundreds of yards of rickety wooden planks as you make your way across. Although the walkway is separated from the roadway by steel stanchions, the volume of traffic creates a light wobbling effect that comb
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[TheDaz, 30/01/2009] If Parliament Hill is the beating heart of Ottawa, then Byward Market is its soul. A bustling throng of market traders and independent retailers, the whole Byward area, which extends several streets beyond the original market in each direction is a lively hub of trade.
Sited just off Sussex Drive with its government offices and embassies, and leading east to Cumberland Street, it retains the oldest Farmers Market in the Nation. The sounds of buskers and street hawkers fill the air, as does a steady stream of people ambling gently in and out of the side streets.
The market building itsel
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[TheDaz, 30/01/2009] Not the most stunning of shopping centres. Little more than workmanlike in fact, but renovation works appear to be giving the Rideau Centre something of a facelift. Built and used mainly for its convenience, the shopping centre sits between the government and business hub of Parliament Hill and Downtown, and the trendier, more relaxed Byward area to the east of the Rideau Canal.
With access onto the streets below the Canal, and also on the first floor level of the Mackenzie King bridge crossing, the centre offers handy all-weather connections to the numerous buses that stop here on the coun
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[TheDaz, 26/11/2008] From the outside, and even from within in the lobby, the Hotel looks a bit drab and not as good as the website pictures would have you berlieve. Once we got up to our rooms however we were pleasantly surprised at the room sizes and the quality of the furnishings.
The hotel, from the looks of the other guests we met, seems to cater for Tourists wanting proximity to the attractions, business travellers on a budget, and, from the looks of the very busy conferencing staff, small conventions and meetings of groups.
After changing rooms because of dodgy plumbing, we found ourselves in a spacio
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[LizFournier, 18/11/2008] Last week, my family and I had to go to Ottawa for a family emergency. We selected this hotel, as it looked great on-line and seemed to have a good location.
When we checked in, we were greeting by the most friendly employees I think I have ever encountered. From the Bellman that greeted us (John) to the front desk clerk (Christopher), we were warmly welcomed and made to feel at home. Christopher quickly discovered the reason for our visit and was incredibly sweet to send up a lovely fruit and cheese plate and some goodies for the children.
The room was lovely - nice high ceilings and wi
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[TheDaz, 12/11/2008] Sometimes it's easy to forget how amazing the World is, and you need to marvel at some of the things we (as inventive and innovative humans) have filled it with. The Museum of Civilisation in Ottawa is the best example in North America of just that. Combining the aforementioned Civilisation part, with the Canadian Museums Post and Children (not all at once, that'd just be weird), this is an impressive collection of artefacts and displays that will leave you speechless.
Located in Hull (funny how English place names get around), just across the Ottawa River in the Quebec region of Gatineau,
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[toombsey, 02/06/2008] Although I live only 200 km away from Ottawa I had never before been there until recently when we had relatives visiting us from the UK. As part of their intro to Canada trip we took them to Ottawa for a couple of days and boy were we shocked at how fantastic the city was. In particular Parliament Hill is just the best place to be. The architecture is fantastic, the scenery great and it is all FREE!
[toombsey, 01/06/2008] Although located away from the city, this hotel offers excellent amenities and is only a short bus journey from Ottawa city centre. Well worth staying here if you don't mind crossing the road and hopping on a bus for 15 minutes to get the city centre.
[tartlette, 05/06/2007] As part of a trip across Canada my boyfriend and I made Ottawa our second stop. The Parliament Buildings were the first things on our 'to do in Ottawa' list. We definately weren't disappointed by them.
HISTORY:
The history of the Parliament Buildings is interwoven with the history of Canada. I'll try to give some idea of the history of the buildings without it sounding too much like a history lesson! In 1857 Queen Victoria was asked to chose a capital for the Province of Canada and she chose Ottawa. The Parliament Buildings, which consist of a Centre Block and East and West Blocks, were
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