Ottawa Premium City Tour with Parliament Hill & Canal Cruise
Description
Your tour begins with pickup from your Ottawa accommodation in a comfortable, fully guided vehicle as you set out to explore Canada’s capital. Travel through the elegant Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood before stopping at Rideau Hall, the official residence of Canada’s Governor General, followed by a drive-by the home of the Prime Minister. Continue to Parliament Hill for a photo stop at the Centennial Flame, the symbolic heart of Canadian democracy, before passing the Supreme Court of Canada and other key landmarks along Wellington Street. Next, view the stunning Notre-Dame Basilica and Royal Canadian Mint while your guide shares stories of their historical and cultural significance. Then enjoy a relaxing cruise along the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site offering scenic views of Ottawa from the water. After the cruise, take in the Fairmont Château Laurier and a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the Canadian Museum of History before being comfortably returned to your hotel.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your Ottawa sightseeing tour begins with pick up from your hotel before heading out on a narrated drive past some must-see sights! You’ll pass the Parliament Buildings and make stops outside the Supreme Court and Canadian Museum of History for photos with a view.
We’ll take you on a driving tour through Rockcliffe Park. Large tour buses aren’t allowed to go here, but since we’re in a smaller, passenger van you’ll have the chance to check out some sights that most tourists won’t get to see, such as: the official residence of the US Ambassador to Canada, the Governor General’s Residence (Rideau Hall), and the Prime Minister’s Residence. We’ll also stop at the Rockcliffe lookout point where you take some amazing pictures while looking out on Ottawa River.
Visit the official residence of Canada’s Governor General, set on beautifully landscaped grounds that reflect the country’s ceremonial traditions. Your guide will explain its role in Canadian governance and highlight its historic architecture and royal connections.
Pass by the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada while your guide provides insight into its political significance and history. Though not open to the public, it remains one of the most recognized addresses in the country.
To complete your tour your guide will take you to Parliament Hill - home of the Parliament of Canada. Here you will get the opportunity to learn about the rich nation's history and admire the beautiful Gothic revival-style buildings and their architectural elements of national symbolic importance on a self-guided walking tour of the grounds.
Next, you will enjoy a narrated drive passing iconic attractions such as the Parliament Buildings and make stops outside the Supreme Court and Canadian Museum of History to capture beautiful images of the scenery.
After your tour of Rockcliffe Park, you'll visit to the Ottawa’s Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. You will marvel at the elegant gothic-style interiors in Ottawa’s largest and oldest standing church.
Admire the Fairmont Château Laurier, a castle-like landmark overlooking downtown Ottawa and the Rideau Canal. Then take in panoramic views of Parliament Hill from across the river near the Canadian Museum of History, one of the city’s most photographed vantage points.
Board a relaxing cruise along the historic Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that winds through the heart of Ottawa. Enjoy peaceful waterfront views and unique perspectives of the city’s landmarks from the water.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Departure Point: Centrally located Ottawa hotels *Contact for meeting location if you are not staying in the downtown area *Order of activities may occur in a different order
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Ottawa River cruise is a seasonal attraction, when the cruise is not operating it will be replaced with a Canadian War Museum of History tour
Reviews(183)
Our tour guide Raissa was wonderful and so well informed. She answered most of our crazy question and gave us a bit of an insiders’ view of living in the city
It was an excellent experience. The tour and the guide, Raissa, were awesome!
Our guide, Rachel, did a good job explaining the sites we visited. The van, however, did not allow much visibility of the sites we simply drove past. Our canal ride was cut in half due to a RED ALERT for a possible tornado! The company soon provided a bus to transport us back to our point of boarding.
Great overview of the highlights that downtown Ottawa has to offer. Smaller group (7 of us) allowed us to get into areas that buses aren’t allowed! Great pickup options too!
Fantastic, very informatic and our guide and boat trip was great. Would highly recommend, something worth doing.
I think it’s a perfect tour of the city. The small group made it feel very personal and friendly. Just the right amount of touring in the van, interspersed with a few stops for pictures, and then a relaxing boat trip down the canal. Rachel was a wonderful, knowledgeable tour guide and Driver. Alexi, the guide on the boat tour was also quite knowledgeable and informative. It was impressive how easily he was able to switch between English and French so smoothly. Rachel, I’m sure would’ve been able to do it as well; however, we only had English speakers in our van. There are no stops along the Van tour for drinks or snacks, so bring them with you.
This review is hard to write. This tour had both a land and water component with separate guides. One was great, the other was mediocre. Sophia, our guide on the boat was outstanding. She was very knowledgeable, well prepared, professional and her presentation skills were outstanding. She radiated positive energy. Rachel the land tour guide who started the tour on land provided no overview and was not as well prepared. Often she seemed glib and unprofessional ( she had a negative personal reactions when one guest said he worked in the petro-chemical industry.) She definetly needs more training .
On time, very interesting. We saw a lot of historic buildings in Ottawa, plus many important government building. The canal cruise was relaxing, and informative. The guide, Raissa (sp?) was very knowledgeable. A good afternoon.
Tour was a described. Excellent overview of the major sites of Ottawa. Enjoyable boat ride and tour on the Rideau Canal.
Our bilingual guide by the name of Rachel was super professional, polite and she was very knowledgeable. The trip with her was fun and we enjoyed every bit of it. I highly recommend
