Solo travel · Ottawa · Canada
Solo travel in Ottawa
How to enjoy Ottawa at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Concierge.2C, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Ottawa is calm, orderly and easy to navigate alone, with free tours, museums that reward solo time and plenty of pubs and patios for meeting people. Many solo travellers base themselves in Downtown and Parliament Hill.
Key facts
- Base
- Downtown and Parliament Hill
- Getting around
- Walking
- Emergency number
- 911
- Language
- English and French
Solo travel tips
- Stay in or near the ByWard Market to walk to most sights and restaurants.
- Free Parliament tours and museum guided tours are easy ways to join a group.
- Hostels and budget hotels are concentrated in Lowertown and Sandy Hill.
- In winter, carry a phone charger; cold drains batteries quickly.
- Gatineau's bars and the Market's pubs are sociable places to sit at the bar.
Where to stay
$$$ · Best for first-timers, families and solo travellers
Downtown and Parliament Hill
The core between Parliament Hill and the Queensway holds federal offices, many large hotels, the Rideau Centre shopping mall and the Sparks Street pedestrian mall. Confederation Square, with the National War Memorial, sits at its centre, and the Rideau and Parliament O-Train stations are here.
- Good
- Central for sights and transit; Wide choice of hotels; Underground O-Train stations
- Watch out
- Quiet after office hours; Fewer independent restaurants
- Nearby
- Parliament Hill, National War Memorial, Rideau Centre, Sparks Street
Great on your own
Landmark · Downtown and Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill
Choose the West Block tour to see the temporary House of Commons chamber built inside the building's glass-roofed former courtyard.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours with a tour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- History
- Architecture
- Free
Waterfront · Downtown and Parliament Hill
Rideau Canal and the Ottawa Locks
Watch boats being lifted through the eight locks by hand on a summer afternoon; Parks Canada staff operate them.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- History
- Free
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
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Gallery · ByWard Market and Lowertown
National Gallery of Canada
Look for the Rideau Street Chapel, a complete chapel interior rebuilt inside the gallery; it is easy to miss.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Iconic
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · Old Hull, Gatineau
Canadian Museum of History
Walk across the Alexandra Bridge from the National Gallery; the view of Parliament from the bridge is one of the city's best.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Architecture
- Iconic
Landmark · Downtown and Parliament Hill
National War Memorial and Confederation Square
Watch the sentry change on the hour in summer, a short walk from the Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill.
- Time needed
- 20–30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Free
- Iconic
Museum · LeBreton Flats
Canadian War Museum
Allow time for the First World War gallery, which is the most powerful section, and the LeBreton Gallery of large vehicles.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Meeting people
- BeaverTails on the canal — Skate the Rideau Canal Skateway to a kiosk and eat a cinnamon-sugar BeaverTail on the ice — a classic Ottawa winter moment.
- Sugar-shack lunch — In March and April, sugar shacks around Ottawa and in Quebec serve all-you-can-eat maple meals of pea soup, ham, beans and pancakes, finished with maple taffy on snow.
- ByWard Market — The densest cluster of pubs, cocktail bars and clubs, with summer patios.
- Elgin Street — Pubs, restaurants and sports bars popular with locals.
Sensible precautions
Ottawa is generally calm for visitors. Take normal precautions in the ByWard Market late at night, where some street disorder and rowdiness occur around bar closing time. In winter, the main risks are extreme cold, wind chill and icy pavements, so dress properly and wear boots with good grip.
- Emergency number
- 911
- Staying connected
- Free Wi-Fi is available in many cafés, museums and public buildings; Canadian mobile coverage is good throughout the city.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Ottawa good for solo travellers?
Ottawa is calm, orderly and easy to navigate alone, with free tours, museums that reward solo time and plenty of pubs and patios for meeting people.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Ottawa?
Downtown and Parliament Hill: Government buildings, hotels and the Sparks Street pedestrian mall.