First off, thanks again to the amazing Marriott Bonvoy program, we earned a free night stay at the beautiful Westin Ottawa hotel. Because of our Gold Elite membership, they were also able to upgrade our room and provide us with an unforgettable view of the beautiful city. Our hotel was centrally located and walking distance to the Parliament building, the Rideau Canal, museums, the bustling Byward Market and best of all, we were directly connected to their shopping mall, the Rideau Centre for prime convenience!
If you’d like to learn more on how we have used rewards and credit card points to help us save for our various vacation trips, check out our blog post here.
O T T A W A is packed with lots of things to see & do with the kids, but here are a few tips if you only have one day to spend at the nation’s capital city.
Start your day in a nearby park
We were lucky to visit Ottawa during the peak of fall season so we took the opportunity to spend early morning at a park and enjoy the bright autumn colors nature has to offer!
Visit the iconic Parliament Hill in Ottawa
Sure it might sound & feel cliché but would you go to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower? It’s just too bad the Parliament is under construction (for renovation updates) and is also closed for tours due to Covid-19, but you still can take a few photos outside. In the same vicinity, you can also visit a nice vantage point of the Rideau Canal which was dubbed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada.
Need a lunch break? About 5 minutes walk from Parliament Hill is the famous Byward Market, where you can surely grab a good bite to eat in any one of those great local restaurants in the area!
Explore a museum
Being Canada’s capital city, it is filled with many museum options to choose from! Especially if you’re with kids, your time spent there will surely fill those inquisitive minds all day long! We chose the Canadian Museum of Nature, housed in the historic Victoria Memorial Museum Building built in 1901. To skip some lineups, you can order tickets ahead of time via their website.
End the day with a Pumpkin Halloween light show at night
Here’s another great activity to do with the kids in October! Visit the award-winning PUMPKINFERNO exhibit, located at Upper Canada Village — about 1 hour drive just south of downtown Ottawa. Take a tour through this spectacular outdoor art exhibit of over 7,000 handcrafted glowing pumpkins all lit at night along a kilometre long path in a picturesque 19th-century backdrop.
This was an outstanding attraction during the month of October and we surely couldn’t pass on the opportunity to see it!