Canada’s forgotten capital: why Ottawa is worth a visit

Ziplining and beekeeping may not be your typical city break activities – but then again, Ottawa is not your typical city. Sandwiched between the more sought-after Toronto and Montreal, it’s also not typically at the top of travellers’ wish-lists. When I started planning my visit, the question I kept being asked was ‘why go there?’. But by the time I came back, I was asking ‘why don’t more people go there?’.

With its history, architecture, museums, river walks and cycle paths, Ottawa offers the best bits of both a city break and countryside retreat. The Canadian capital is best described as a rural metropolis – imagine picking up the City of Westminster and putting it in the middle of the South Downs. Downtown, on the southern bank of the Ottawa river, is its Parliament Hill, with government buildings bustling with civil servants. Ceremonial Guard is full of scarlet tunics and bearskin hats, its skyline dominated by the Peace Tower, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower.