Sign in with Facebook731 Morin Street, Ottawa, K1L 6Y5, Canada
Change huts in place
Dining Room
Turtle in the Mer Bleue Bog
Flying the Flag
Visitors should be aware that all public transit in Ottawa has been on strike since Dec 11 and, with both the city and transit workers refusing negotiations, there is speculation the strike could last into Christmas and beyond.
Visitors planning to drive in the city may discover parking lots full, traffic at a standstill in the centre of the city and on the major east-west expressway (the Queensway) during peak hours.
In particular, there is no public transport to Scotiabank Place (site of the Sens and upcoming Junior Hockey Championships). A 2 hour or more drive - normally 40 minutes or less - from downtown to get out there is not uncommon, especially if there is snow or other bad weather.
The information here is good, however it will either:-
Be deleted, because it is not a question.
Or
It will be lost as it vanishes down the travel forum.
May I suggest that you write it up, as a travel tip, on your travel pages here at VT?
Once it is written up, it can be viewed by other members.
Maybe VT can be persuaded to create a new category - Traveller's alert or something like that
Thanks to the above posters for the comments about where to post.
I had thought about posting to the "Tips" page but this did not seem appropriate for what (hopefully)is only a temporary situation. (I also note many of the entries are five or more years old, which makes me wonder how useful they may be in terms of current or very specific information in any event.)
The latest Forum entries show up on the Tips pages, so absent some clarification from VT on the question of using the forums to exchange Travel-Related Messages v/s "Questions only", this seemed the best route to go.
FYI The reason for the post was an encounter with visitors from NY state, map in hand, waiting at a bus stop in the middle of a snowstorm the other day.
Just to reconfirm...the bus strike continues. It could impact the Winterlude activities set to start in early February.
According to those in the know.....there is no end in sight for the bus strike....very sad for those of us who depend on public transportation.
For the disabled....the ParaTranspo services ARE still running.
Today is Day 35 of the strike.
Yes, this is a perfectly good place to put this piece of info IMO as it does come up on the main Ottawa page for those who are looking for Ottawa info. Quite a few experienced VT'ers do post here with info as oppossed to questions for that reason.
AS to being deleted for not being a travel question - Ricky, I suggest you check out the first of the Ottawa Forum posts awaiting reply!!
If you want to see fantastic views of Ottawa, the best place is at Parliament Hill, especially the Peace Tower at the Centre Block. You can take a lift up to the top of the Peace Tower where there is a viewing gallery with breathtaking views (see photographs at the travelogue section of this VT page). I would recommend that you go for the free guided tour of the Centre Block of Parliament Hill first, then go up to the Peace Tower.
Watching the Changing of the Guard. It happens in front of the Parliament Buildings and is well worth the sight. There is a web page that shows a short film clip. Queen Elizabeth made a trip a number of years ago, they reproduced the Buckingham Palace event for her, liked it so much, it has become a regular event. They select a French speaking child and an English speaking child and before the ceremony question each child. Visiting the Parliament building, and especially seeing the extrodinariliy beautiful Parliamentary Library.
Take the tour of the Parliment Bldgs and go up the elevator to the top of the Peace tower, you get a great view of the cities from there!
The library is the only original part of the building as the rest of it burned to the ground during WWI, but not because of the war, just so happened at that time. Canada Day in Ottawa (July 1) is absolutely great, there are activities and people everywhere and you never know when the Queen of England might drive by! (Unforunately I was not ready and I have no picture!)
Terry Fox is linked to the Canadian battle against cancer.
Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.
While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.
After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.
It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.
However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.
The Rideau Canal built in 1826-1832 is a primary feature of the city. The establishment of the canal shifted development from Wrightstown to the southern shore where Ottawa stands today, with a population of approximately 330,000 people. The canal was originally built to provide a safe route to Kingston after the War of 1812. Today the canal is a major tourist destination in summer for boaters and in winter the 198 km waterway becomes the world's longest skating rink, filled with people having a grand time in Canada’s freezing weather.
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