Sample Itinerary for One Week in Ottawa

Day 1

Arrive in Ottawa, settle in, get rested from your travels. Explore the area around wherever you are staying. Find a nice restaurant or park. Take it easy.

Day 2 

Take a bus tour around the city of Ottawa to get a lay of the city and learn some interesting facts (and also have transportation through the hop-on, hop-off option).

Go to the Canadian Museum of History right over the provincial border.

Finish the rest of the tour. Find a local restaurant for dinner and call it a day.

Day 3 

Go to Parliament, the Bank of Canada Museum, and the Royal Canadian Mint.

Day 4 

Go to the Supreme Court of Canada, the National Holocaust Memorial, and the Canadian War Museum.

Day 5 

Go to the National Gallery of Canada, Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica, and the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Day 6 

Visit the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum. Go to the Canada Science and Technology Museum (this is not one I went to, but this goes well with the CASM and might be of interest to you).

Spend the afternoon at Dow’s Lake and take a kayak downtown.

Explore Canadian nightlife in the evening at ByWard Market. Have a few drinks and dinner and reflect on the trip. There’s nice low-key restaurants and also bars and clubs if you’re into that scene.

Day 7 

End your trip with a relaxing day at Le Nordik Spa about 30 minutes from downtown Ottawa over the provincial border.

Day 8 

Sleep in. Pack. Travel home. Rest from your trip.

Note: This is based off of my itinerary and is very similar to what I did, but I made some slight changes.