The capital of the second biggest
country on the planet,
OTTAWA
struggles with its reputation as a
bureaucratic labyrinth of little
charm and character. The problem is
that many Canadians who aren't
federal employees - and even some
who are - blame the city for all the
country's woes. All too aware of
this, the Canadian government have
spent lashings of dollars to turn
Ottawa into "a city of urban
grace in which all Canadians can
take pride" - so goes the
promotional literature, but
predictably this very investment is
often resented. Furthermore, the
hostility is deeply rooted, dating
back as far as 1857 when Queen
Victoria, inspired by some genteel
watercolours, declared Ottawa the
capital, leaving Montréal and
Toronto smarting at their rebuff.
In truth, Ottawa is neither
grandiose nor tedious, but a lively
cosmopolitan city of 330,000 with a
clutch of outstanding national
museums , a pleasant riverside
setting and superb cultural
facilities like the National Arts
Centre, plus acres of parks and
gardens and miles of bicycle and
jogging paths. It also possesses
lots of good hotels and B&Bs
and a busy café-bar and restaurant
scene - enough to keep the most
diligent sightseer going for a day
or three, maybe more. Here too, for
once in English-speaking Ontario,
Canada's bilingual laws make sense:
Québec's Hull
is just across the river and on the
streets of Ottawa you'll hear as
much French as English.
The City
of Ottawa
Ottawa's major sights are clustered
on the steep, south banks of the
Ottawa River to either side of the
Rideau Canal. It's here you'll find
the monumental Victorian
architecture of Parliament Hill ,
the outstanding art collection of
the ...
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