Ottawa has several vibrant
downtown
nightclubs
and is a major port of call
for big-name touring acts,
most of whom appear at the
Corel Centre, about 15km
southwest of downtown (tel
755-1166). Otherwise, things
aren't too exciting, though
jazz
is extremely popular with
regular gigs from leading
artists in a variety of
informal venues.
For listings on
events of all sorts, there's
the free Where
Ottawa-Hull , a monthly
promotional magazine
designed for tourists. On
Fridays the Ottawa
Citizen prints a list of
current entertainment, but
for gig details as well as
other more objective
listings and information the
weekly Xpress
newspaper is the capital's
trendiest and most
comprehensive source.
Venues, music bars and
clubs
Atomic , 137
Besserer St (tel 241-2411).
One of Ottawa's coolest
clubs with occasional
all-nighters. Most nights
are free, but some attract a
small admission charge.
Techno though to jungle.
Barrymore's Music Hall
, 323 Bank St (tel
233-0307). Commercial,
mainstream and local bands
perform live here every
night except Sunday. Both U2
and Tina Turner have played
in this huge seven-level
venue which started out as a
Vaudeville theatre.
The Cave , 63 Bank
St (tel 233-0080). Nightclub
with a good reputation for
its varied programme with
themed evenings (retro,
disco and so forth) a
special feature.
Market Station
Bar-Bistro , 15 George
St (tel 562-3540). Stylish
gay hangout with artworks
and funky music. Byward
Market.
Mercury Lounge ,
56 Byward Ave (tel
789-5324). Big loft with
great martinis and vinyl
couches. Acid-jazz, house
and techno with DJs from all
over Canada along with weird
and wacky live acts.
Rainbow Bistro ,
76 Murray St (tel 241-5123).
Atmospheric blues club with
jam sessions on Sunday.
Byward Market.
Vineyard's Wine Bar
, 54 York St (tel 241-4270).
Hot jazz spot with a
formidable wine cellar.
Byward Market.
Zaphod Beeblebrox
, 27 York St (tel 562-1010).
The whole spectrum of live
bands from C&W to
alternative. Byward Market.
Performing arts and
cinema
Ottawa's cultural focus is
the National Arts Centre,
53 Elgin St (tel 947-7000,
www.nac-can.ca ;
tickets from Ticketmaster
tel 755-1111), which
presents plays by the
resident
theater
company as well as touring
groups,
concerts by
the resident orchestra,
operas
with simultaneous French
and English subtitles, and
dance from (among
others) the National
Ballet of Canada and the
Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Tickets begin at $12.50
and wherever you sit the
acoustics are outstanding.
Quality theater
is also presented by The
Great Canadian Theatre
Company, 910 Gladstone St
(tel 236-5196), which
presents avant-garde
Canadian plays with strong
social or political
overtones; Ottawa Little
Theatre, 400 King Edward (tel
233-8948), an amateur
group who perform a
variety of popular plays,
usually comedies; and
Hull's Théâtre l'Île, 1
Wellington St (tel
819/595-7455), on an
island in the Ottawa
River.
Ottawa has a good
selection of cinemas.
Options include the
Bytowne Cinema, 325 Rideau
(tel 789-3456), the
capital's most popular
repertory cinema, and the
Canadian Film Institute, 2
Daly Ave (tel 232-6727),
which shows art-house and
mainstream films arranged
by theme. Famous Players
Inc, in the Rideau
Shopping Mall, Rideau
Street (tel 234-3712), has
the latest releases, as
does the Mayfair Theatre,
1074 Bank (tel 730-3403).
