Ottawa

Why visit

Ottawa is Canada through museums, Parliament Hill, river paths, markets, skating-season atmosphere, and the Rideau Canal. It works when a capital trip should be orderly but still easy to walk.

When to avoid

Do not assume Ottawa can be handled as a simple cluster of adjacent stops. A route through Ottawa needs enough margin for hours and delays to change. In Ottawa, Sundays, holidays, traffic, queues, or cross-town transfers can change the day quickly. The practical geography matters as much as the list of places.

Plan Ottawa

Current conditions and the practical reference material that helps turn the saved places into a trip.

The next week in Ottawa

7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).

Today

Clear

26° / 14°

UV High

Wed

Overcast

28° / 15°

UV High

Thu

Showers

29° / 19°

6.2 mm

UV High

Fri

Drizzle

30° / 19°

0.9 mm

UV High

Sat

Showers

29° / 19°

5.3 mm

UV High

Sun

Thunderstorm

29° / 19°

6.9 mm

UV Moderate

Mon

Drizzle

27° / 21°

0.9 mm

UV High

Climate

Summer (May-Sep)

Typical highs around 23°C, lows around 12°C.

Winter (Dec-Mar)

Typical highs around -3°C, lows around -13°C.

In August 4

Drag to scrub across the year.

JFMAMJJASOND

Weather

25° / 14°

Typical high / low

3 mm rainfall this month

Daylight

14.2h

06:02 – 20:12local

Holidays coming up

Public holidays from Nager.Date.

Airports

closest YRO · 6 km

Getting around Ottawa

Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.

Local transit operators

Amtrak VIA Rail Greyhound FlixbusOntario NorthlandTrain de Charlevoix STO

About Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) and the National Capital Region (NCR). As of 2021, Ottawa had a city population of 1,017,449 and a metropolitan population of 1,488,307, making it the fourth-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.

Area: 2,779 km²
Demonym: Ottawan
Mayor: Mark Sutcliffe
Airport codes: YOW

Canada basics →Country context, advisories, and entry links for the practicalities shown above.

References5

The links below support the changing or licensed reference material on this page. Personal notes and ordinary geographic facts are not footnoted individually.

City background. Wikipedia summary may be clipped or paraphrased. Structured fields are cross-checked against the related references.