Experience the best of Ottawa

Parliament Hill rises above the Ottawa River, its Gothic Revival towers topped by the Peace Tower and its carillon. Below it the Rideau Canal, opened in 1832 and now a World Heritage Site, winds through the city, and in winter its frozen surface becomes a skating route several kilometres long. Nearby are the ByWard Market, the National Gallery of Canada, with a giant spider sculpture outside its glass pavilion, and the twin-spired Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.

Across the river in Gatineau, Quebec, the Canadian Museum of History has a curving building on the water and exhibits on the country's peoples, and Gatineau Park spreads over forested hills and lakes to the north, with trails for walking, cycling and cross-country skiing. The Canadian War Museum, the grounds of Rideau Hall and the Dominion Arboretum on the Central Experimental Farm lie elsewhere in the city.

Poutine, fries with cheese curds and gravy, is on many menus, and maple syrup from the sugar bushes of the Ottawa Valley turns up in pastries and tarts. Tulips bloom beside the canal each May, a tradition that began as a thank-you gift from the Dutch royal family after the Second World War, and the cold white winters have their own pleasures on skates.