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By Adam Waxman
Some people lean to the left; some lean to the right. I try to stay centre, because it’s a 1500-foot drop from this open-cockpit biplane circa 1939, and I’m freaking out.
Snoopy sure made it look easy. As we sail through the air, high above Parliament Hill, I turn to look at my son gazing out over Ottawa. He’s calm and amazed. I take a deep breath and quickly relax too. It’s so beautiful up here. We’re in the sky with no roof over our heads. I reach toward a pouch, pull out my cell phone and hold it up to take a selfie, when suddenly through the howling, overpowering wind I hear my son is now the one screaming in panic, “You’re going to drop it!”
Ottawa Aviation Adventures is the most adrenaline-inducing, and yet graceful way to tour Ottawa. No sooner do we land—we want to go right back up! To see all the green space, the museums, everything for miles, is thrilling. This relic from the ‘30s, a Waco UPF-7, flown by a smooth pro, is one of the greatest experiences we’ve ever had in Canada. The Canadian Aviation and Space Museum is filled with historic aircrafts and interactive simulators, and we survey them all, but there is no substitute for flying overhead in one.
Ottawa is one of the greenest capitals in the world. Kayaks and canoes stream along the Rideau Canal. In winter it becomes the world’s longest naturally frozen skating rink. We rent bikes from Escape Bicycle Tours and Rentals and cycle along the river toward 800km of nature trails that crisscross the city. There is such a civilized, peaceful vibe, and within minutes, buildings and city-sounds give way to quiet parks, wetlands and forests—a getaway within a getaway.
Enjoying a picnic by the locks, we quiz each other on Canadian trivia. For example, did you know that the Canadian flag that flies atop the Peace Tower is replaced every weekday, and that any resident of Canada can request a used one for their own household, for free, but the waiting list is over 100 years? (I’ve requested one, but I don’t know if I’ll receive it in time.)
One of the most beautiful parks in Ottawa is the grounds of Rideau Hall, Canada’s White House. Seventy-nine acres of manicured gardens and rolling greens are an oasis for picnicking families, romantic couples and those on a philosophical walk. There’s even a Storytime program for kids in collaboration with United for Literacy, but for my son, it’s always about a game of tag and this is the perfect venue for that.
We reach the home of the Governor General, and tour the grandeur inside; the state rooms, each a different colour scheme, where official duties are fulfilled. There is so much history in this residence. This is where the King resides when he visits Canada, and this is where, years ago, my father was invested into the Order of Canada.
In its grand curvilinear design, the Canadian Museum of History hugs the contours of the landscape along the river, and upon entering we are immediately drawn to the massive totem poles that take us to the beginnings. Here we weave in and out of galleries along the Grand Hall representing the First Peoples of Canada’s Pacific Coast, and discover the variance in their artistic styles.
The dome of the Haida Gwaii Salon is adorned by one of Canada’s greatest artists, Alex Janvier. His masterpiece, Morning Star, which he completed with his son, is 418 m2 and seven stories up. It draws me and my son in like an optical illusion. For me it’s a colour wheel, a psychedelic flywheel that evokes contemplation of time, seasons, and fluidity directed inwards and outwards simultaneously. We move through space in the museum, exploring and sharing our thoughts on the history of survival and the struggles for social equality, as well as seventy years of Canadian children’s television: From Pepinot to PAW Patrol.
There is so much to engage us here, and incredibly, this is two museums in one! Upon entering the Canadian Children’s Museum, my son takes off to travel the world! There’s a Mexican kitchen, Thai tuk tuks, a colourful Pakistani bus, and so much more. I can hardly keep up. Just when I thought he would be getting tired, he sprung back into overdrive to fill his “look-and-find passport” activity booklet with stickers.
A convenient and pleasant Aqua Taxi ride returns us across the Ottawa River from Gatineau to Ottawa, just below the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. Up the stairs from the dock we reach La Terrasse for our patio dinner date with the sunset. We toast the day with a quenching Lucid Lush mocktail of jasmine tea, elderflower syrup, pineapple, white cranberry juice, lemon juice, peach puree and soda water, and relish with delight a burrata with heirloom tomatoes, basil pistou, smoked almonds, charcoal salt and arbequina olive oil, and a juicy flat iron steak lavished in demi-glace and accompanied by crispy crunchy frites.
Across the street from the hotel, we watch the ceremonial rotation of the Sentries at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. While we cannot interact with them, we feel participant by virtue of our presence. We feel pride, patriotism and gratitude.
A short walk leads us to the ByWard Market, original home of the iconic Beaver Tails, for fresh local produce and a smorgasbord of international cuisines from delis and patisseries to Taiwanese popcorn chicken dusted with five spice and Ethiopian injera and stew. It’s a treasure map of the world’s cuisines, and the perfect launching point to discover where to dine now.
Everything feels like it’s in walking distance, and this is a very walkable city. At the Royal Canadian Mint, our short tour introduces us to the anatomy of a coin, the numismatic production process, the design and detail of special commemorative coins, which way King Charles III will be facing on Canadian currency (the opposite direction of Queen Elizabeth II), and nuggets of fascinating information that have forever changed the way we look at coins.
At the neighbouring National Gallery of Canada, our interest leads us to the galleries of Indigenous and Canadian Art. Almost 800 paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs and decorative art from across Canada are on display. We navigate through thousands of years of art, of colour and storytelling until we are drawn to the harmonic sounds of a cathedral. This sound sculpture by Janet Cardiff, inspired by the polyphonic chorus of Spem in Alium, places us in the Renaissance, with forty separately-recorded choir voices, streamed through 40 speakers positioned around the Rideau Chapel in which we sit, relax our feet and contemplate the world within a world into which we’ve entered.
As we exit the Gallery the twin spires of the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica beckon. Inside the ornate Gothic cathedral, we silently admire the brightly coloured, spectacular detail from the stained-glass to the etched-rails and walls to the hundreds of statues, and we take a few moments to sit here and reflect and re-centre. One cannot help but feel humble within this awesome structure.
We have to devote a day to visiting the world renowned Canadian Museum of Nature. Its castle-like building is a national historic site, inside which we can explore from among more than 14.6 million fossil, mineral, plant, and animal specimens preserved in collections. It seems like every aspect of nature is covered. We explore the evolution of Canada’s flora and fauna from coast to coast to coast. We dip our hands into a tank to cup a sea star and learn about vulnerable species. Dioramas display scenes of mammals. We’re practically hypnotized by a colony of Leaf Cutter Ants, foraging in their own habitat to create and manage their own fungus garden. There are massive dinosaur skeletons.
The Planet Ice exhibit shares with us the role that ice has played in Earth’s history, and the Arctic Gallery projects video and images directly onto real slabs of ice. The interactivity allows us to connect to these exhibits viscerally for a deeper understanding of the natural systems, living organisms and our impact on them.
And then there’s the Bug Adventure! We feel like we’re in a scene from Honey I Shrunk the Kids as we make our way through larger-than-life installations of creepy crawlies from insects to arachnids and myriapods. I could not be more creeped-out, while my son excitedly learns about bugs’ superpowers, from their swarm intelligence to their hunting strategies and defence mechanisms.
Canada is home to over 44,100 known species of terrestrial arthropods, but that number only represents half of those yet to be identified. We learn about the important role bugs play in our ecosystems. Two in particular that peak my son’s curiosity are the Japanese Honeybee, which vibrates its wings to create enough heat to literally cook its prey; and the Jewel Wasp, a veritable “Zombie Brain Surgeon” who, while attacking its prey, surgically lays an egg in its brain, so that when the larvae hatches, they will make a meal out of its brain, before chewing their way out. Sound yummy?
Next up is the Butterflies in Flight exhibit in which a tropical paradise of Lepidoptera from Costa Rica and the Philippines colorize the museum’s Solarium. See the world through the eyes of a butterfly through the slow-motion, drone and macro-filming of Butterfly Journey, as it immerses you into the kaleidoscope of blue tigers of Australia and monarchs of North America from metamorphosis to migration.
Of course, no visit to the capital is complete without a tour of parliament. Construction is ongoing for years to come, but our temporary House of Commons Tour leads us to the inner sanctum of government to see where and how parliament works. Much is invested in education and understanding, including classroom and VR experiences and activities. From now on, while watching the Prime Minister and Leader of the Official Opposition debating on television, my son has a frame of reference from having been there. Providing a sense of place and reality to the legislative debate is invaluable for a child.
Beyond Ottawa’s downtown core, a countryside drive leads to a place that has to be seen to be believed. The Diefenbunker, named after then Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, is a step back in time. Frozen in time are the technologies and architectural design, borne out of the fears of the Cold War. We pass through the blast-doors and descend a 378-foot-long blast tunnel underground to the concrete nuclear fallout shelter. This was Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters in case the calamity of the “Red Scare” came to fruition.
The facilities contain storage rooms for food, water and supplies to provide for 565 people for one month. As we descend from one floor to the next, four stories underground, we enter government meeting rooms, communication centres, a medical ward and living quarters, and imagine the macabre reality in which this existed. Exhibits share the context and the politics of the time, and the dynamic role Canada played on the world stage. It is a totally unique and profound resource for immersion into Canadian history that enables an understanding impossible to feel from a textbook.
Ottawa is brimming with museums and sometimes the ones we least expect to wow us, are the most impressive. Initially, my son was not enthralled with the idea of going to the Bank of Canada Museum. Quickly, this became the scene stealer as it was instantly fascinating.
The Bank of Canada museum poses some questions and answers other questions. For example, “What is money?” And, “Why do we need it?” Other sections present scenarios and games that challenge children to manage budgets and balance expenses, with the understanding that each one of us plays a role in the economy. As a parent, I just stood back and let the museum take care of every conversation I’ve been anxious about one day having with my son about financial needs and financial goals.
Hands-on exhibits enable the elucidation of concepts like inflation in a manner that launches the mundane into high-tech immersive and interactive multimedia stations including a simulated rocket flight! By the end of our visit, my ten-year-old son is ready to be chief economic advisor to our household. And, apropos of the economy, admission is always free!
Ottawa is chock full of fun activities for families. It is the greenest capital in the world, and it is nourished by the waters of Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River. The river reflects the passage of time, and inspires the arts and settlement of our nation’s capital. Derived from the Algonquin word “adawe,” which means “to trade,” Ottawa is the confluence of all that flows from the river, the cultures and histories that coalesce into our Canadian identity.
This post appeared first on DINE and Destinations Magazine.