hi i will b in ottawa from the 26th may thru the 2 june. i have the first 3 days free before my conference, the Canadian AIDS Society agm, begins on the 30th. i will be based @ the delta hotel.

besides the museums and the market and parliament r there other lesser known but interesting spots/ neighbourhoods to see. i speak a little bit of french so hope to wander over to gatineau.

what is public transit like? are there day or weekly passes i if the weather is fine, i would consider renting a bike for a day. how are the trails?

should i consider. any iconic restaurants (nothing fancy)?

thanks for any suggestions

cheers
AndrewDavid

Regarding transit passes, see this page on the OC Transpo website: http://www.octranspo1.com/tickets-and-passes

Ottawa's transit system is awesome. The trip planning tool on the OC Transpo website is a great help if you're not sure how to get from A to B.

If you want to do some cycling, you could spend a whole day just cycling the bike paths within the city - the paths are all connected and most of them go through parks and along the river, so you don't have to deal with road traffic. Alternatively you could cycle within Gatineau Park which has quite an extensive network of trails.

Have fun!

To add to the previous excellent response, this website tells you most of what you need to know about cycling in the National Capital Region, http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins...99-9970&lang=1

It mentions the new BIXI bikes, but I imagine the bike rental near the Chateau Laurier continues to operate.

Try the Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro for something fairly unique in dining, http://www.sweetgrassbistro.ca/

dear little frenchbird and ron , thanks for the excelllent tips

cheers
AndrewDavid

If you like plants, the experimental farm, walkable from downtown, is worth a visit. http://www.agriculture.technomuses.c.../tour/farm.cfm