olivetta

OTTAWA???
Help needed in planning 5 spare days- part of total 7 weeks in Canada & USA.
We will be in Banff until 15th June, then Montreal on 20th. What wonderful places can we see during the 5 days? We thought of Ottawa and surrounds, maybe north into more of the open plains / mountain areas as we love nature. We are prepared to hire a car drive short distances(up to 300km per day) but don't want to drive in congested large cities because we are in late 60s (2 of us) and used to driving on the left side of the road. Small cities are OK. Tours are OK, also local buses & trains.
Already seen or planned --- Vancouver, Victoria, Prince Rupert, Inside Passage and west coast areas, Rockies, Montreal, Quebec,Toronto, Niagara, NY, Nova Scotia.
Something different in scenery to the above would be OK or more of the same. We enjoy stopping in little villages and sights along the way.
We can fly anywhere as long as we are in Montreal on 20th June. We haven't been in the 'middle' area of Canada and thought that Ottawa may be a good base from which we could explore.
Thanks.

semiramis

Ottawa is an interesting small city. You don't need a car in Ottawa but for exploring the surrounding area it would be nice. No mountains or plains near ottawa - lots of forest,rivers,lakes.

semiramis

This site has a lot of links for Ottawa and the surrounding area:
http://canajun.com/ottawa/tourism/

semiramis

A good tourism site for Ottawa:
http://www.ottawatourism.ca/

tovarich

Don't miss Algonquin Park north of Toronto and not far from Ottawa.Paul

laverendrye

I think that Ottawa would be a good choice for your time between Banff and Montreal. You can certainly see many of the sights in Ottawa without a car, as most are either downtown or easily reached by public transit (OC Transpo).

However, Ottawa/Gatineau has some interesting parks, towns and villages around it, and for these a car is really necessary. Just north of the city is Gatineau Park which has scenic drives, cycling and hiking trails and the historic Mackenzie King estate. You can find out more about the park here:

http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins...d=16297&lang=1

Very close to the park is the picturesque village of Wakefield. You can take an excursion to Wakefield on an old steam train.

http://www.steamtrain.ca/excurssionp....asp?onglet=2#

South and west of Ottawa are a number of historic towns and villages, some along the Rideau Canal (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Manotick, Merrickville, Perth and Almonte are all well worth a visit and could easily be done by car in a day.

From Ottawa to Montreal, plan to take the train. It's only a couple of hours and will take you right to downtown Montreal without any traffic worries.

olivetta

Thanks for your help laverendrye, tovarich, semiramis.

Ottawa looks a beautiful city and we will take note of all suggestions.

mat54

Well, I love Ottawa as a 2 or 3 day getaway (I live in Southern Ontario), but I'm a little doubtful on how "different in scenery" it would be for someone who is touring North America including several other major Canadian cities as well as several National Parks. It is a mid-sized city, very tourist-friendly, a few very good museums, a nice "Market" district with lots of restaurants and cafes.

You will have seen the biggest mountains in Banff. Open plains are the main feature of the prairie provinces - Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba - lots of farm country but there are some interesting Provincial and National Parks.

In Alberta not all that far from Calgary - something a little different and quite interesting is Dinosaur Provincial Park and the nearby Badlands and Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology.

In Ontario, a couple of hours drive North of Toronto you reach some vast tracts of forest with many lakes and some hilly (rather than mountainous) regions. Algonquin Provincial Park, already mentioned, is a very lovely example of this landscape with activities including hiking, nature walks, canoeing, wildlife watching, excellent Visitors Centre with Natural and Human History displays. You could combine a couple of days in Algonquin with a few days in Ottawa - about a 3 hour drive between. Killarney Provincial Park is another beautiful area, but probably not enough to do there for 5 days - some nice short hiking trails but it's geared more to back-country canoeing and hiking (as is Algonquin, but Algonquin has more day-facilities for those who don't want to wander too far off the beaten track).

olivetta

Thanks mat54. Your input is appreciated.
Algonquin sounds very interesting as do Dinosaur Provincial Park & Badlands etc.

LindaFasteson

Ottawa is a wonderful city, and if you want to combine it with little villages, you can drive along the Rideau Canal.

Here's what we did in

Ottawa: http://www.notabletravels.com/destin...wa/Ottawa.html

Along the Rideau Canal:
http://www.notabletravels.com/destin...u%20Canal.html

and in Kingston, historic city on the other end of the canal:
http://www.notabletravels.com/destin.../Kingston.html