annetti

Your thoughts on Ottawa as a home exchange destination for early spring, summer or autumn? We usually do at least a month or 5-6 weeks in a destination. For those of you who followed our adventures in Vancouver last summer, you may remember we did a very leisurely tour of the city and would like to do the same in Ottawa. Will we find enough to do for that length of time? We love museums, eating out, walking and just looking at pretty buildings and parks.Thanks in advance.

laughternlife

Ottawa is beautiful and you will find plenty to do in the area. There are plenty of festivals on as well and great prices for some (jazzfest, bluesfest, etc.) if you buy a pass for the entire week. I would highly recommend it.

annetti

Thank you, Laughternlife, for your thoughts. They encourage me to pursue this.

colduphere

Hi Annetti - We live in Ottawa. Museums, parks, the canal and three rivers makes Ottawa a very nice city. We practically live outside in the summer and autumn.

Early spring might be pushing it however. Our golf course opens around April 20. Until then it can be a little sloppy.

annetti

Colduphere: Thank you. I would love to see some autumn color. When would be a good time to experience that?

Also, we have a short trip already planned for the first two weeks of June, so should we skip spring entirely and opt for summer or autumn? What would be best? Thanks again.

colduphere

Hi Annetti - autumn colour is usually around the third week in September to the third week in October. The last colourful leaves just blew off our trees.

I would say there is more happening in the summer but most locals would say the area is more beautiful in the autumn. I could be wrong vis a vis other opinions though.

I used to say that it could be very hot and humid in Ottawa in the summer. Then we went to Japan a couple of months ago. Give me Ottawa.

If you have any detailed questions as you pursue this, perhaps we could find someone to pass on email addresses.

colduphere

I just read my answer to you. I don't think I answered your question LOL. If it were me I would come in the summer. I think you are from southern California? So the heat shouldn't be a problem although it will be hotter here than it was in Vancouver.

We have a major tulip festival here in May. Really anytime after May 1 is nice. If I had to choose I would pick right around July 1. Then you could be here for Canada Day, which is a very major celebration.

mat54

I love Ottawa, spend several days there every year. Although 5 to 6 weeks is a long time. I think you might want to plan some day-trips and overnights out of the city. Montreal is a couple of hours away, would make a nice overnight or two. Algonquin Park is a huge and lovely natural environment area with scenic vistas, natural trails, lakes and longer hikes - about 3 hours away. Nice in late spring to fall (great fall colours, bring bug spray in spring and early summer). Kingston/Gananoque - Thousand Islands area is about 2 hours drive, another good daytrip or overnight - take a boat tour on the St. Lawrence river through the islands. I like Ottawa in the early summer shoulder season, say mid June - bustling and vibrant but not yet overcrowded with tourists, warm, all the sidewalk patios are open (dozens of the them in the Byward Market area). Investigate Rideau Canal Boat tours, some offered right out of Ottawa, others offered further out of town in less developed areas. Gatineau Park just across the river from Ottawa on the Quebec side is large and diverse, picnic areas, scenic drives, a couple of quaint towns for exploring - Wakefield and Chelsea. Good museums include Canadian Museum of Nature, National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Carmanah

Hi annetti,

I spent a week and a bit in Ottawa in May of 2003. It was my first time in that part of Canada and it was interesting coming from the west coast's late spring and arriving somewhere where spring was only just beginning! However, even in the early spring, the afternoons were starting to get humid.

Ottawa's a small city and I walked (and cycled) everywhere. There are some attractions further out where I used a car, and I don't know what public transit would have been like to get to those areas, but you'll certainly enjoy yourself there. 5-6 weeks is a long time, sure, but I think you'll be able to entertain yourselves there easily. It's the best museum city in Canada.

I also agree that spending a weekend in Montreal would be a fantastic experience.

For what it's worth, I posted my experience of Ottawa on VirtualTourist after I came back: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/1b080/dd1f8/

LaurenKahn1

With all my exchanges, I have never had one in Ottawa. It is on my list for an eventual swap, but it hasn't happened yet. Next summer, I will be going to Finland for 3 weeks. The house is in Lahti--about an hour north of Helsinki. I just concluded the deal last week.

Good luck exchanging wherever you go!

colduphere

Carmanah mentions cycling. From our front door in the west end of the city we have a choice of two bike paths that take us right to the Parliament buildings downtown. They also go into the Gatineau Park just north of the city. And they also go south further into the suburbs. It is a terrific city for cycling.

annetti

Hi Colduphere and Carmanah: You Canadians live a good life. Thank you for all your thoughts on Ottawa. I declined an Ottawa home exchange offer last year. Foolish me! But after reading someone's blog last week on this forum, I began to rethink Ottawa as a destination and now after all these comments above, I will try to locate that old e-mail and look around for an exchange. It sounds like our kind of place. You have a good memory for detail, coldup here, we are from so Calif. So another question for you: How's the public transport in the city? Comparable to Vancouver?

Carmanah, I read your travelogue, you certainly get around a lot. Thank you. I enjoyed it.

Mat54: Thanks for all your ideas, I hope we can arrange an exchange and do some of them!

Lauren: Congrats on your Finland exchange. It sounds great. I hope you enjoy it. Best wishes to you, too, on all your exchanges.

LaurenKahn1

Thanks. Finland will be my 38th home exchange. I did 3 in Australia and NZ in July-Sept. I was away 9 weeks. Next summer just one. I was talking to someone tonight about making arrangements to spend a few days in St. Petersburg after the Finland home exchange was finished.

laughternlife

I have never actually lived in Ottawa (although I would take a transfer in a minute) I did work 10 weeks this spring and summer in the city and was not bored one night. I love just wandering the city, looking in the shops and people watching in the parks. Oh and the food......ah yes the food. There are so many great restaurants and patios, I was in heaven.

colduphere

Hi Annetti - public transit is the number one issue it seems in Ottawa right now. We have had a seemingly endless debate about whether to extend our current light rail system which is very limited. So no Sky Train as in Vancouver.

But we do have an excellent bus system including lots of express buses from the suburbs to downtown. Our bus system used to win international transit awards but buses seem to have taken a back seat to light rail in terms of prestige.

SallyCanuck

Don't live in Ottawa but find I can get around easily in the city when I visit although it's very walkable. Here's the site for transit: http://www.octranspo.com/

BAK

Five or six weeks?

Good choice if you are willing to leave a few times inbetween.

Montreal, the Laurentian Mountains, Kingston, the Rideau Lakes area, over to Algonquin Park...

This sounds so good I may do it myself.

BAK

annetti

Thank you again Colduphere for the info on the transit system. It sounds pretty good to this Southern Californian who has to rely on a car to move around the city.

Thank you, too, Sally for the transit website. I like the idea of a walkable city, so much more sensible than what I do to get exercise; I walk on a treadmill at the local gym.

BAK: Who knows, if I will really get to spend five to six weeks in Ottawa, it is all in the hoping stage at this point. We did get an offer for 2010 this week, but that seems so far away to plan.

For those of you who are not current with home exchanging, that 2010 date/proposal is not unusual. People really plan that far in advance. I usually, don't plan for more than 6-9 months ahead. Anyway, thanks again for the thoughts, and I am hoping that something will come through so I can ask Laughternlife for restaurant recommendations.

Annetti

LaurenKahn1

After 37 home exchanges, I never do them more than a calendar year in advance. It is my experience that exchanges agreed to years in advance end up just not happening. The day after I agreed to the Finnish exchange, I got an offer from Devon, England. I told England to write back in August or September 2009 if they were still interested.

annetti

Lauren:

I have now had three Ottawa exchangers who want to plan for 2010. We have had to decline. It is just too hard for us to think that far ahead. I know people have had success doing this, but I would agree that the odds are not in your favor for it working out. One of our past home exchangers (we keep in touch with quite a few of them) arranged a home exchange three years in advance and it all worked out. We did an exchange that worked out almost 2 years in advance, but then we met them prior to the exchange while we were in France doing another exchange, so there was more of a bond. Anyway, after reading the information on this board, it looks like Ottawa would be a very pleasant place to spend some time. Perhaps, we will luck out and find an exchange in Ottawa this year.