2024 Walking Tour Season

Explore the history and heritage of some of Ottawa's most interesting neighbourhoods with our knowledgeable tour guides! 

Tours take place on Sundays beginning at 2:00 pm, rain or shine, and last approximately 1.5 hours, unless otherwise indicated. We recommend wearing comfortable sturdy shoes. 

FEE: Heritage Ottawa Members $10.00; Non-Members $25.00.

Join Heritage Ottawa now to be eligible for the $15 discount and enjoy other benefits of membership!

Space is limited  |  Online Pre-registration and Pre-payment are required for all participants. No registrations or payments can be accepted by the volunteers hosting the tours.

Reserve your spaces now using our secure online payment platform. Follow the instructions on each tour page below by clicking "More Details..."

Please Note: For safety reasons, dogs on leashes (with the exception of service animals) cannot be accommodated on our tours.

We will be following any Ottawa Public Health safety standards in place at the time of the tours. Participants who are more comfortable wearing a mask should feel free to do so. 

THANK YOU TO OUR WALKING TOUR SPONSORS Ontario Association of Architects and Janny, Jeff & Shan, Royal Lepage Realty!

Our 2024 Walking Tour Season starts on June 9 and runs to October 6, 2024. Scroll down for the full season schedule!

 

Past Walking Tours

  • Beaverbrook
    Sunday, October 6, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Beaverbrook Mall, West Parking Lot
    (in front of Community Centre)
    1002 Beaverbrook Road, West of Teron Road
    Kanata, ON K2K 1L1
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    Beaverbrook represents one of the first and the most complete examples in Canada of a fully designed community based on 20th century urban planning concepts. Bill Teron created...

  • Landscapes of Cornelia Oberlander
    Sunday, September 29, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: North end of Major's Hill Park, under the large Crack Willow tree
    South of Murray Street leading to the Alexandra Bridge,
    and facing the National Gallery
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    NEW TOUR: Pioneering Canadian landscape architect, Cornelia Oberlander, collaborated with National Gallery of Canada architect Moshe Safdie from 1984-88 to design the grounds of the...

  • Lowertown's International Precinct
    Sunday, September 22, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: National Gallery of Canada
    Near the Group Entrance at North Side
    380 Sussex Drive
    Canada

    Lowertown is one of the oldest surviving colonial settler neighbourhoods in the region. Though always under development pressure, it has survived as a diverse and livable neighbourhood....

  • Notre-Dame Cemetery (in French)
    Sunday, September 15, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Notre Dame Cemetery, Main Entrance
    455 Montreal Road
    (West of St. Laurent Boulevard)
    Ottawa, ON K1K 0V2
    Canada

    This walk will focus on some of the older sections of the cemetery, established in 1872, near Montreal Road and St. Laurent Boulevard, then move on to the centre of the cemetery, before returning...

  • Westboro
    Sunday, September 8, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: All Saints Church
    347 Richmond Road (Bus Route 11)
    Ottawa, ON K2A 0E7
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    This tour explores the heart of the former Westboro village over nearly 200 years, in its former incarnations as villa development along a macadamized road, an industrial hamlet along a...

  • Lebreton Flats
    Sunday, August 25, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Canadian War Museum, outside the Main Doors
    1 Vimy Place
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    This tour focuses on the history of LeBreton Flats as revealed by the series of archaeological investigations that have been undertaken in the area over the past decade. Sites such as...

  • Rockcliffe Park West
    Sunday, August 18, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Corner of Lisgar Rd and Princess Avenue
    Rockcliffe Park
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    The architectural styles in picturesque Rockcliffe Park range from stately stone mansions and interesting contemporary designs to remaining summer cottages. Learn about the history of...

  • Island Park Drive
    Sunday, August 11, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Kitchissippi United Church
    630 Island Park Drive, immediately south of the Queensway.
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    NEW TOUR: Join us on our walking tour of Island Park Drive, a heritage asset of the National Capital Commission opened in 1923 that was designed to extend the Capital parkway system,...

  • La Rivière des Outaouais (in French)
    Thursday, July 25, 2024 - 19:00 to 20:30
    MEET: In front of Maison du Citoyen
    25, rue Laurier
    Secteur Hull, Gatineau
    Canada

    NEW TOUR: Come and discover the fascinating history of the Ottawa River, which over the centuries has seen the passage of Indigenous Peoples, explorers, missionaries, soldiers, voyageurs, coureurs...

  • Cathedral Hill to Nanny Goat Hill
    Sunday, July 21, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Christ Church Cathedral
    414 Sparks Street
    (3 blocks from Lyon LRT Station)
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    NEW TOUR: Cathedral Hill and Nanny goat Hill are the two hills which overlook LeBreton Flats and the new Ādisōke library and archives building. The tour includes the Cathedral Hill...

  • Monuments and Memories: The Multiple Meanings of Commemorative Spaces
    Sunday, July 7, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Confederation Park
    Elgin Street at Laurier Avenue West
    Near the Colonel By Memorial Fountain
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    NEW TOUR: Over the past few years, monuments have suddenly been thrust into the media headlines as people have increasingly questioned and challenged public memory. Despite their stone...

  • The Scientific Landscape of the Central Experimental Farm
    Sunday, June 23, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: In front of the Tropical Greenhouse
    Building 50, Maple Drive
    Central Experimental Farm
    Canada

    UPDATE: JUNE 23, 11:00AM

    NEW TOUR: Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm is a world-renowned scientific landscape. Founded in 1886, the Farm developed, tested and promoted critical...

  • Rockcliffe Park East
    Sunday, June 9, 2024 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Rockcliffe Park Village Library
    380 Springfield Road
    Ottawa,
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    NEW TOUR: Rockcliffe Park is well known for its stately homes, beautiful trees and gardens. But it also includes many natural elements such as McKay Lake and a surrounding wetland area....

  • Heritage Apartments in Centretown
    Sunday, October 22, 2023 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Main Entrance, Museum of Nature
    240 McLeod Street at Metcalfe Street
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    Join us for a walk through part of Centretown and many of its fascinating old apartment buildings. Learn how apartment living emerged in early 20th-century Ottawa, evolving from three-...

  • Lowertown's International Precinct
    Sunday, October 15, 2023 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: National Gallery of Canada, near the Group Entrance on the North side
    380 Sussex Drive
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    NEW TOUR: Lowertown is one of the oldest surviving colonial settler neighbourhoods in the region. Though always under development pressure, it has survived as a diverse and livable...

  • Rideau Street and the Arts District
    Sunday, October 1, 2023 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Senate of Canada Building (former Union Station)
    2 Rideau Street
    Ottawa, ON K1N 8X5 
    Canada

    Originally part of the Sparks estate, this historic seven-block area between the Canal and Waller Street contains or faces eighteen designated heritage buildings and includes Ottawa's first main...

  • Rockcliffe Park
    Sunday, September 24, 2023 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Corner of Lisgar Rd. and Princess Avenue
    Rockcliffe Park
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    The architectural styles in picturesque Rockcliffe Park range from stately stone mansions and interesting contemporary designs to remaining summer cottages. Learn about the history of...

  • Religious Heritage of Vanier: From Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto to Notre Dame Cemetery (In French)
    Sunday, August 27, 2023 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Grotto
    391, rue Montfort, Vanier
    Ottawa, ON K1L 8G8
    Canada

    This guided tour will present the highlights of Franco-Ontarian religious heritage in Vanier. Come and discover the history of the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes grotto, the architecture of the church of...

  • Parliamentary Precinct
    Sunday, August 20, 2023 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Centennial Flame
    Parliament Hill
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada
    SOLD OUT

    NEW TOUR: The Parliamentary Precinct, starting on Parliament Hill in 1865, has expanded to Wellington St., Sparks St. and the former Union Station. There are many heritage buildings in...

  • Centretown West: An Urban Neighbourhood in Flux
    Sunday, August 13, 2023 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Plant Bath, 930 Somerset Street West
    Canada
    – SOLD OUT –

    Centretown West, one of Ottawa’s densest urban neighbourhoods, has been a hub for immigrant communities for over 100 years. Waves of newcomers have arrived, each adding their unique...

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