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.

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!

 

Upcoming Walking Tours

  • 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....

  • 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

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

  • 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

    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 Beaverbrook in the...

Past Walking Tours

  • Crystal Bay
    Sunday, October 10, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: James Cummings Avenue at Cyrus Court
    Across from 147 James Cummings Ave, next to the postal boxes
    Ottawa, ON K2H 8C9
    Canada

    NEW TOUR!  Enjoy a visit of Crystal Bay, a small residential area in Ottawa West nestled between the north side of Carling Avenue and the Ottawa River. The tour will offer an overview of its...

  • New Edinburgh
    Sunday, October 3, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Frasier Schoolhouse
    62 John Street (near Sussex Drive in New Edinburgh)
    Ottawa, ON K1M 1P5
    Canada

    New Edinburgh, a mill-town founded in 1832, is one of Canada’s earliest planned communities and still presents a largely 19th-century face to the world. The tour will look at the industrial roots...

  • Sandy Hill East
    Sunday, September 26, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Laurier House
    335 Laurier Avenue East at the NE corner of Chapel Street
    Ottawa, ON K1N 6R4
    Canada

    This walking tour looks at the late 19th-and early 20th-century buildings of historical or architectural importance in the northeast quadrant of Sandy Hill, an area favoured by lumber barons,...

  • Kingsview Park (In French)
    Saturday, September 25, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Shell Gas Station
    1 Montreal Road (corner of North River Road)
    Ottawa, ON K1L 6E8
    Canada
    Pour la version française CLIQUEZ ICI.

    NEW TOUR!  Enjoy a visit to Kingsview Park, a small residential area alongside the Rideau River located between North River Road and the Vanier Parkway....

  • Lindenlea
    Sunday, September 19, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Outside the Lindenlea Community Centre
    15 Rockcliffe Way ( at Ridgeway )
    Ottawa, ON K1M 1B2
    Canada

    A fascinating stroll through a post-World War I planned community – a marvel of social engineering that was featured on the Governor General's Christmas card. Pocket-sized Lindenlea promised...

  • Village of Richmond
    Sunday, September 12, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: West side parking lot of Richmond Arena
    6095 Perth Street
    Ottawa, ON K0A 2Z0
    Canada

    Richmond celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2018 and the village has continued to thrive since its earliest days. The tour will look at a number of its historic homes and businesses, and tell...

  • Lowertown East
    Sunday, August 15, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: École secondaire publique De La Salle
    501 Old St. Patrick Street (#6 bus route)
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    Lowertown East, bounded by Rideau Street, King Edward Avenue, and the Rideau River, has been home to many important religious, residential and civic buildings. Despite a controversial 1970s urban...

  • The Parliamentary Precinct: An Archaeologist's Perspective (SOLD OUT)
    Sunday, August 8, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Metcalfe Street Entrance of Parliament Hill
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    This tour, held in conjunction with Archaeology Month, will focus on the history of the Parliamentary Precinct as revealed by the series of archaeological investigations that have been undertaken...

  • Alexandra Bridge (Sold Out)
    Sunday, August 1, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    Meet: At the spider sculpture “Maman” outside the National Gallery of Canada
    Sussex Drive near St. Patrick Street
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    NEW TOUR – The history, builders and engineering significance of the Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge and its importance as a central element of a national and world heritage setting. The bridge...

  • Beaverbrook
    Sunday, July 25, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Beaverbrook Mall, West Parking Lot (in front of Community Centre)
    1002 Beaverbrook Road (W of Teron Road)
    Kanata, ON
    Canada

    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. This tour will introduce participants...

  • St. James Anglican Cemetery (In French)
    Sunday, July 18, 2021 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Main Entrance of the St. James Cemetery
    On the crest of Alexander Taché Blvd., east of the Université du Québec en Outaouais
    Gatineau, ON
    Canada

    Pour la version française CLIQUEZ ICI.

    Founded in 1820, the St. James Anglican Cemetery is the oldest European cemetery in the national capital region. Designated a heritage site by the...

  • LOWERTOWN EAST
    Sunday, October 25, 2020 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: École secondaire publique De La Salle
    501 Old St. Patrick Street (#6 bus route)
    Ottawa, ON K1N 8R3
    Canada

    Lowertown East, bounded by Rideau Street, King Edward Avenue, and the Rideau River, has been home to many important religious, residential and civic buildings. Despite a controversial 1970s urban...

  • Sandy Hill: The Golden Years of a Chic Ottawa Neighbourhood
    Sunday, October 11, 2020 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Amnesty International Building
    312 Laurier Avenue East
    Ottawa, ON K1N 6R4
    Canada

    This tour will bring to life the rich history of Sandy Hill still embodied in several of the grand mansions gracing Laurier Avenue and Wilbrod Street, by recounting anecdotes about their former...

  • Old Ottawa East
    Sunday, October 4, 2020 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: St. Paul’s University, Main Entrance
    223 Main Street
    Ottawa, ON K1S 1C5
    Canada

    Situated between the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River, Old Ottawa East is a neighbourhood in the midst of transformation with the conversion of the former Oblates property into a new residential...

  • Sandy Hill: The Golden Years of a Chic Ottawa Neighbourhood (In French)
    Sunday, September 27, 2020 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Amnesty International Building
    312 Laurier Avenue East
    Ottawa, ON K1N 6P6
    Canada

    This tour will bring to life the rich history of Sandy Hill, still embodied in several of the grand mansions gracing Laurier Avenue and Wilbrod Street, by recounting anecdotes about their former...

  • Notre Dame Cemetery
    Sunday, September 20, 2020 - 14:00 to 16:00
    MEET: Notre Dame Cemetery, Main Entrance
    455 Montreal Rd. (West of St. Laurent Boulevard)
    Ottawa, ON K1K 0V2
    Canada

    NEW TOUR – 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...

  • Beaverbrook
    Sunday, September 6, 2020 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Beaverbrook Mall, West Parking Lot (in front of Community Centre)
    1002 Beaverbrook Road (W of Teron Road)
    Kanata, ON K2K 1L1
    Canada

    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. This tour will introduce participants...

  • Beechwood Avenue (In French)
    Sunday, August 30, 2020 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Bellefleur Physiotherapy
    2 Beechwood Ave. (NE corner of Beechwood Ave and Vanier Pkwy)
    Ottawa, ON K1P 5W1
    Canada
    THIS TOUR IS SOLD OUT.

    NEW TOUR – Enjoy a stroll along Beechwood Avenue from Crichton Street to the Beechwood Cemetery. Discover the social and architectural history of the street with a focus on...

  • Lebreton Flats
    Sunday, August 23, 2020 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Canadian War Museum (Outside Main Entrance)
    1 Vimy Place
    Ottawa, ON K1A 0M8
    Canada

    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 the Aubrey...

  • Hintonburg and Bayswater
    Sunday, August 16, 2020 - 14:00 to 15:30
    MEET: Saint-François-d’Assise Church
    20 Fairmont Avenue (SW corner of Wellington Street West)
    Ottawa, ON K1Y 1X5
    Canada

    Named for Joseph Hinton, a shopkeeper and civic official, the village of Hintonburg was incorporated in 1893. The tour will also include the Bayswater subdivision, east of the heart of this...

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