Ottawa city tour with Parliament Hill & Rideau Canal cruise

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/19

Duration4h

GroupUp to 6

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

A small van reaches Rockcliffe Park, where tour buses cannot go.

This is a guided city tour of Ottawa in a small passenger van with hotel pickup and drop-off, covering Parliament Hill, Rideau Hall, the Prime Minister's residence, Notre-Dame Basilica, and a cruise along the Rideau Canal — a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The group stays under nine people, which allows access to Rockcliffe Park's residential streets that larger buses cannot enter. The Rideau Canal cruise runs April through November; when it is not operating, the tour includes the Canadian War Museum of History instead.

Step-by-step itinerary

Ottawa city tour and canal cruise

Pickup from hotel
Drive through Rockcliffe Park
Visit Rideau Hall residence
Pass by Prime Minister's residence
Self-guided tour of Parliament Hill
Photo stops at Supreme Court and Museum of History
Visit Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica
Admire Fairmont Château Laurier and panoramic viewpoint
Rideau Canal cruise
Return to hotel

The Experience

Your guide picks you up from your Ottawa hotel and drives you through Rockcliffe Park, a neighbourhood closed to large tour buses. From the van you see the official residences of the US Ambassador and Canada's Governor General at Rideau Hall, plus the Prime Minister's residence — landmarks most visitors miss because the streets are too narrow for standard tour coaches. A stop at the Rockcliffe lookout point gives you views across the Ottawa River before the van heads toward Parliament Hill.

At Parliament Hill you walk the grounds on your own, taking in the Gothic revival Parliament Buildings and the Centennial Flame at the symbolic heart of Canadian democracy. Your guide points out the Supreme Court of Canada and other key landmarks along Wellington Street as you drive past, then stops at Notre-Dame Basilica — Ottawa's largest and oldest standing church — where you see the elegant gothic-style interior. The Fairmont Château Laurier and a panoramic viewpoint near the Canadian Museum of History give you two of the city's most photographed vantage points.

The tour ends with a narrated cruise along the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage waterway that winds through the heart of Ottawa. From the water you get views of the city's landmarks from an angle most visitors don't see. The whole experience runs about four hours, with hotel pickup and drop-off included.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off in downtown Ottawa.
small-group van tour with a maximum of nine guests.
self-guided walking access to Parliament Hill.
stops at Rideau Hall, the Prime Minister's residence, Notre-Dame Basilica, the Fairmont Château Laurier, and a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the Canadian Museum of History.
narrated Rideau Canal cruise with admission included (April–November, or Canadian War Museum of History tour when the canal is not operating).

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPublic transport nearby

Operated by See Sight Tours

Is this one for you?Choose this tour if you want to see residential Ottawa — Rideau Hall and the Prime Minister's residence — without renting a car or navigating on your own. The small van is what makes those Rockcliffe Park streets accessible; a larger bus cannot go there, so you get sights most group tours skip.