All I needed to read is that Parliament Hill is a gothic-style building to know that it would be one of my first stops in Ottawa. Parliament Hill was about a fifteen-minute walk from my hostel, so I grabbed a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and made my way over. If you’d like to walk as much as possible, make sure you book accommodations that are within walking distance of Parliament Hill. Some of the museums will be a little far, but everything that I wanted to see in my two days in Ottawa were within walking distance.
As I walked through the gates I wondered if it was actually okay to walk on the grounds. The answer: yes it is! As I learned the next day, the grounds of Parliament Hill are open for people to eat lunch, play games… There’s even a group that meets to do yoga when the weather is nice. There are some restrictions when it comes to protesting–but protests are allowed too. (And I saw protests each day I was there.)
I loved the Centennial Flame, which represents the unity of Canada from sea to sea. The shields that surround the flame are the shields of all the provinces and territories. The flame is lit all the time, except for twice a year when it’s turned off for a week for cleaning.
I took a quick look around the grounds, then went across the street to get a ticket for the tour. The guided tours of Parliament Hill are fantastic and they’re free! Tickets for the tours are handed out across the street at 90 Wellington St. Tickets are first come, first serve.
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I was able to get a ticket for the next tour so I made my way back to Parliament Hill to get in the security line. I thought it would take awhile to get through, but it was very efficient and before long I was in the building, ready to start my tour. I went on a day that parliament was in session, so there were times we were asked to be quiet as we walked through the halls and we weren’t able to see as much as you can if you go on a day when they’re not in session.
Guided tours aren’t always my favorite thing to do, but I knew I wanted to get into the building and our tour guide made it so much fun! She loves mysteries, so she pointed out the “mysteries” of Parliament Hill and it was such a cool and interactive way to see the building.
Here are some photos that I took during our tour.
The building was stunning and I just stood there snapping photos whenever we stopped for the tour guide to talk or wait for another tour group to pass. Look at the library!
I loved the all the little details! In the photos below you can see little faces on the walls. I believe our tour guide said they’re supposed to represent vikings, but one of the faces has glasses. It turns out, some of the people working on the building used their faces as inspiration!
I always think it’s neat to see where a government conducts business.
After the tour was over our tour guide told us what we else we could do and see in Parliament Hill. I wanted to go up to the Peace Tower, which was named in honor of the Canadians who sacrificed their lives during WWI. You take an elevator to get up and, even though it was a rainy day, I still enjoyed the view! As a rain-lover, I totally think the rain added to the photo.
A tour of Parliament Hill is so worthwhile! The tour guides provide so much information about the history of the building (like the fire in 1916), as well as information about the government and how it works. If you have a chance, you might want to go soon! There’s a renovation project scheduled to start in 2018 that could close down the building for awhile. It’s one of the reasons my mom and I are headed back to Ottawa in 2017!
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[Tweet “Go on a guided tour of Parliament Hill in Ottawa to learn about the history and the government!”]
Have you ever been to Parliament Hill in Ottawa? Is it something you’d be interested to see?
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Oh my goodness…that library!!!! It’s a dream.
It is! I didn’t want to leave. š
despite the rain, this place looks divine! loving all your photos too. thanks for sharing your adventure! xo, sharon
http://www.stylelullaby.com/fashion/jackson-wayne-everyday-spring-tote/
It really is! So beautiful… and the rain really added to it, even if it got tiring to walk around in after awhile. š I’m glad you enjoyed the photos!
What a gorgeous place! Love all the archetecture!
Greta | http://www.gretahollar.com
All of the architecture in Ottawa was so gorgeous! It was so much fun to walk around the city.
Love your pics – the library is especially stunning!
Thanks Hal! That library is so gorgeous!
What an absolutely stunning building – it’s essentially a piece of England in Canada! So cool!
It is! I went on a walking tour and he talked about the different European influences you’ll see in Ottawa and why it is that you see those influences. It was really cool!
Love your photos! I want to go now š
Caitlin, Beauty & Colour
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed them. I definitely recommend Ottawa if you get a chance! It was so beautiful and so much fun.
Amazing! whoa, what a gorgeous place to visit. I love the Gothic feel, I am going to pin this to see if I can talk the boyfriend into traveling eventually.
It was so much fun! I definitely recommend visiting Ottawa if you get a chance. I haven’t seen it talked about much, but it was such a fun city to tour. Thanks for pinning!
That building is gorgeous! I love learning about and visiting historic buildings featuring extraordinary architecture. Thanks for sharing this new travel venue with us. Love it!
Yes! It’s so much fun to tour and learn the history of a building and just see how it was put together. I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
I love gothic style buildings! The inside is stunning, I would love to have a library like that in my house. Thanks for sharing!
Gothic style buildings are so beautiful! I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. That library… I didn’t want to leave! š
Isn’t Ottawa beautiful? Particularly Parliament Hill and all the gothic-inspired buildings. I had only visited Ottawa for the first time last year and I was amazed I hadn’t made it there sooner. The weather was pretty identical to your day – very rainy and drab.
It is! I loved it! Someone mentioned once that Ottawa isn’t really a place you hear people talk about (in terms of wanting to visit), but more people should! It was so much fun and there’s so much to see. š So funny that you had lots of rain too! It sounds like a pretty rainy city… I’m actually planning a return trip soon (with my mom) and it looks like we can expect rain when we’ll be there too. I thought the rain was actually really pretty, although it does get tiring to walk around in rain for awhile and these pictures of Parliament Hill would have been so pretty and so much easier to edit (and add text) if skies had been blue! š
I actually didn’t get too many pictures the weekend we were there because of the rain and just a few here and there. I’d actually love to go back and explore when we have more time. We were there for a weekend but really only had an afternoon for Ottawa. The rest of the time there was spent just outside of Ottawa for a target shooting competition and man I’ll never forget that. We got so cold and wet that weekend, we were so miserable.
Hopefully on your next trip up, the weather gods will cooperate for you. If not, I’m sure you’ll make the most of it. š
Wow, that is absolutely gorgeous!! I love the architecture, the library, and just how beautiful everything is. I’ve never been to Canada, but I’d really like to visit. I really hope we can visit someday and these pictures definitely help that desire!