1. Bike Along The Canal
Ottawa has over 16 kilometers of bike lanes following the Rideau Canal, as well as tons of places to rent bikes.
2. Check out the Canadian Tulip Festival
The Canadian Tulip Festival runs May 11th to May 21st this year; there are displays and events all over Ottawa, and most of them are free!
3. Go for a Picnic on Parliament Hill
Pack a lunch or maybe pick up some sandwiches at La Bottega and spend the afternoon on the grass people-watching with a beautiful backdrop!
4. Check out Playa Del Popsicle
Summers in Ottawa get hot. Fortunately we have Playa Del Popsicle, a food truck that specializes in popsicles to cool us off. Located at 809 Bank Street!
5. Go for Patio Sangria in The Byward Market
There are a bunch of places where you can get cheap sangria in The Byward Market. Our favourite is The Grand where you can get $20 pitchers between 3-6pm, and anytime after 9pm.
6. Check out Mosaiculture
The beautiful horticulture exhibit in Gatineau created for Canada 150 was so popular that they decided to bring it back again this year. Spend an afternoon strolling the gardens.
7. Go to the beach
Nothing is better than going swimming on a sunny summer day! Here is a list of all of Ottawa’s public beaches: Petrie Island Beach, Britannia Beach, Mooney’s Bay Beach and Westboro Beach.
What’s on your summer bucket list? Do you have any great recommendations? Tweet us at @HcuOttawa!