"Train trip to Ottawa" a Ottawa Travel Page by goldenodin

I'm one of those people who have to plan like crazy in advance. I love hunting for deals and ideas on the internet! My husband has always wanted to take a train trip, and I have wanted to go to Ottawa on Canada Day, so we got two dreams combined! Definitely spring for a sleeper car if taking a Via Rail overnight. I always thought I was one of those people who could sleep anywhere(movie theatres), thru anything(noisy action movies)...not so on the train. Or, take your own pillow (we ended up buying some in Montreal for the trip home). The seats don't recline far, and with the bumps up by your head, it is hard to get into a good position. And the tiny pillows suck! I tried leaning on the window, lying in my husbands lap...just not comfy.
Nuf about that
During this trip, we also stopped in Montreal. The train arrived from Truro (overnight) to Montreal at 8am. Two hour stopover, then off to Ottawa. It was a good chance to get some breakfast and stretch legs, but stayed pretty much at Gare Centrale...Montreal was for later. Got to Ottawa about noon, found the proper bus to our 'guest house'. The bus drivers were great - if we asked about a certain stop, they were sure to let us know where to get off. Super helpful. Hats off to Ottawa bus drivers! Ottawa is a great walking city, and we did a lot of it. Our guest house was about 20 minute walk to downtown.
Our first stop was the Nature Museum, a few blocks from where we stayed. It was really cool if you like dinosaurs and such. That was probaly an hour and a half. Five floors - lots of stair climbing! Then just basically wandered to the Parliament Buildings and took in the sights. This was June 29. I loved all the flowers planted in the front yards!
Went to the Canadian Mint and took a tour. This was after supper when the workers were gone for the day. We got to see one of the 99.99999 percent pure $1,000,000 coin (yes, you can pay for it with your VISA). It was a very interesting tour, and I'd recommend it. About 20-30 minutes long. Then to the gift shop, where we got to lift a $300,000 gold bar. It was chained to the table and protected by an RCMP. I wish I had taken a pic of that!
Then just back to the guest house and bed!

Lots of walking today! Starting out wandering up to Parliament again, did a little shopping at the Byward Market - great pastry shop there! And some neat stalls and stores. Watched the changing of the guard.
Walked to the War Museum. see my tips
Walked to Civilization Museum. see my tips
May I say, the weather was terrific, but it did manage to rain a little bit everyday, usually when we were outside! But it didn't spoil anything.
July 1
Aviation Museum. Shopped a little at a mall. Took the bus to the Aviation Museum. My husband spent the early part of his years growing up on Canadian Forces bases, so he found the airplane displays really interesting. I'm not so much into that. Seeing a Spitfire take off was cool. Spent a few hours here - if you like aircraft, this is the place for you! About a 20 minute bus ride from downtown Ottawa.
Fireworks. see my tips. What we did see of the fireworks was great, I guess maybe I expected more than 15-20 minutes of fireworks, being the nation's capital and all. It seemed like it wasn't that big a deal?? Even in Halifax, they have parades. I had a hard time finding out info on the internet about things. Disclaimer - we did spend the afternoon at the Aviation Museum, so maybe I missed some stuff.

Rideau Canal
Train to Montreal.