Site Visits and Activities

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
DAY TRIPS

Birding the Ottawa Area

Early morning bird tours will be available for those who like to greet the dawn. Led by famous Canadian birder Bruce Di Labio, a professional international birding guide and educator, you will cover a number of areas around Ottawa including the Britannia Conservation Area, the Arboretum and Vincent Massey Park––looking for warblers, vireos, thrushes, tanagers and orioles. Don’t forget your binoculars!

Group Size: minimum 7, maximum 21
Cost: $40 CDN; $30 US
Date of Trip: September 22
Begin: Château Laurier Lobby @ 5:30 a.m.
End: Château Laurier Lobby @ 8:00 a.m.

Ottawa Tours: Discover Ottawa

Date of Trip: Monday, September 22

This two-hour coach tour of Canada’s national capital provides you with an overview of the city of Ottawa. Guides will delve into the history of the area, bringing alive such founding father figures as Colonel John By, Philomen Wright, J.R. Booth and Mackenzie King, while discussing the many changes the city has undergone. City maps will be provided.

Group Size: Minimum: 20
Cost: $28 CDN; $21 US
Date of Trip: September 22
Begin: Château Laurier Lobby @ 3:00 p.m.
End: Château Laurier Lobby @ 4:30 p.m.

Ottawa Walking Tours: The Firestone Collection at the Ottawa Art Gallery

Date of Trip: Monday, September 22

Ottawa’s municipal gallery is housed in an 1870 gray stone heritage building, formerly Ottawa’s Court House. The Firestone Art Collection, originally owned by Dr. Jack Firestone, a private Ottawa citizen, reflects important Canadian art of the twentieth century. It is famous for works by A.Y. Jackson, a founding member of the iconic Group of Seven, Canada’s most famous landscape painters. Works by other significant Canadian artists complete the Firestone collection. We will view the works on exhibit, as well as those stored in the collections, and meet the curator. The main gallery is also open to viewing, and the boutique on the premises displays and sells some of the finest examples of local artists’ and artisans’ works.

Group Size: Minimum: 15; Maximum: 25
Cost: $18 CDN; $15 US
Date of Trip: September 22
Begin: Château Laurier Lobby @ 3:00 p.m.
End: Château Laurier Lobby @ 4:30 p.m.

Ottawa Walking Tours: Parliament Buildings

Date of Trip: Monday, September 22

In December 1857, Queen Victoria of England chose Ottawa, a small lumber town, as the site of the permanent capital of the Province of Canada. The name Ottawa came from the Algonquian tribe Ottawa, or Odawa, meaning “traders.” The parliament buildings are the seat of Canada’s federal government. The building’s style reflects a strong Neo-Gothic revival influence and resembles the design of the British Houses of Parliament completed seven years earlier. Constructed between 1860 and 1866, the Canadian buildings were ready in 1867 for the new government of the Dominion of Canada.

Today, there is no more powerful symbol in all of Canada than the red-and-white maple leaf flag snapping in the wind at the top of the Peace Tower. The 291-foot high Peace Tower was the last part of the Centre Block to be completed in 1927. The Peace Tower stands as a memorial to those 111,542 Canadians who died in active service in the two world wars, and as a constant reminder that the price of peace is sacrifice and vigilance.

During your guided tour, you will see the senate and the House of Commons, the Hall of Honour and the Library of Parliament. Your tour will begin in the Visitor Welcome Centre, located on the ground floor of the Centre Block.

Group Size: no minimum or maximum
Cost: FREE
Date of Trip: September 22
Begin: Château Laurier Lobby @ 3:00 p.m.
End: Château Laurier Lobby @ 4:30 p.m.

Issue Areas:

• Architectural Conservation
• Parliamentary Governance
• Canadian History and Culture