The Best Location to Stay in Ottawa: Where Politicians Roam and Tourists Feel at Home

The Best Location to Stay in Ottawa: A Neighborhood Breakdown That Won’t Put You to Sleep

Choosing the best location to stay in Ottawa feels like selecting which Canadian stereotype you’d like to temporarily adopt. Each neighborhood supplies its own distinct personality—some areas speak French and sip espresso, others embrace flannel and craft beer, while a few don their government ID badges like accessories. Let’s dissect these neighborhoods without the usual travel guide monotony.

Downtown/ByWard Market: Where History Meets Hangover

The ByWard Market feels like Boston’s Quincy Market after a few shots of maple whisky—historic yet surprisingly rowdy when the sun goes down. Established in 1826, this four-block square serves as Ottawa’s welcome mat, offering everything from farmers’ markets to nightclubs that pump bass until 2 AM. For first-time visitors, this remains the quintessential best location to stay in Ottawa, with attractions radiating outward like spokes on a Parliament Hill wheel.

Accommodation here ranges from the outrageously opulent Château Laurier ($350/night for rooms with turrets—actual turrets) to mid-range options like Alt Hotel ($180/night) where the hallways are more stylish than most Americans’ living rooms. Budget travelers can find hostels and modest hotels starting around $90/night, though “budget” in ByWard Market still costs more than “luxury” in outlying areas.

Parliament Hill sits a ceremonial 5-minute walk away, while the National Gallery hovers 8 minutes by foot, recognizable by the giant spider sculpture that makes arachnophobes check right back out of town. The market houses approximately 500 businesses, ensuring your stomach and shopping bags never remain empty for long. Don’t miss the “Obama Cookie” at Moulin de Provence bakery, which achieved international fame after President Obama’s 2009 visit—proving that presidential endorsements work better for Canadian bakeries than most American political campaigns.

The Glebe: For People Who Say “I Knew About This Place Before It Was Cool”

If ByWard Market represents Ottawa’s touristy heart, The Glebe serves as its hipster soul. This neighborhood stands as Ottawa’s answer to Portland’s Hawthorne District or Chicago’s Wicker Park—a place where every third storefront sells either vintage clothing, artisanal coffee, or vinyl records that cost more than the turntables playing them.

Accommodations skew toward Airbnbs in charming century homes ($140-220/night) and boutique BandBs ($160-200/night) where the owners know more about local craft beer than anyone reasonably should. Chain hotels remain scarce here, as they’d violate the unspoken “keep it independent” covenant that Glebe residents have somehow never formally signed yet religiously observe.

The recently revitalized Lansdowne Park anchors the neighborhood, offering restaurants, shopping, and TD Place Stadium where the Ottawa REDBLACKS football team plays in front of crowds who understand Canadian football rules approximately 70% of the time. Bank Street forms the commercial spine with over 200 independent businesses where shopkeepers will tell you their local-sourcing philosophies whether you asked or not. Visitors in May hit the jackpot with the annual Great Glebe Garage Sale, transforming the neighborhood into a 15-block treasure hunt where one person’s decluttered minimalism becomes another’s authenticated vintage find.

Westboro: Where Residents’ Heart Rates Never Exceed 55 BPM

Ottawa’s Westboro neighborhood mirrors Boulder, Colorado—if Boulder had fewer mountains and more government employees pretending they don’t work for the government. This health-conscious enclave sits pressed against the Ottawa River, offering trails, parks, and enough outdoor equipment stores to survive several simultaneous apocalypse scenarios.

Accommodations center around boutique hotels like Domicile Suites ($200/night) and vacation rentals ($150/night) where the kitchen cupboards inevitably contain multiple types of tea and at least one jar of mysterious granola. The Mountain Equipment Co-op serves as the neighborhood’s unofficial town hall, where locals debate the merits of merino wool base layers with religious fervor.

Summer draws visitors to Westboro Beach, one of the few urban swimming spots along the Ottawa River where the water quality ranges from “probably fine” to “let’s just sunbathe today.” Winter transforms the area with the SJAM Winter Trail, offering 15 miles of groomed pathways for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and fat-biking—activities Americans generally attempt once before retreating to warmer pursuits. Behind the Keg Manor restaurant lies the hidden 100-year-old Maplelawn Garden, providing a botanical sanctuary where visitors can recover from excessive healthiness with quiet contemplation.

Centretown: Where Residents Actually Live Their Lives

Centretown represents Ottawa’s residential downtown core—similar to Chicago’s Lincoln Park but with significantly less crime and significantly more sensible winter clothing. This neighborhood houses the humans who make Ottawa function, from government workers to university students to small business owners who provide services to the government workers and university students.

Accommodation options feature apartment-style hotels ($180/night), business-focused establishments ($160/night), and Airbnbs in high-rise buildings where the owners leave extremely detailed instructions about recycling protocols. Bank Street cuts through the district, featuring rainbow crosswalks and LGBTQ+-friendly businesses that make this area Ottawa’s most diverse and inclusive neighborhood.

The Museum of Nature ($15.50 USD admission) anchors the southern end, housing dinosaur skeletons and dioramas that haven’t changed since many current parliamentarians were children. Transportation options abound with the O-Train Confederation Line and 5 major bus routes intersecting here, making car rental completely unnecessary. During Ottawa Senators hockey games, Elgin Street transforms into the “Sens Mile” where fans celebrate or commiserate depending on the scoreboard, though the distinction between these activities grows increasingly blurry with each passing beer.

Parliament Hill Vicinity: For People Who Collect Government Lapel Pins

Staying near Parliament Hill compares to bedding down by Washington’s National Mall, except with 90% fewer tourists and 100% more apologetic natives. This area serves as the nucleus of political Ottawa, where even the squirrels seem to be discussing fiscal policy while gathering nuts.

Hotels here cater to government travelers with “special rates” that still somehow cost $200/night. High-end chains like Fairmont and Westin dominate, offering rooms with views of Parliament that guests photograph once then never look at again. The parliament buildings themselves welcome visitors for 45-minute guided tours (free with advance booking), revealing ornate chambers where Canada’s democracy unfolds at a pace that makes glacial movement seem hasty by comparison.

Summer visitors can witness the changing of the guard ceremony daily at 10 AM, featuring young military personnel in red coats and tall black bearskin hats who must simultaneously battle precision marching requirements and heat stroke. Nearby Sparks Street holds the distinction of being North America’s oldest pedestrian mall (established 1967), though it struggles with the peculiar problem of becoming almost entirely deserted after 5 PM when government workers flee back to their respective neighborhoods.

Little Italy and Chinatown: The Flavor Districts

These adjacent neighborhoods represent Ottawa’s most diverse areas, where 46% of residents identify as visible minorities and restaurants serve authenticity rather than appropriation. Staying here means immersing yourself in cultural enclaves that feel genuinely lived-in rather than preserved for tourism.

Accommodations primarily consist of Airbnbs ($120/night) and guest houses ($100/night) where visitors might share buildings with multi-generational families who’ve witnessed the neighborhoods transform over decades. Hotels remain scarce, as these areas developed organically rather than through tourism board initiatives.

The annual Asian Night Market (July) and Italian Week festivals (June) transform streets into open-air celebrations that make even the most reserved Canadian bureaucrats consider loosening their ties. Dow’s Lake sits at the neighborhoods’ edge, offering spring tulip viewing when over a million blooms create North America’s most photographed garden, and winter skating on the frozen lake surface where Canadians demonstrate that ice-based transportation might actually be genetic.

The O-Train’s Trillium Line provides direct access, though the best approach involves wandering side streets where small shops sell ingredients even Google can’t accurately translate. During Italian Week, Preston Street hosts the “Bambini Soccer Cup,” temporarily converting the main thoroughfare into a soccer pitch where children play while nonnas critique their technique from restaurant patios—perhaps the most authentic European experience available without a passport.