Visiting the Parliament of Canada

Back in the summer, a friend and I visited Ottawa.  We got to do fun things like checking out a boat ride, a free museum, and even taking a day trip to nearby Gatineau Quebec.  Our main reason to visit the capital city of our country was to visit the Parliament of Canada.

Getting There

The Parliament Buildings are located on a hill above the Ottawa River on Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa.  There are 4 buildings all grouped within the same grounds: the West Block, the Centre Block, the East Block, and the Library.  The Centre Block has been closed since 2018 and will require almost 10 years for renovations to be complete.

we arrived early to take pics outside the Senate of Canada

We were staying at Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Downtown and would constantly pass by but could never go inside as the free tours required a timed ticket online.  We got tickets to the East Block, the West Block, and the Senate of Canada Building for the Sunday.  They were all just 10 to 15 minutes walk/stroll from our hotel.

all tours required going through security before entering

Senate of Canada

We started with the Senate of Canada Building as our first tour since it was the furthest from our hotel.  We even previously chose a 2PM timed ticket so we didn’t have to rush to get to the tour.  It was estimated to be about 30 minutes long which would give us enough time to get to the next tour at 3PM.

starting our tour

We arrived a bit before 2 so that we could take pictures of the exterior of the building and be on time for our tour.  Once our tickets were scanned, we had to go through security to get inside.  My friend went through a metal detector and I had to get patted down.  This was similar to airport security and all Parliament tours have this type of security before entering.

the main foyer kept a bench when it was a train station

The Senate of Canada Building was a former railway station that is now a government building and is the temporary seat of the Senate of Canada.  It will move back to the Centre Block once renovations are done.

Red Chamber

The Senate Foyer was nice and bright and still has 1 of the 12 mahogany benches that originally sat there when it was a train station.  The Senate Chamber also known as the “Red Chamber” was quite impressive and is where Senators representing all of Canada’s regions meet to debate legislation and issues of importance to Canadians.

East Block

Office of the Governor General

Next on our list was the East Block tour.  We had enough time from our last tour to get to this one.  This tour is about 40 minutes.  It was originally built to house the offices of senators and members of Parliament.   Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier had their offices in the East Block.  It was great to see.

Office of Sir John A. Macdonald

We also got to see the office the Governor General.  Lastly, we got to see the Privy Council Chamber.  This is where Cabinet met to make decisions that would shape the course of Canadian History.  It really was great learning this from our tour guide.

Office of Sir George-Étienne Cartier

West Block

We arrived a few minutes late for the West Block even though there was enough time to get here from our last tour.  We were grabbing a snack and made it there just after 4pm.  We were taken to join our scheduled tour already in progress.  This tour is also 40 minutes long.

House of Commons Chamber

We saw the House of Commons Chambers and Foyer which was built in the courtyard’s infill.  It also houses offices for parliamentarians, a branch of the Library of Parliament, committee rooms, and some preserved pre-Confederation spaces.

House of Commons Foyer

We finished the tour by visiting the newly renovated gift shop and used the massive wheelchair accessible bathroom.

was another great free tour

Final Thoughts

My friend and I thought it was great visiting the Parliament buildings of Canada.  It was even better since this was all free.  The tour guides were all informative and the buildings were pretty wheelchair accessible.

security at the Parliament buildings

Even though the free tickets had to be booked in advance, there were some tours that didn’t sell out the day of tour.  I would definitely come back in a few years once the Centre Block is finished with renovations and resumes the tours.