Taxi. The train station is about 20 minutes from the city centre. I don’t know if buses run to it, and if you’ve got luggage, a taxi is the best.
For the Parliament tours, I think in the summer time, “daily” includes weekends. See the detailed hours on this page, which distinguishes between weekend and week days during the winter, but just says “daily” for the summer.
You could also contact the Ottawa tourism office for clarification. Last time I went to Ottawa, I sent an e-mail with a specific inquiry, and got a reply within 48 hours.
The website lists weekend hours in the off season, so I imagine daily is daily in the summer. You’re probably less likely to have the tour shortened to accommodate a sitting on the weekend too.
Just about the best dim sum restaurant I have ever eaten at is called Imperial Palace. It is on the east side of Dalhousie St., a couple blocks north of Rideau. Go for lunch.
A couple years ago, I stayed at a hotel called Business Inn. For about $130/night, we had a three room suite with a king size bed in one, a large living room and a nice kitchen (although I didn’t use it) plus free Wi-Fi. It is maybe a mile from the parliament buildings.
I do recommend those museums, but that has been said.
One thing to realize about Ottawa is that the downtown core is actually fairly small compared to other cities. I live farther from Downtown than the train station is, and taxis from the Market to my place are usually less than $30, depending on the time of day.
Also, lots of the places mentioned above are all within a few minutes walk of each other. Starting at the Mint, you could walk through part of the Market or along the Canal to the Chateau Laurier, then turn up Wellington to Parliament Hill and eventually to the Supreme Court, and not take more than 45 minutes or so, if you walked fairly steadily. Sparks Street is maybe a minute walk south, from anywhere along Wellington.
So you can see quite a lot in a short time, then decide which ones to see in detail.
The Transitway (dedicated bus highway) runs right by the train station. You literally walk out of the terminal and cross the street and its right there. It’s about a 10 minute ride downtown. As someone else mentioned though, taxis would be a better option if you have luggage.
I apologize. I completely forgot to update this thread (until now). We had a marvellous time! Actually, we enjoyed Ottawa so much that we extended our stay to a week.
What a perfectly walk-able city, with nice wide sidewalks and lots to see as you walk around. We enjoyed that so much!
We toured Parliament, inside and out (had a picnic on the grass after walking around the grounds and gawking at all the statues) and wandered through the War Museum and the Natural History Museum. We caught an afternoon cruise on the Rideau Canal.
The Mint wasn’t open for tours (under renovation). The weather was amazing (although a touch on the humid side). We spent hours and hours at the Byward Market and spent every evening on a restaurant patio, sipping wine or coffee.
Thanks again to all the Dopers who offered advice and experiences. We really had a great time. I’d go back in a minute!
