OttawaTours is an independent editorial travel magazine. We are not a tour operator and we don't sell tickets — we publish neighbourhood guides, seasonal essays, and conversations with the people who shape this city. Our angle is editorial and our pace is deliberately slower than a checklist.
Our story
The magazine was rebuilt in 2026 around a single idea: visitors to Ottawa deserve more than a top-ten list. They deserve to understand why the canal turns copper at the golden hour, what the Algonquin and Anishinabe names of these places mean, why the tulip festival is a quiet diplomatic gesture, and where a curator at the National Gallery actually goes after closing time. We write for travellers who want a city the way locals know it — with all its weather, all its history, and all its taste.
Editorial line
We cover Ottawa and the Gatineau region — the city itself, but also the bilingual shorelines, the Gatineau Hills, the small Outaouais villages, and the day trips within ninety minutes of downtown. We write in English, with care for the bilingual character of the capital and respect for the First Nations whose territory we visit. We avoid promotional pieces and affiliate hype; when we recommend something, it's because someone on our team has been there in three different seasons.
The editorial team
OttawaTours is signed The OttawaTours Editorial Team — a small group of writers, photographers, and editors based in Ottawa, Gatineau, and the wider Outaouais. We work with local interviewees — curators, guides, sugar-shack producers, ice-sculpture artists — and we credit them by name. Our pieces are fact-checked against official municipal, federal and parks sources, and updated when conditions change (the canal skateway, festival dates, opening hours of the Parliament).
Our editorial promises
We promise three things. First, we never run sponsored content disguised as editorial — when a piece is supported, you will see it clearly. Second, we date our updates: each guide carries a last updated stamp so you know whether the canal opening hours, festival dates, or museum admission you're reading are current. Third, we credit our sources — interviewees, photographers, and the public bodies (Parks Canada, NCC, City of Ottawa) whose data we rely on.
Get in touch
Have a story tip, a correction, or a question? Write to the editorial team via the contact page. We read every message and reply when a reply is needed.