10 Best Museums in Ottawa

The Canadian Museum of Nature is a national history museum that offers over 14.6 million specimens in its permanent collection and also features regular rotating exhibits. This crown jewel of Canada's national museums has stood since 1856, when it was established by the Geological Survey of Canada. It is a patron of many different scientific and research programs all over the country and has played a major role in international expeditions. It has been a key player in many dinosaur excavations including the China-Canada Dinosaur Project.

If you want to see the proud centerpiece of Canada's national museums, start here. It's in the heart of downtown Ottawa.

The Canadian Museum of History offers the chance to walk through over 20,000 years of history, both of Canada and other cultures from all over the world. This museum looks at the history of indigenous people in Canada and how they were affected by European colonization, and at places like ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The museum is also an important research institute, and staff members are leading experts in the fields of anthropology, ethnology, archeology, and folk history. You can book a guided tour with these staff members to further enrich your visit.

If you're interested in human culture and evolution, this is the spot for you. It's about 5 minutes northwest of downtown across the Alexandra Bridge.

The Canadian War Museum examines the history of the military both from an educational standpoint and a remembrance one, focusing on the 2 World Wars through contemporary history. Here you can see exhibits tracing the development of the armed forces in Canada, from its earliest days as colonial military through to its modern development as Canada became established as a country. The museum traces the important and sometimes overlooked role Canada played in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the modern military conflicts the world has seen, and honors those who have served their country.

This war museum is an elegant and respectful look at military history. It's located 13 minutes west of downtown.

The National Gallery of Canada lets you see some of the most important historic fine art and contemporary art produced throughout history. This museum contains one of the most comprehensive collections of Canadian art in the world and is among the largest art museums in North America in terms of sheer exhibition space. Inside you'll view hundreds of artworks in just about every medium from sketches to paintings, photos, sculptures, and others. In fact, outside the museum stands an iconic giant spider sculpture called Maman by Louise Bourgeois.

From ancient masters to modern movers and shakers, if you're an art aficionado, you'll find it here. It's about 20 minutes north of downtown Ottawa.

The Canada Science and Technology Museum offers a look at the history of science and technology in Canada from ancient medicine through modern wearable tech. This is a distinctly kid-friendly museum with tons of hands-on, interactive exhibits covering all aspects of tech and science including a kid-specific Children's Innovation Zone. The museum is even welcoming to the youngest children, with diaper changing stations and bottle warming stations for new parents. Here you and your kids will learn about everything from meteorology to microprocessors and get hands-on while you do it.

This is a fun, exciting, and eye-opening institution where science is viewed through a Canadian lens. It's just 15 minutes east of downtown.

The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum offers a chance to explore the entire history of farming and food production in Canada with a practical look at agricultural science. Many of the exhibits here are hands-on, and you'll get to explore the Central Experimental Farm that includes plenty of live farm animals including dairy cows, beef cattle, pigs, sheep, and horses, which you can interact with and pet during your visit. That makes this an especially fun place for kids, who get to learn about shearing sheep and milking cows, among other farm activities.

This is an interesting and fun look at the importance of agriculture in ecology and civilization. It's 15 minutes south of downtown.

The Canada Aviation and Space Museum allows you to take a deep dive into the many scientific advancements that took us to the skies and then to the stars. This museum is a family-friendly look at the aerospace industry and will take you from the earliest powered aircraft from before World War I all the way through to the International Space Station and the orbital satellites we use for communication, research, and weather studies. You might be surprised to learn that aerospace technology goes back to the pioneer days.

From hot-air balloons to supersonic jets, you'll find it all here. The museum is 19 minutes east of downtown.

The Diefenbunker Museum lets you explore a relic of the Cold War, a place where Parliament members were set to escape to as a safe house in a nuclear war. It was turned into a museum in 1997 and offers a chilling look into a time when every day involved worrying about the looming threat of nuclear weapons. It's also a vital and intriguing look at the history of the military and of survivalism. Here you can walk through a bunker designed to protect against fallout for months, with beds, provisions, and communications.

In addition, this bunker serves as an art museum with rotating resident artists and various Cold War exhibits. It's 45 minutes south of downtown.

The Bank of Canada Museum offers a unique look at our economy including international currency and even counterfeiting dating all the way back to the Middle Ages. Here you can view over 100,000 artifacts related to currency from all over the world that showcase the importance of coinage and currency in civilizations all across history. This museum was formerly known as Canada's Currency Museum, and it offers a fascinating and intriguing perspective not just about money, but also the economy in general.

Here you can see coins from the Middle Ages through to colonial money, the advent of paper bills, and how counterfeiters mimic these things for criminal use. It's right in the heart of downtown Ottawa.

The Bytown Museum offers a fascinating whirlwind tour of Ottawa from its original founding to becoming the capital of the country with a heartfelt and charming approach. The museum highlights the construction of the Rideau Canal that marked the beginning of the city's importance and traces the entire history of how it emerged as the nation's capital and the center of Canadian politics. It's also located across from a scenic public market, so after you explore history you can walk the stalls to catch some local color.

This is a fun, family-friendly, and charming look at the development of an important city with a small-town vibe. It's 15 minutes north of central downtown.