… On top of the city, of course. What else were you think­ing, seri­ously? I know I’m French, but still!

On Sat­ur­day, I took a walk on Par­lia­ment Hill, down­town Ottawa, and decided to go up in the Peace Tower. At 300 feet (almost 100 m) tall, the tower was built to com­mem­o­rate the end of WW1. I usu­ally go visit the Par­lia­ment once or twice a year, more if I bring my stu­dents there. I like the place: the brain of the coun­try and also a beau­ti­ful her­itage build­ing. Despite the post 9/11 exten­sive secu­rity, vis­its are still free, includ­ing reg­u­lar guided tours in both French and Eng­lish. As long as they go through secu­rity scan­ning, vis­i­tors can also choose to visit the Par­lia­ment by them­selves. I find that great. I love the fact that every­one can have free and clear access to a sym­bol of democ­racy. I appre­ci­ate that Ottawa refused to live in a state of fear.

The Busi­ness District

The Entrance of the Parliament

The Hill is home to con­certs, show, cer­e­monies and a daily flurry of MP’s. This Sat­ur­day was pretty quiet though, mostly because it was way below 0C. After a 5 min­utes secu­rity check, I climbed a few stairs and arrived in front of the elevator’s door to go up.

The Peace Tower

The Clock on Top of the Tower

The Peace Tower is quite majes­tic. Once up there, if you look up you can see the big clock (built in the US!) on top of the tower.

View of Quebec

National Art Gallery

Here are a few views of Ottawa: the National Art Gal­leries and the numer­ous bridges to Que­bec, and the Museum Of Civ­i­liza­tion on Quebec’s side.

The US Embassy

National Art Gallery

The US Embassy and the National Art Gal­leries area.

Some Par­lia­ment build­ings and a view of Ottawa’s busi­ness district.

Gar­goyle In Front of the Parliament

The East Block

I spent about an hour up there, admir­ing the clear view. Isn’t it nice? Just curi­ous… can you visit your own Par­lia­ment, wher­ever you live? In France, the Élysée Palace isn’t open to public…

Related arti­cles:

1. The Peace Tower
2. Close Up of the Cana­dian Parliament
3. The Rideau Neighborhood
4. Ottawa At Dusk
5. The Olympic Green (奥林匹克公园)