Last week­end was Doors Open Ottawa, a yearly event dur­ing which a num­ber of build­ings and facil­i­ties that are usu­ally closed to the pub­lic wel­come vis­i­tors.

Two years ago, I visited the Supreme Court and the Para­medics Head­quar­ters, and last year I picked the Gov­ern­ment Con­fer­ence Cen­tre. This year, I was rather lazy—blame the weather!—and couldn’t be bothered to go too far. Indeed, most sites are spread throughout the city and it requires some planning to make the visit worthwhile, not to mention that the event wraps up early, around 4 p.m.

Since I was already downtown, I headed to Château Laurier, nearby Parliament Hill, one of Ottawa’s most famous hotels and landmarks. The last time I was inside for a peek had been around Christmas time a few years ago, and this time it looked very different—brides and grooms had replaced Santa Claus! June is a popular wedding month and I counted no fewer than three receptions in the various halls. The food looked really tempting!

I usually lean toward Zen and minimalist design and I don’t care much for interior design to start with, but I must admit that Château Laurier has an interesting atmosphere. The hotel manages to feel classy but not stuffy.

I made a quick stop in the bathroom and it was definitely one of the nicest public restrooms I have seen. But too many mirrors though, you’d better feel confident (although it is very practical to make sure you didn’t tuck your skirt into your underwear!)