Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal, in Ottawa

The Rideau Canal is a historic waterway listed as world heritage, which crosses Ottawa and becomes the largest skating rink in the world in winter. The Ottawa audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this jewel of the heritage and the art of living of the capital.

The waterway of world heritage

The Rideau Canal is one of the most emblematic monuments of Ottawa, listed as UNESCO world heritage. This historic navigable waterway, built in the first half of the nineteenth century, links Ottawa to Lake Ontario through an ingenious system of locks. Originally a military and commercial work, it is today a much-prized place of promenade and leisure. In summer, you navigate and stroll along its green banks; in winter, its frozen surface transforms into an immense skating rink, considered the largest in the world, where the inhabitants skate in the heart of the town. The Rideau Canal embodies the heritage, the nature and the art of living of Ottawa through the seasons.

What to see

Here you enjoy the historic navigable waterway listed by UNESCO and its system of locks, where you navigate and stroll along the banks in summer, and which becomes in winter an immense skating rink, the largest in the world, in the heart of the town. The Rideau Canal embodies the heritage and the art of living of Ottawa. It is a must-see stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Rideau Canal crosses the heart of Ottawa, reachable on foot along its banks, public spaces freely accessible. Navigation in summer and skating in winter depend on the season and the conditions, which vary; the skating rink only opens in sufficiently cold weather. It is best to enquire about the conditions according to the season.

Why is the Rideau Canal famous in Ottawa?

It is a historic navigable waterway of the nineteenth century listed as UNESCO world heritage, a place of promenade and navigation in summer, which becomes in winter the largest skating rink in the world in the heart of the town.

Where is the Rideau Canal?

It crosses the heart of Ottawa, in Canada.