CityBuddy
National Gallery of Canada
Best time to visit
Weekdays in the early afternoon are the quietest. On Thursdays, the museum is open until 8 p.m., ideal for a relaxed evening visit.
Budget tips
Entry costs about 20 CAD for adults, but admission is free on Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. The CityPass Ottawa offers discounted entry to several of the city's attractions.
Recommended for
Art lovers, Photography fans, Architecture enthusiasts, Those interested in culture
Plan your visit
2-3 hours
About
Quick facts: Around 75,000 works are housed in this museum, including the most extensive collection of Canadian art in the world. The largest loan the museum ever made was a painting worth over 300 million dollars.
Highlights: In the inner courtyard, a giant 600-kilogram metal spider named "Maman" by Louise Bourgeois crawls across the floor, staring at you from a height of eleven meters. In the museum's chapel hangs an entire, original gilded altar from the 17th century, which was completely relocated here from an Austrian monastery.
Insider tips
- Sit in the Ridgway Stube: The faithfully reconstructed Victorian salon is a quiet retreat away from the crowds.
- The view from the glass dome upward is spectacular, but it becomes even better when you photograph upward from the lower levels.
- The Canadian and Indigenous Gallery upstairs is often overlooked, yet it houses masterpieces of the First Nations and Inuit.
- Allow at least 30 minutes for the sculpture courtyard; the changing light conditions make the artworks appear completely different.
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