Ottawa is Canada’s capital and is a large city that offers many exciting business opportunities.
There are certainly a number of accommodation options in any large city. However, corporate visitors so often find that many of these options fail to meet their expectations.
Situ’s serviced apartments are, however, a very different experience to staying in a traditional hotel or best hotels in Ottawa. Fully equipped with modern kitchens, spacious living areas, and free wi-fi, Situ’s furnished corporate apartments in Ottawa are designed to provide guests with a genuine ‘home from home’ experience. Many of our apartments in great location offer free on-site parking and housekeeping and laundry services too.
We source only the highest quality long-term or short-stay apartments, confident that they stand comparison with the best hotels and B&Bs in Ottawa. We have a range of accommodation with great views throughout the city centre and the surrounding area that rivals the best luxury apartment for in Ottawa.
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It’s to be found in the south-east of the country in the province of Ontario, although Quebec starts just the other side of the Ottawa River from the city centre.
It’s the fourth largest city in Canada, with a population of approximately one million. Around 400, 000 more live in the Greater Ottawa-Gatineau area. The two largest cities in the country are Toronto, 218 miles south-west of Ottawa, and Montreal, 102 miles to the north-east.
The currency in Canada is the Canadian dollar. The official languages of the country are English and French, and in Ottawa, English is spoken as a first language by 82% of the city’s population and French by 16%.
Ottawa’s airport serves a range of destinations in Canada, Mexico, and the US, and a change of flight might be required if you are travelling from Europe.
Canada is one of the world’s 10 largest national economies. Although there are larger cities in Canada, as its capital, Ottawa generates a fair proportion of the country’s GDP.
As you might expect in a capital city, the government is one of the largest employers. Other significant industries here include technology, agriculture, mining of aggregates, manufacture of cars and household items, construction, financial services, tourism, and real estate. Many of the city’s high-tech businesses are small- and medium-sized firms and start-up enterprises.
The various strands of the creative sector also have a strong presence here, including science, engineering, arts, design, and media.
Median household incomes here are higher than in most major Canadian cities, and the unemployment rate has usually been lower than in the country as a whole in recent years.
Some of the best-known companies with operations in Ottawa include Walmart, IBM, Amazon, Deloitte, Cisco, TD Bank, Accenture, Nokia, KPMG, and Apple.
With Ottawa being the capital, many of Canada’s national museums are located here. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum not only has exhibits about aircraft engines and the International Space Station, but also allows you to take a ride in a biplane.
The National Gallery hosts a large collection of art from indigenous and modern Canadian artists.
More active pastimes include stand-up paddleboarding and white-water rafting, which are available on the Ottawa and Gatineau rivers. In the winter, the Rideau Canal becomes the world’s largest skating rink.
The 135 square mile Gatineau Park offers miles of hiking and biking trails, and the opportunity to go canoeing.
In some ways, things might look similar to London here. The magnificent Canadian parliament building is reminiscent of its British cousin, while Parliament Hill hosts a daily changing of the guard ceremony.
Ottawa/Macdonald–Cartier International Airport is approximately eight miles south of the city centre. It serves the Canadian cities of Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. In the US it serves Washington, Miami, Chicago and Orlando; and Cancun in Mexico. If you’re flying here from Europe, you might change in Chicago, Montreal, or Toronto.
The O-Train is Ottawa’s city light rail system. There are two lines, connecting the city to suburbs such as Blair, Tunney’s Pasture, Bayview, Cryville, and Greenboro. Trains run between every five and 15 minutes, and the system usually operates from 5am to 1am on weekdays, and from 8am to 11pm on Sundays. Line 2 might cease operating a little earlier, and the trains may be a little less frequent than on Line 1.
Ottawa has around 170 bus routes serving the city and the surrounding areas. Journeys on the west-east Highway 417 through the city run on dedicated bus lanes. Long distance daily buses connect Ottawa with Toronto and Montreal.