Known as the nation's capital, Ottawa is unique as a North American capital, the city is bilingual. English is the first language of a majority of the population, but French is the first language of a significant number.

The Ottawa region was home of the Odawa or Odaawaa First Nations people, an Algonquin people who called the river the Kichi Sibi or Kichissippi meaning "Great River" or "Grand River" . Historical evidence indicates that the Algonquins over time have occupied portions of the lands of the Ottawa River watershed and travelled through surrounding territory as a hunting and gathering society. The Algonquins assert that they never surrendered its territory by treaty, sale, or conquest and have made claims since 1772.

Early European explorers of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers sought new territories, claimed lands in the names of their kings and queens, and sought western passages to India and Asia as well as gold and other precious commodities. Among the first of commercial enterprises to evolve in the New World after fishing, was the fur trade industry, largely influenced by the Hudson Bay Company, used the Ottawa River for the delivery of fur products to Europe through Montreal and Quebec City.

The first settlement in the region on March 7, 1800 was an agricultural community on the north bank of the Ottawa River at the portage to the Chaudière Falls. Food crops were not sufficient to sustain the community and they began harvesting trees as a cash crop to the Montreal and Quebec City markets, which also exported to Europe. Liked by many European nations for its extremely straight and strong trunk in heavy construction for shipbuilding and housing as well as for furniture, the white pine was found throughout the Ottawa Valley. By 1812, the timber trade had overtaken the fur trade as the leading economic activity in the area as Ottawa became a centre for lumber milling and square-cut lumber in Canada and North America. In the years following the War of 1812, along with settling some military regiment families, the government began sponsored immigration schemes which brought over Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants to settle the Ottawa area, which began a steady stream of Irish immigration in the next few decades. Along with French Canadians who crossed over from Quebec, these two groups provided the bulk of workers involved in the building of the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the booming timber trade, both instrumental in putting Ottawa on the map.

The region's population grew significantly when the canal was completed in 1832. It was intended to provide a secure route between Montreal and Kingston on Lake Ontario, by-passing the stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering New York State, for fear of attacks from the United States. Construction of the canal began at the northern end, a military barracks on what later became Parliament Hill, and laid out a townsite that soon became known as Bytown. The west side of the canal became known as "Uppertown" where the Parliament buildings are located, while the east side of the canal was known as the "Lowertown", a crowded shanty town, frequently receiving the worst of disease epidemics, such as the Cholera outbreak in 1832, and typhus in 1847. Bytown was renamed Ottawa in 1855, when it was incorporated as a city.

In 1857, Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital of Canada, a controversial choice, partly because it sidestepped the rivalry between Toronto and Montreal, and partly because the new capital was still a tiny outpost in the middle of nothing much. An American newspaper famously commented that it was impregnable, as any invaders would get lost in the woods looking for it. The Queen's advisers suggested she pick Ottawa for many reasons. It was the only settlement of any significant size located right on the border of Canada East and Canada West, the post 1841 name for the then united regions formerly known as Upper and Lower Canada (today the Quebec/Ontario border), making it a compromise between the two colonies and their French and English populations. Second, the War of 1812 had shown how vulnerable major Canadian cities were to American attack, since they were all located very close to the border while Ottawa was surrounded by a dense forest far from the border. Third, the government owned a large parcel of land on a spectacular spot overlooking the Ottawa River. Ottawa's position in the back country made it more defensible, while still allowing easy transportation over the Ottawa River to Canada East, and the Rideau Canal to Canada West. The Ottawa River and the Rideau Canal network meant that Ottawa could be supplied by water from Kingston and Montreal without going along the potentially treacherous US-Canada border.

After World War I much of the National Capital was in disrepair. Many of the wooden frame structured buildings had been neglected during the war and the area was in need of many upgrades. The original Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa was destroyed by fire on February 3, 1916. The House of Commons and Senate were temporarily relocated to the recently constructed Victoria Memorial Museum, currently the Canadian Museum of Nature, located about 1 km south of Parliament Hill on McLeod Street at Metcalfe Street. A new Centre Block was completed in 1922, the centrepiece of which is a dominant Gothic revival styled structure known as the Peace Tower which has become a common emblem of the city.

On September 5, 1945, only weeks after the end of World War II, Ottawa was the site of the event that many people consider to be the official start of the Cold War. A Soviet cipher clerk, defected from the Soviet embassy with over 100 secret documents. At first, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) refused to take the documents, as the Soviets were still allies of Canada and Britain, and the newspapers were not interested in the story. After hiding out for a night in a neighbour's apartment, listening to his own home being searched, the Soviet defector finally persuaded the RCMP to look at his evidence, which provided proof of a massive Soviet spy network operating in western countries, and, indirectly, led to the discovery that the Soviets were working on an atomic bomb to match that of the Americans.

Today, the major economic sectors are the public service, travel and tourism and the high-tech industry. Ottawa has proudly remained green, residents make regular use of Ottawa's parks and green spaces, bikeways and cross country ski trails. Many national attractions are located in Ottawa: Parliament Hill, the National Library and Archives, the National Gallery, as well as the Museums of Civilization, Contemporary Photography, Nature, War and Science & Technology.

The primary attraction for most visitors is Parliament Hill in the middle of downtown Ottawa, overlooking the Ottawa River. Not only is the building an example of the Gothic revival style, it makes an excellent starting point to visit all other points of interest in the area. One of the nicer, unexpected views, looking from the bottom up, can be accessed at the back of the Parliament Buildings, that vantage point also provides a river view of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, across the river in downtown Gatineau (a sector that was formerly the city of Hull). Walk by the Rideau Canal locks and visit the Bytown Museum at the level of the canal. The locks divide Parliament Hill from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, a former railway hotel.

Canadian War Museum presents Canada's involvement in armed conflict beginning with battles between the French and British, through to the World Wars, Korea, and the country's current involvement in NATO and UN operations. The Museum of Civilization, across the river in Hull presents the story of Canada's population beginning with Aboriginal migration across the Bering Strait through European settlement by the Vikings around 1000 CE, and the British and French in the 1500s. The museum is full of a variety of items ranging from full size totem poles to the recreation of a small prairie town complete with grain elevator. The Supreme Court of Canada, Canada's highest court and the best example in Ottawa of Art Deco architecture. Rideau Hall is the official residence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her representative the Governor General of Canada. Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum, built to protect the government from nuclear attack, this once-secret bunker is now a museum and National Historic Site of Canada.

Explore the Nation's Capital as it was meant to be seen-up close and on foot. If you enjoy the outdoors, especially if you are a cyclist, you should definitely visit Gatineau Park just across the river from Ottawa, the surrounding area boasts over 170km of public paved trails on which you can run, bike, walk or rollerblade. These trails extend throughout Ottawa, to the Quebec side of the Ottawa River and lead all the way to Gatineau Park and beyond.
In winter, go skating on the largest outdoor skating rink in the world, the Rideau canal. Skates can be rented, and refreshments purchased, from vendors right on the ice. This is also a great place to enjoy a "beaver tail" which is a local specialty, like funnel cake, often enjoyed with lemon and sugar, similar to a fried dough.