Centretown is at the heart of Ottawa, Ontario. It is where you will find the Parliament of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa City Hall, the National Arts Centre, embassies and the largest concentration of government and professional offices. It’s the ideal place to live if you want to walk to work.
Centretown is generally described as the area between the Ottawa River to the north, Elgin Street to the east, the 417 highway to the south and Bronson Avenue to the west.
Most offices are concentrated near Parliament, in the area between Wellington Street and Laurier Avenue West.
Centretown and the neighbouring Byward Market form the cultural hub of Ottawa. Centretown is home to Parliament Hill, the National Arts Centre, the Canadian Museum of Nature, Library and Archives Canada and the Bytown Museum. It is also home to some of the city’s most famous monuments, including the National War Memorial on Elgin Street.
As one of the oldest areas of the city, there are many beautiful historic buildings in Centretown, such as the Chateau Laurier, heritage banks and churches, and the palatial Victoria Memorial Museum. However, Centretown also has several unsightly buildings from the 60s and 70s, such as the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library.
Ottawa is known for its festivals and many are based in Centretown. Most popular is Canada Day on July 1, when the north end of Centretown is closed to cars and opened to immense crowds. Other downtown festivals include the Jazz Festival, Winterlude, RibFest, the Busker Festival and many others. Centretown is also home to Ottawa’s Gay Village on Bank Street.
During workdays, Centretown is extremely busy. However, on evenings and weekends, many areas are surprisingly quiet.
The neighbourhood is very safe compared to most downtown urban centres. For detailed crime stats, look up the Somerset Ward (#14) on the Ottawa Police website.
Homelessness is an issue in downtown Ottawa. There are many panhandlers on Elgin and Bank streets, as well as other commercial areas, but they are often quite friendly.