Library of Parliament Reviews

Being cut the line in the nose a dozen times by officials seated in their offices ..... not strong after minutes and minutes of waiting to be able to speak to someone who is supposed to answer the questions of the people, thank you for your transparency.

A must see, and worth coming back to in all seasons!

While in Ottawa please get some time out to see guided tour of Parliament House.

Absolutely the most beautiful Capitol I've ever seen in my life. Nice to get beautiful pictures and spend some time admiring the architecture.

Very informative tour. I was impressed with our guide's knowledge (Vicky).
Highly recommend skating the rink. Kept in perfect condition.

Lovely location, with great architecture. But be extra extra early to get a chance of having tickets to see it. People started lining up an hour before the doors open. The tickets are sold across the street.

Well, the construction is beautiful, the interior is neat except that several windows have been rotten for a while, and the water that enters damages the walls. The problem is the guide, he is English speaking they manage 80% in French, next to it, another group of tourists, the guide, obviously French speaking who gives the information in rough English! Logic? Ah yes ... just like Phoenix, the ice rink in front and the recent vacation in India.

The tour is free but you have to get there early for the tickets.

I have visited the Parliament of Canada several times. This place is really very impressive. You can start the visit from far away from the building because if you come from Gatineau, the view of the canal is majestic. Once on Wellington Street, you can take pretty pictures for memories for life. First thing that will attract you: the flame of the centenary. There is the opportunity to watch the changing of the guard at 9:45, a very special ceremony not to be missed. Now the central building is closed for restoration work but it is possible to visit the West Block, the Library and the Senate Building of Canada. The parliament has no parking but, you can do it in the vicinity without any problem, there are free parking nearby too. The peace tower is really pretty and you can climb to the top. Now under repair, but once available, do not hesitate to visit, the view of the city of Ottawa, including the Gatineau, breathtaking! A guided tour is the opportunity to learn a lot about the history of the country. There is also a shop to get good memories. I recommend going to the heart of the city of Ottawa!

The ground are under construction now (2020) but the path behind the main building is opened. The tour is short and interesting.

Beautiful Looking Architecture!!! Always love Canada xoxoxo

Spectacular place in the city. Guided tours are free, in English or French, every so often and very interesting and explanatory. They last approximately half an hour and then allow you to visit the parliament at your leisure. You can look out to see the Parliament sessions as a public and also go up to the tower from which there are great views of the city. All the workers and the security guards are sympathetic as well as our guide, Sydney. Do not miss this visit!

Beautiful place to visit and learn a bit more about Canadian culture. Guided tour is free and well worth it.

Free visit. Beautiful library, superb view of the city.

A beautiful, huge building. Once I had the opportunity to be inside in October 2019 it was impossible

Guided tour that's worth it. Explanations on the functioning of the government. It's always interesting to visit the institutions

The free tour was good (you must queue at 09:00 to have a chance of getting a ticket). The place itself is very interesting too. Definitely check this out when you're in Ottawa.

The Parliament building is nice, you go with a tour guide who had a great knowledge of the building and Canada's history - and can see the backstage of the Canadian quiet politely politic debate. And it's priceless if there are Americans together in the same tour and hear they asking: "wait, the tour is almost ending and you haven't said anything about Canada's president, where's his room? And who's he?"

They could improve the ticket center though, you have to wait in a long line on the streets.

The powers of the Parliament of Canada are limited by the constitution, which divides legislative abilities between the federal and provincial legislatures; in general, provincial legislatures may only pass laws relating to topics explicitly reserved for them by the constitution (such as education, provincial officers, municipal government, charitable institutions, and "matters of a merely local or private nature") while any matter not under the exclusive authority of the provincial legislatures is within the scope of the federal Parliament's power. Thus, Parliament alone can pass laws relating to, among other things, the postal service, census, military, navigation and shipping, fishing, currency, banking, weights and measures, bankruptcy, copyrights, patents, First Nations, and naturalization. In some cases, however, the jurisdictions of the federal and provincial parliaments may be more vague. For instance, the parliament in Ottawa regulates marriage and divorce in general, but the solemnization of marriage is regulated only by the provincial legislatures. Other examples include the powers of both the federal and provincial parliaments to impose taxes, borrow money, punish crimes, and regulate agriculture.

The powers of Parliament are also limited by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, though most of its provisions can be overridden by use of the notwithstanding clause. Such clause, however, has never been used by the federal parliament, though it has been employed by some provincial legislatures. Laws violating any part of the constitution are invalid and may be ruled unconstitutional by the courts.

Visiting the Parliament Building should be part of you itinerary when you visit Ottawa. Beautiful architecture indeed and I am still dreaming to have the similar library in my abode. Visited the place during the "Doors Open" season of Ottawa, so our tour guide mentioned that we accessed some of the rooms that are normally closed to the public. Really great experience and would love to visit it again!

What an incredible place! Got his and stately sitting there on the hill! The library round the back is so beautiful. The whole area is worth the walk and exploration

Interesting tour, if you ignore the officious guard who told me off for stepping three feet away from my group to take a picture!

If you're a fan of old buildings and structures with arches, this is a place for that.

Really nice place. Like how they run it, especially because it s the main building of Canada s government. Overall, 5/5.

Beautiful architecture. Best historic place in Ottawa. don't miss the Northern Lights show during summer.

Great place to visit and bask in its awesomeness while on Ottawa. If you want to get inside the parliament building, you will need tickets to get in. If you want to let's, you need to arrive at 8-8:30am and line up for tickets across the street from parliament (90 Wellington Street). Tickets are limited. Inside the parliament, there is around a one hour wait to get up into the peace tower. This is not a place for little kids, they will be bored. It is best to take kids that are 6+ I believe. There is also a walking path behind the parliament by the riverfront that is worth walking once at least. At night in the summer, they have the parliament illuminated with lights telling a story about Canada and it's contributions. Overall an amazing place to visit.

We saw it during the day...spectacular and even more so at night for the Canada 150yr birthday lights and laser display that lasted 30min. Check out my YouTube channel at "20DDan" for the complete video.

Beautiful new surrounding until restauration of the original building is done ... in 8 years!

Christmas spirits celebrated on Parliament Building

The ridiculous 2 hours long queue is ridiculous. Same thing at the actual entrance and tower elevator.
Why can't they just sell tickets online and have some logistics, like all normal institutions do when the demand is too high.

Today I was at light and sound show , I strongly recomend you to see. Last day Sept 16th 2017.Amazing!!!

Absolutely beautiful, gorgeously maintained, helpful and in depth tour guide of the interior, just plain great! A gem that belongs to the heart of Ottawa, ON, Canada!

The following photos are of the light show; presented on September 2nd 2017 in between 9- 9:45pm

Keep it up men and women , will be back soon!

The tour was great and there was a lot of cool stuff to see. The Peace Tower was very neat with the names of the Canadian soldiers who died in the world wars. Although you couldn t go in to see the House of Commons except through a window, they allowed us to walk through the Senate and to view the royal throne.

Every Canadian should visit this area. Quite amazing!

950am Changing of the guard, which was really cool, but if you are at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier around this time, it is also great to see (and less crowds!). We saw the nightly laser show (Aug 2018), and it was incredible. Lots of room to stand and watch (about 40 mins long).

Also took the tour East block (more historical) and Centre Block. We recommend both! The tour guides are so incredibly knowledgeable about Canada. We waited in line to book the free tickets around 8:15am (office opens at 9am), and got tickets for any time we wanted at the front of the line an hour later.

The tours for parliament are all free but you do need to line up for a while to get tickets. Line up across the street early in the morning at like 7 in the summer!! The tours though are honestly really cool and worth the wait! Peace tower offers the best views and is a great way to commemorate Canadians who have given so much,

Federal Assembly of Canada...

If you come to Ottawa... where you should go...

Amazing place to take photos, the place looks fantastic. This is a national landmark and a must see in any case. Definitely recommend this place.

Very nice building. I recommend a tour with a guide. The tower offers a magnificent view of the surroundings of Ottawa

the best monument in Ottawa; it must be seen when you are in town

It'll be closed soon for 10 years for renovations, so go see it soon. Got to visit in to question period from 14h15-15h00, free tour is well worth the visit, however the question period isn't recommended for those who don't like Parliament.

Be sure to catch the Northern Lights if it is running. A great reflection back into Canada's history.

If you love history, art, landscapes, serenity and so on, Parliament Hill is a must visit place. The building is so beautiful, every intricate detail is an amazing workmanship. The view is so spectacular, one gets mesmerized by the eye catching landscape that carries its own value. There are various activities hosted on the Parliament Hill on a regular basis. For example, on every Wednesday afternoon, people practice yoga. This starts as soon as the winter ends and the ground is clear from snow, as well as the surface of the earth is dry. And, again it ends with the beginning of the winter season, that is as soon as the first snow falls. That being said, at this point in time there are renovations going on. Yet, the public are allowed to visit this gorgeous place and gaze on its beauty. The First of July is observed as Canada. This is a public holiday in Canada. People from all over the world come to celebrate this joyous day with the Canadians. The best part of all the celebration on this day is the fireworks. This is one thing every person likes to watch. There is a lot more than I can write with my words here. Please do visit and enjoy. God bless Canada!

Absolutely stunning architecture!!! This building is amazing!

Almost a "no fun allowed" location. Everything was super serious. I had to spent about 10 minutes in security checks, and then the fire alarm sounded and everyone had to leave... then back to the airport style security check again... The architecture and historical significance of the place is a must see - but be on your best behavior. If you are coming here for the tour, try not to bring a big bag, and don't wear a belt or metal items. God help you if you forget and end up bringing a pocket knife or something questionable...

Must be seen at night time. Parliament house is well built on the river bank and the surrounding view is magnificent and astonishing. A very loved monument of the Canadian History and the very special place where the important decisions have been made.

Great place to check out when in Ottawa. On Canada Day, the line went on for hours. I was lucky enough to go when the line was short.

Free to go see question period, as it should be to see the government in action. Very nice architecture, very well maintained. There are many security checks to get in, but the lines moved reasonably well. All the guards were very personable and helpful. They're not guides but they all responded and happily answered questions all around parliament hill.

great tour and also you get to visit the tower and you see a beautiful view of Ottawa.

Awesome place to visit and possibly meet the prime minister

I rate 4 stars because I have no cars, I have to walk all the way down there and the building is closed. I would give 3 stars, But the Bear and other animals(fox, etc) and I rate 4 stars.

You have to get up early for the tickets but it's worth it !!

"Christmas Lights in Canada" Parliament's illumination takes place each year during the holiday season.

Superb, we enjoyed the time to the fullest extent going around the house and looking at all the artefacts and admiring them. Every part of the parliament hill was unique with their separate history display. The guide, a lady , did a wonderful job. Since the timing was limited for us , we had to take the French guide. She accomodated everyone and off and on she gave a briefing in English. This kept us comfortable.

The interior looks beautiful ... seen from the outside. 1h of Line up.

I took a tour and it was very interesting and educational.

Can easily spend a day, maybe two, just looking at everything helpful guides, beautifully maintained.

It's a bit sad because it's under construction
Where to see

forever is Canada day celebrations up vote fireworks

Definetely something that must be visited. Especially if you can watch one of the yearly light shows!

It's inconvenient to visit because you have to get on a tour (or at least physically go to the tourist office for a peace tower ticket). Establishments in Ottawa seem to agree that commoners surely have no control over themselves - we the people cannot be trusted to walk according to printed directions & some official person must watch over us constantly! If only people in Ottawa could be respected by these establishments as intelligent as civilized...

Very nice especially in the evening when lights, designs and ever-changing colors are projected onto the building

It's nothing to write home about. The library is the only nice section of building, the tour is short but when in Rome...

Awesome place with great art work . This is Parliament of Canada . Near to River Ottawa.

A fun and interesting place to explore. Tour guide was very knowledgable. Well worth getting up early to get the free tickets