The modern and extensive Canadian War Museum is located on the western edge of downtown Ottawa and is, in our opinion, one of the finest museums of its kind in the world.

It describes the history of the wars in which Canada has been involved in some way through engaging exhibits, and also serves as a war memorial.

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What will you see at the museum?

The museum has several components and you should ideally set aside 1.5 to 2 hours to visit.

• Canadian Experience Galleries - The main section documents the history of the wars that Canadians fought in. There are extensive dioramas, replicas of trenches and more, but most importantly, equipment such as tanks and armoured vehicles.
• Le Breton Gallery - The best and largest part of the museum with a large number of tanks, fighters and helicopters.
• Memorial Hall - the memorial hall for fallen soldiers
• Regeneration Hall - this part represents hope for a better future and the shape of the building from the outside is reminiscent of the Peace Tower of the main parliament building on Parliament Hill

In total, the museum's collections contain more than 500,000 objects!

Admission and opening times

The museum is open every day from 9am.

It normally closes at 5pm during the year, or 6pm from July to September. It is always open until 19:00 on Thursdays.

Ticket prices are as follows:

• Adults - 22 cad
• Students up to 17 years old - 17 cad
• Seniors over 65 - 20 cad

You can also buy tickets online, but long queues at the box office do not usually form and the price at the door is the same.

How to get there

It takes about 20 minutes to get here on foot from the centre.

You can also use the metro/tram to Pimisi station, from where you can either take buses 8 and 13 1 stop away or walk in about 7 minutes.

Our tip: Combine a visit to the museum with a visit to the nearby Chaudiere Falls.

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