The Canadian Tulip Festival has been one of the largest festivals since 1953 drawing over 600,000 visitors to the festival each year. The Canadian Tulip Festival runs approximately 10 days in May every year and is a symbol of friendship between nations and a celebration of spring renewal for Ottawa.
The Netherlands have gifted Canada with 20,000 tulip bulbs every year for the role we played in helping liberate the Netherlands and providing refuge for Princess Juliana and her family. While Princess Juliana and her family sought refuse in Canada, Princess Juliana gave birth to her daughter in the maternity ward of the Ottawa Civic Hospital. During this time, Canada temporarily declared the maternity ward to be extraterritorial so that her daughter was born a Dutch citizen.
There are a couple different places you can go to see tulips in Ottawa. Below is a list of the best places to visit to see the tulips.
Parliament Hill
Tulips can be found on the grounds of Parliament Hill right below the steps leading up to the parliament. There are two large beds on either side of the center staircase with hundreds of tulips.
Major Hill Park
Major Hill Park is the next location you should stop at to admire the tulips. Major Hill Park is less than a 5 minute walk from Parliament and has several different beds of tulips. Major Hill Park is one of my favourite spots to admire the tulips, as it usually isn’t as packed as other spots and offers a great space to enjoy the view and a picnic! Major Hill Park overlooks the Rideau Canal where it runs in to the Ottawa River with Parliament across the canal.
Rideau Canal
Take a walk or a bike ride beside the canal and take in the tulips running along the Rideau Canal. There is usually several tulip beads running along the canal to admire. I usually try to take advantage of a sunny Sunday to stroll the canal and admire the tulips.
Dow’s Lake
My walk along the canal always ends up at Commissioners Park. Commissioners Park is the main event location for the tulip festival. There are several flower beds laid throughout the park with several different types of tulips to admire. While you are walking through the park, stop and enjoy one of the many food trucks parked there. They have everything from shawarma to poutine to beavertails (if you haven’t had a beavertail before I highly recommend trying one). If you’re looking for a restaurant instead, I suggest walking over to Little Italy and enjoying any of the many restaurants along Preston Street.
This year, the Canadian Tulip Festival has added an interactive app you can download on your phone called GrowIt!. This app will take you on a tour of Commissioners Park.
