Ottawa scavenger hunt
Consecrated in the 19th century as Ottawa's oldest and largest standing church, the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica is a National Historic Site celebrated for its twin silver spires and vibrant neo-Gothic interior vaulted in star-studded blue.
Lit in 1967 to commemorate Canada's 100th anniversary of Confederation, the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill is an eternal fire rising from a fountain ringed with the bronze shields of the country's provinces and territories.
Unveiled in 1939 in Confederation Square, Canada's National War Memorial is a towering granite cenotaph topped with bronze allegorical figures and home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Rideau Canal is a historic UNESCO World Heritage site that serves as a scenic waterway in summer and transforms into the world’s largest naturally frozen skating rink during the winter months.
The National Gallery of Canada is a striking glass and granite architectural masterpiece that houses a premier collection of Canadian, Indigenous, and international art.
Ottawa scavenger hunt
Consecrated in the 19th century as Ottawa's oldest and largest standing church, the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica is a National Historic Site celebrated for its twin silver spires and vibrant neo-Gothic interior vaulted in star-studded blue.
Lit in 1967 to commemorate Canada's 100th anniversary of Confederation, the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill is an eternal fire rising from a fountain ringed with the bronze shields of the country's provinces and territories.
Unveiled in 1939 in Confederation Square, Canada's National War Memorial is a towering granite cenotaph topped with bronze allegorical figures and home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Rideau Canal is a historic UNESCO World Heritage site that serves as a scenic waterway in summer and transforms into the world’s largest naturally frozen skating rink during the winter months.
The National Gallery of Canada is a striking glass and granite architectural masterpiece that houses a premier collection of Canadian, Indigenous, and international art.

Ottawa Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

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Explore the city at your own pace with a self-guided experience.
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Make a day of itInteractive guides by World City Trail, delivered with your tickets.

What is a city guide?

Your own guide to Ottawa on your phone: hand-picked places, each with why to go, what to order and a practical tip.

  • Tick places off
  • Your own notes
  • One tap to Maps
  • Open now, near me
  • Works offline
  • Print it or save as PDF
See the guides, a short video and all the details →
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved by thousands of travelers and locals

  • No time limit – use your ticket whenever you want
  • Secure checkout - Instant confirmation

Included: your personal Trail Map with every city you finish, the kilometres you walk and your flag collection. See an example →

Ottawa. Route, every stop, local tips and prices on our local site: wct-onlineapp.com →

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Everything you need for a flexible self-guided city experience

Explore the city at your own pace

✔ Discover hidden gems & highlights
✔ Enjoy a flexible self-guided experience
✔ Explore freely with no schedule
✔ Perfect for couples, students, companies, friends & families

How your city experience works

✔ Instant ticket purchase
✔ Easy access via the World City Trail app
✔ Quick setup with your booking details
✔ Start anytime and explore freely
✔ Pause and resume anytime

Why travelers choose this tour

✔ Instant access after purchase
✔ Optional AI voice narration — listen instead of read
✔ Discover top attractions & food spots
✔ Customize your route anytime

Ottawa scavenger hunt: Parliament Hill, the Rideau locks and a giant spider

The Ottawa scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from landmark to landmark, solve a riddle at each one by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. Between Parliament Hill and Nepean Point you walk only some 34 minutes, 2.4 km over 10 stops, which leaves most of the roughly 2 hours for riddles, stories and views over the Ottawa River, starting whenever you like.

Highlights include the Parliament of Canada and the Centennial Flame, the National War Memorial, the Famous Five monument, the hand-operated locks of the Rideau Canal, the silver spires of Notre-Dame and the giant spider outside the National Gallery. The route is short and stays close to the Ottawa River, with wide views from Parliament Hill, Major's Hill Park and Nepean Point.

  • Durationabout 2 hours
  • Walkingabout 34 min · 2.4 km
  • Stops10
  • LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Riddles from the Peace Tower to Nepean Point

Shields, an empty chair, an upside-down instrument

Every stop hides its answer in plain sight: the provincial and territorial shields around the Centennial Flame, the empty chair among the Famous Five, the astrolabe in Champlain's raised hand. Nobody on the team needs to know Canadian history; what counts is noticing details and thinking them through.

A fire, a canal and a court case

Solved riddles unlock Ottawa's stories: the fire of 1916 that destroyed the Centre Block but spared the Library of Parliament, Lieutenant-Colonel John By building the Rideau Canal between 1826 and 1832, and the five Alberta women who won the Persons Case in 1929. The stories can be read in the app or played aloud as audio.

2.4 km along the river bluffs

Google Maps leads you for about 34 minutes in total, from Parliament Hill down beside the locks and up through Major's Hill Park to Sussex Drive. There are a few slopes, and the reward is a run of views over the Ottawa River.

Breaks by the ByWard Market

Nothing is timed, so you can step off the route near Notre-Dame for a snack in the ByWard Market, sit in Major's Hill Park or carry on tomorrow. The app saves your place and opens the next riddle when you are back.

See the route and attractions →

How it works

  1. Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
  2. Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
  3. Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.

Who will enjoy solving Ottawa's riddles

An afternoon to spare in Canada's capital

In about 2 hours the game strings together Parliament, the canal, the cathedral and the National Gallery, a good first look at Ottawa before a museum or dinner. The riddles slow you down at details you would otherwise walk past.

Families with sharp-eyed kids

A giant bronze spider, a flame burning above a fountain, an empty chair to sit in and boats lifted by hand-operated locks give children plenty to find, with an adult in every team.

Friends, school classes and colleagues

Teams of up to 5 play side by side, each person on their own phone, so a larger group can leave Parliament Hill in waves and meet again at Champlain's lookout on Nepean Point.

Good to know

  • Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
  • No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
  • Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
  • Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
  • Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
  • Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.

The route: from Parliament Hill past the Rideau locks to Nepean Point

10 stops · about 34 min walking · start: Parliament of Canada · finish: Samuel de Champlain Statue

The hunt starts at the Parliament of Canada and the Centennial Flame, crosses to the National War Memorial and returns to the Famous Five monument on Parliament Hill. You walk down past the Rideau Canal locks into Major's Hill Park, then along Sussex Drive to Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, the Royal Canadian Mint and the National Gallery of Canada, and finish at the Samuel de Champlain statue on Nepean Point. Every clue is read from monuments, façades and the canal side in the open air, so nowhere on the way asks for an admission ticket, and if you are staying near the ByWard Market the app can open the game at Notre-Dame instead and reorder the rest.

Open the route map ↗

  1. Parliament of Canada

    1Parliament of CanadaStart

    The Gothic Revival buildings on Parliament Hill rise above the Ottawa River. The Centre Block was rebuilt after a fire in 1916, and its Peace Tower, completed in 1927, honours Canadians who died in the First World War, while the round Library of Parliament behind it survived the fire.

  2. Centennial Flame

    2Centennial Flame

    The Centennial Flame was lit on 1 January 1967 by Prime Minister Lester Pearson to mark 100 years of Confederation. It burns above a fountain ringed by the shields of the provinces and territories, and the coins visitors throw in fund a research award for people with disabilities.

    Read the full story →

  3. National War Memorial

    3National War Memorial

    The National War Memorial in Confederation Square, called The Response, shows Canadians of many services passing through a granite arch. King George VI unveiled it in 1939, and in 2000 the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was placed at its foot.

  4. Famous Five Monument

    4Famous Five Monument

    The Women Are Persons monument by Barbara Paterson honours the five Alberta women who won the Persons Case in 1929, when Canadian women were recognised as persons under the law. The bronze figures gather around an empty chair, which invites visitors to sit and join them.

  5. Rideau Canal Locks

    5Rideau Canal Locks

    Between Parliament Hill and the Château Laurier, a flight of eight locks lifts boats from the Ottawa River to the Rideau Canal. The canal was built between 1826 and 1832 under Lieutenant-Colonel John By, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its locks are still opened by hand.

    Read the full story →

  6. Major's Hill Park

    6Major's Hill Park

    Major's Hill Park is the oldest park in Ottawa, on the bluff between the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River. Colonel By had his house here while he built the canal, and the park offers some of the best views of Parliament Hill.

  7. Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica

    7Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica

    Built from 1841, Notre-Dame is the oldest surviving church in Ottawa and the seat of its Catholic archbishop. Its twin silver spires rise above Sussex Drive, and behind the stone façade lies a richly coloured Gothic Revival interior.

  8. Royal Canadian Mint

    8Royal Canadian Mint

    This castle-like stone building on Sussex Drive opened in 1908 as the Ottawa branch of Britain's Royal Mint and became the Royal Canadian Mint in 1931. Collector coins, medals and gold bullion are made here, while everyday Canadian coins are produced in Winnipeg.

  9. National Gallery of Canada

    9National Gallery of Canada

    Moshe Safdie designed the glass and granite gallery, opened in 1988, and its glass tower echoes the shape of the nearby Library of Parliament. In front of it stands Maman, Louise Bourgeois's giant bronze spider, more than nine metres tall.

  10. Samuel de Champlain Statue

    10Samuel de Champlain StatueFinish

    On Nepean Point stands a bronze statue of Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer who founded Quebec City in 1608 and travelled up the Ottawa River in 1613. Unveiled in 1915, it shows him raising an astrolabe, which is often said to be held upside down.

13 reviews for Ottawa Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

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Frequently asked questions

How long does the walk from Parliament Hill to Nepean Point take with the riddles?

About 2 hours in all, though only around 34 minutes of that is walking, over 2.4 km and 10 stops, while the rest goes on riddles, stories and views of the river; you can pause at any stop and finish another day.

Does the Ottawa game start on Parliament Hill, and where is the last riddle?

Yes, riddle one is at the Parliament of Canada, and the game ends high above the Ottawa River at Samuel de Champlain's statue on Nepean Point. Staying near the ByWard Market? In that case the app lets you open the game at Notre-Dame, a short walk away.

Is a guide waiting for us on Parliament Hill at a set hour?

No one meets you there, and you choose the hour yourself. Buying online sends you a booking reference; the World City Trail app asks for it on whatever day you choose to play, and from then on every player follows the riddles on their own phone.

Do we need tickets for the National Gallery or the Mint?

Not for the game, because each riddle is solved outside, the ones in front of the gallery and the Mint included. Seeing the collections of the National Gallery of Canada or touring the Royal Canadian Mint is a separate paid visit you can add afterwards.

Which Ottawa stops do children enjoy most?

Usually Maman, the giant bronze spider outside the National Gallery, the empty chair they can sit in among the Famous Five and the locks that lift boats by hand, always with an adult in their team. Slopes between the hill and the canal make the route unsuitable for wheelchairs, and a pushchair takes some effort.

Can we play the Ottawa riddles in French?

Yes. French is one of five languages for the Ottawa game, along with English, German, Spanish and Portuguese, and each player picks one in the World City Trail app before the riddle on Parliament Hill, which suits an officially bilingual capital.

Can a school group or a company split into teams on Parliament Hill?

Yes. Get a ticket for each person, form teams of up to five and start them a few minutes apart by the Centennial Flame; Nepean Point is a good place to gather at the end, and the tickets are all you need to book.

What should we bring for Ottawa's weather?

Clothes for the season: Ottawa winters are cold and snowy and summers can be hot and humid, and comfortable shoes help on the slopes. Each team needs a charged smartphone with mobile data, and a power bank is wise on freezing days, when batteries empty faster.

Your first riddle is on Parliament Hill

Buy a ticket for each player online, then look for the booking reference in your email. Walk up to Parliament Hill, enter it in the World City Trail app and the first riddle appears in front of the Peace Tower.

Book your tickets →

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