Canadian Museum of History

Douglas Cardinal, an architect of Blackfoot descent, designed the museum in curving forms meant to evoke landscape shaped by wind and water, opened in 1989 on the Gatineau bank facing Parliament Hill. The Grand Hall runs the length of the river front behind a glass wall, holding the largest indoor collection of totem poles in the world with six Pacific Northwest house facades beneath them. The Canadian History Hall, opened in 2017, covers fifteen thousand years and was developed with Indigenous advisers, including direct treatment of residential schools. It is the most visited museum in Canada.

What you actually see

• The Grand Hall - the largest indoor totem pole collection, behind river-facing glass.
• The Cardinal architecture - curving forms by an architect of Blackfoot descent.
• The Canadian History Hall - fifteen thousand years including residential schools.
• The Parliament view - Ottawa's Parliament Hill across the river.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes Mondays outside summer. It is indoors, which suits Ottawa winters. Allow most of a day, and more with the children's museum.

Honest expectations

Special exhibitions cost extra. The building is large and a single visit covers a fraction. It is in Quebec, so signage and service default to French first.

Nearby

Gatineau Park lies north; Parliament Hill is across the bridge.