Ottawa is quietly one of North America's cheapest capitals: seven national institutions offer free evening windows, the Ottawa River pathways and Gatineau lookouts are entirely free, and ByWard Market feeds you shawarma or a poutine for under $12.
The 1939 Art Deco courthouse by Ernest Cormier runs free 30-minute tours of the Grand Entrance Hall and Main Courtroom, led by law students in summer (May–Aug, roughly 9:00–17:00) and by staff by reservation the rest of the year.
Ottawa is Canada's unofficial shawarma capital, with more shops per capita than any other city. A loaded chicken shawarma wrap with garlic toum and pickled turnip runs about $10–12, and free extra pita usually appears if you ask.
The 1901 steel cantilever bridge carries a free pedestrian boardwalk from Ottawa to Gatineau, Quebec. The mid-span walkway frames Parliament's Library dome, the river's Chaudière rapids and two provinces in one photograph, with no ticket at either end.
The city's oldest park (1875) sits on the bluff between the canal locks and the river, with the ruins of Colonel By's stone house, free summer concerts and the Noon Gun ceremonial cannon fired daily at 12:00 sharp from the eastern edge.
Ottawa's second public market, running since 1924, is where locals actually shop. Farmers sell Ontario field tomatoes, corn and Quebec cheese at half ByWard prices, with samples freely offered from May through October, daily 8:00–18:00.
The Royal Arch gateway marks a strip of Vietnamese, Cantonese and Lebanese kitchens where a full bowl of pho or a banh mi sandwich costs $6–13. Grocery stores here sell tropical fruit and dumplings at a fraction of downtown prices.
Permanently free admission since its 2018 rebuild, the OAG holds the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art — over 1,600 works including the Group of Seven — across four floors, plus a rooftop terrace open to anyone who walks in.
A warehouse taproom in an industrial complex off Parkdale where a 12oz pour of Canadian craft beer runs $6–8 and rotating food trucks park outside. No cover, communal tables and free tap water always on the bar.
A paved, entirely free 8km riverside path west from downtown reaches John Felice Ceprano's balanced rock sculptures, rebuilt each summer since 1986 on the shoals. Sundays in summer, Queen Elizabeth Driveway closes to cars for cyclists and walkers.
The Eardley Escarpment lookout drops 300 metres over the Ottawa Valley farmland toward Quebec. Gatineau Park charges nothing for entry or trail access; only the Champlain and Pink Lake parking areas require a modest seasonal day pass.
A rare meromictic lake whose bottom water has not mixed in 10,000 years, glowing green from algae. The 2.5km loop with boardwalk stairs and three lookouts takes about an hour; swimming is banned to protect the relict cisco fish.
The highest public point in central Ottawa, behind the National Gallery, gives a 360-degree sweep over the river, Parliament, Gatineau and the Alexandra Bridge. Recently reopened after a redesign, it is free and open around the clock.