5 Things to do in Ottawa in February

Well, it's already been two weeks that I have been in Ottawa. This past weekend, one of our good friends from Edmonton came to visit us in Ottawa and it just so happened to be the Family Day long Weekend, so we checked out a few places around Ottawa.

One - The Glebe 

An area that we explored was the Glebe (pronounced more as a prolonged 'ee')! This area is located just south of Centretown (and downtown) and is close to the Rideau Canal. We checked out the various graffiti walls in the area. There are also lots of cute stores and shops in the Glebe including the Papery (for all your paper & pen needs, and other eclectic gifts) and Little Victories for your coffee related needs!

Two - Eat at Feleenas

Mexican food at Feleenas Mexican Cantina in the Glebe. Decent prices for lunch. We didn't eat a lot as we were doing more exploring and wanted to have enough room for snacks & desserts! For lunch specials there were enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, tacos and burritos.

Three - Byward Market! 

Byward Market is a tourist attraction for sure and everyone should make at least one visit to the Byward Market area when they visit Ottawa. The "Ottawa" sign is also located here in the market. Aside from visiting the various shops in the area, there aren't too many outdoor activities at the market in Winter. However, it just so happened to be the first time Winterlude was taking place in the market so we were able to check out all the ice sculptures from the various countries.

El-Camino has a second location in the market and their fish tacos are famous! Dan and I had eaten at the Elgin street El Camino location previously and liked their fish tacos so much that this time I ordered two fish tacos for just me. I am looking forward to visiting Byward Market in the summer when there will be more outdoor market stalls and things to look at.

Four - Spark Street

Spark Street is a pedestrian-only walkway spanning a couple city blocks. At the end near Elgin Street is a public arts sculpture celebrating the Stanley Cup (sadly the puck was covered under snow at the time). Spark Street is lined with restaurants, pubs, and bars (it is also where the restaurant the Rabbit Hole that we went to last week is located).

Five - Westboro & Mamie Clafoutis 

Westboro! Seems like a super neat area. We came on Family Day so many places were closed. It is filled with many restaurants and cafes that we took note of and will certainly come back to visit in the near future. We stopped by Mamie Clafoutis a very cute french bakery to eat some french pastries! We ordered an almond croissant, a cheese pretzel, canelé, and a mamie aman (their take on a Kouign Aman with roasted hazelnuts and chocolate).

Can't wait to check out more places in the Glebe and Westboro once it gets warmer. Plus, there are quite a few festivals in the Glebe such as a the Sugar Festival in April, the new Art Festival in June and the Westboro Fuse Street festival in August!