OttawaThe capital on the canal
Measured from 1,000+ plays across 11 walked routes: in Ottawa, you pass a place with a story every 645 metres.
Ranked #2 of 3 Canada big cities
2026 edition · scores vs all indexed cities · measured 2026-08-21 · scored on 7 of 8 measures · how we measure
Depth30/100
32 places with a story
5 historical figures
Density0/100
a story every 645 m
median along a route
Character39/100
arts & culture
typical story: 1946 · 19th century
Pulse73/100
Instagrammability 78/100
peak month: Jul
Ottawa, measured
The scores
Ranked against
| What we measure | Ottawa | Score out of 100 | Rank | Global leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | ||||
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 32 | 28 | #68 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 594 |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 5 | 30 | #45 of 68 | London (United Kingdom) · 184 |
| Hours of storieshow long its stories take to read, end to end | 0.4h | 32 | #50 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 7h |
| Density | ||||
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next | 645 m | 0 | #71 of 71 | Williamsburg (United States) · 100 m |
| Character | ||||
| Years its stories coverfrom its oldest story to its newest | 385 yrs | 39 | #55 of 70 | London (United Kingdom) · 1025 yrs |
| Pulse | ||||
| Instagrammabilityhow often players photograph this city | 78/100 | 78 | #5 of 54 | Sydney (Australia) |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3 or more | 23 in 100 | 67 | #12 of 69 | Houston (United States) · 32 in 100 |
| International visitorsshare of player reviews written in a foreign language | 9% | not scored here: most visitors write English too, so the measure cannot tell them apart | #31 of 47 | Venice (Italy) · 97% |
How to read this table›
How to read it: each score is out of 100, measured against a fixed scale that is the same for every city and every edition. Ottawa's 32 on places with a story scores 28, and it scores 28 on any page you find it. The switch above changes who it is ranked against, not the scores: right now that is all 80 indexed cities (19 countries so far). Ottawa is scored on 7 of the 8 measures: its overall score averages those 7, and the greyed measures stay out of the average rather than counting against it. Ranks compare cities of a similar size. What a city's stories are about has no better or worse, so themes and eras aren't scored. Instagrammability is shown as a score only; how it's calculated is on the methodology page.
The medal table
What Ottawa wins
- Most arts & culture among Canada's big cities· 28% of its stories (shared)
- Most historical figures among Canada's big cities· 5 people in its stories
Won against the other big cities of Canada in the 2026 edition. See the full table on the country page.
Character
What its stories are about
- arts & culture28%
- industry & modern era19%
- parks & leisure16%
- royalty & nobility12%
Out of Ottawa's 32 places with a story, the share whose story touches each theme. One story can touch several.
Character
Which centuries you walk through
- 19th century27%
- Post-war27%
- Contemporary23%
- Early 20th century18%
- Early modern5%
When Ottawa's stories happen (69% of them mention a year).
Pulse
When people play here
Typical share of player reviews per month (median across 4 recent years). Peak: Jul.
Pulse
Who visits, by review language
- English91%
- French8%
- German1%
Language of 500+ written player reviews. A proxy for who visits; English hides several nationalities.
Depth
32 stories wait on its streets. Here are three
Yousuf Karsh survived the Armenian genocide in Turkey, arriving in Canada as a refugee. Through hard work and determination, he established himself…
Stornoway is the name of the official residence of the Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada and has been since 1950.…
Cassandra Dickie and Dodo Ose are the artists of this surrealist mural, showing the evolution of the Rideau Canal with a style…
Depth
Figures you meet on Ottawa's streets
Dan Metcalfe
at 3 places
Reading is fundamental · We demand · Lion Dance
Cassandra Dickie
at 2 places
Rideau Mural · Faith in our community
Princess Juliana
at 2 places
Stornoway - Official Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition · Dutch Ambassador’s Residence
Warren Soper
at 2 places
American Ambassador’s Residence · The Rockeries
Kalkidan Assefa
at 1 place
BLM Mural
Depth
Every Ottawa place with a story, on one map
Each pin is a place whose story a Questo route tells. Tap one for the quest that tells it. See an empty street that deserves a pin? The form at the bottom of this page adds your story to the editors' queue.
Walk Ottawa's stories yourself
Three of 11 routes here. See everything in Ottawa
Where next after Ottawa?
MontrealThe old French port166 km away · a story every 322 m
TorontoThe fort that became a downtown354 km away · a story every 248 m
Quebec CityThe walled city of North America377 km away · a story every 185 m
MississaugaThe lakeshore industrial edge376 km away · a story every 216 m
VancouverThe city between mountains and sea3538 km away · a story every 350 m
SaskatoonThe city of bridges2367 km away · a story every 139 mHow does Ottawa compare?
Put Ottawa head-to-head with any city in the index, measure by measure, from real walking data.
Quick answers
- What is Ottawa like to explore on foot?
- Ottawa has 32 places with a story across 11 self-guided Questo routes, with a story every 645 metres of walking on average. Its stories lean towards arts & culture and industry & modern era.
- Which historical period defines Ottawa?
- 27% of Ottawa's dated stories come from the 19th century period; its oldest dated story reaches back to 1636.
- When do people visit Ottawa?
- Player activity in Ottawa peaks in Jul, with a typical 56% of reviews arriving June to August (median across 4 recent years of Questo reviews).
- How is this measured?
- From Questo's own walked routes and player activity in Ottawa: 1,000+ plays and 500+ reviews. Full method on the City Stories Index methodology page, 2026 edition.
Quote any line, attributed
For press and citation
- Walking a Questo route in Ottawa, you pass a place with a story every 645 metres on average.
- 27% of Ottawa's dated stories come from the 19th century period.
- Ottawa's typical story happens in 1946: the median year across its dated stories, which span 385 years.
- Players meet 5 historical figures in Ottawa's stories, from Dan Metcalfe to Cassandra Dickie.
- 9% of Ottawa's written player reviews are in a language other than English (from 500+ reviews).
- Roughly 23 of every 100 plays in Ottawa is a group outing of three or more people, measured from invited multi-device sessions over the last 12 months.
- Ottawa's play season peaks in Jul; a typical 56% of reviews arrive June to August (median across 4 recent years).
Copy any line as it stands: for an article, a post, or an argument at dinner. Attribution: Questo City Stories Index (2026 edition), with a link to this page. Method and sample sizes on the methodology page.
Ottawa ranks #64 of 80. Show it.
For city halls, tourism boards, local press and anyone who lives here: this badge is yours to use, free and without asking. It links back to the measurements behind it, and it updates itself when the next edition is published.
Embed code
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<img src="https://questoapp.com/api/og/city-index-badge?country=canada&slug=ottawa" alt="Ottawa ranks #64 of 80 in the Questo City Stories Index" width="320" height="100">
</a>Know a story these streets are missing?
Every place, story and figure on this page comes from routes built by people who know Ottawa. Add what's missing: as a Questo creator, or with a quick suggestion.