National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Guia do visitante e o que fazer por perto

The National Gallery of Canada is the country's national art museum, standing on Sussex Drive in Ottawa, close to Parliament Hill and the ByWard Market. It holds major collections of Canadian, Indigenous and European art in a granite and glass building by architect Moshe Safdie, and a giant spider sculpture outside has become its best-known landmark.

The story behind it

The gallery dates back to 1880, when the Governor General of the day, the Marquis of Lorne, helped found it alongside the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. For its first century it moved between temporary homes in Ottawa before settling into its current building, which opened in 1988.

Safdie designed it as a calm, light-filled structure on a bluff above the Ottawa River, with glass towers and courtyards that look toward the Parliament buildings. Inside, the collection runs from Canadian painting and Indigenous art to European and American works, and the building itself is part of what visitors come to see.

What to look for

• Maman, the huge spider sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, stands on the plaza by the entrance, and you can walk right underneath its legs.
• The glass and granite exterior is worth a slow look from the street, especially the angled glass towers that catch the light.
• Inside, look for the Rideau Street Chapel, a historic chapel interior that was rebuilt within the gallery as a piece of Ottawa's past.
• From the glass-walled areas and the grounds, look out across the river toward the Parliament buildings and the city on the far bank.

Tips for your visit

• Allow one to two hours for a visit inside, or just a few minutes if you only want to see Maman and the exterior.
• Check current opening hours and admission details before you go, as they change through the year and for special exhibitions.
• The gallery sits a short walk from Major's Hill Park, Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica and the ByWard Market, so it combines easily with a wider walk.
• Soft daylight suits photos of the glass and the sculpture, and the plaza is easy to enjoy even if you do not go inside.

See it on a quest

Playing Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in ByWard Market, Ottawa is a good way to take in this part of the city. You reach the gallery on foot as one stop of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle right in front of what you see. One ticket covers the whole group.

Families can try Kid Quest: Solve the case of the lost senses in Ottawa. It works the same way: you walk between real places, hear about each one on your phone and work out a puzzle on the spot, which keeps children looking closely at their surroundings. One ticket covers the whole group.