Keep reading and learn all about it – sounds fun! (psst…wanna be a featured traveler? Here’s the scoop!)

I like to think I’m one of the proudest residents of Ottawa you’ll ever meet.  Although Ottawa is not where I grew up, it is where I settled in after marriage and started raising a family.  I love everything about Ottawa from it’s natural beauty to it’s history to it’s arts and culture. It is because of this deep affection for my adopted hometown that I tell everyone I meet that they should make Canada’s Capital part of their travel plans.

The first thing you need to know is that there is no bad time to visit Ottawa. Our seasons are so wonderfully diverse and there is something for everyone no matter when you are here.

In the winter, Ottawa hosts Winterlude, which runs for almost the entire month of February each year.  Come and skate on the Rideau Canal the world’s largest outdoor skating rink, eat Beavertails (yummy deep fried pastry sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, not actual beaver tails), try maple taffy twisted in snow and see amazing ice and snow sculptures. For foodies, some local restaurants offer a special menu called Taste of Winterlude that’s not to be missed.

Each Spring, our capital bursts into colour with our Tulip Festival that runs for three weeks each May.  What began as a gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs from Holland, as a thank you for Canada’s help liberating their country in World War II, has grown into the world’s largest tulip festival.  Get swept away in a sea of tulips, enjoy outdoor concerts and art exhibitions.

Summer in Ottawa is truly a wonderful time to visit. Buskers fill the streets downtown, bus and boat tours show you the best our city has to offer, and for a true slice of Canadiana, you won’t want to miss the Changing of the Guard which happens daily on Parliament Hill.  If you like to party, come join us for Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill.  Each year hundreds of thousands of proud Canadians and tourists converge on the Hill to celebrate our birthday. Free concerts, art exhibitions, buskers, and an incredible fireworks display wrap up one truly incredible day.

Surrounded by the Gatineau Mountains, the Ottawa valley explodes into dazzling colour in the fall. Bright golds, reds and oranges wrap the city up in a colourful quilt. In the ‘City of Festivals’ there is no shortage of things to do and a trip to the Mackenzie King Estate in Gatineau Park is must do.

No matter what time of the year you choose to come you are always welcome to visit and tour Parliament Hill, Rideau Hall, The Royal Canadian Mint, The National Gallery of Canada and one of Ottawa’s 29 world class museums.

With all of this to offer and much, much more, can you see why I’m so proud? To make your trip what you want it to be please visit Ottawa Tourism.  I hope you’ll come visit us soon!

Candace Derickx is a proud Canuck with a sense of humour. Note the ‘u’ in humour, eh?  A wife, mother to two girls, stepmom to a ‘gulp’ University student, and owner of a golden doodle who gets way more attention than the rest of the family.   Candace has created her own little happy place on the web Life in Pleasantville and blogs weekly for the Yummy Mummy Club under See Mummy Juggle.  Follow her on twitter @seemummyjuggle.