See the sights in Canada’s Capital from the Ottawa River during this narrated tour onboard the Paula D. Look out at Canada’s Parliament Buildings from the river and snap photos of the spectacular city views. Marvel at the mix of natural beauty and modern, urban development while enjoying refreshments or cocktails from the boat’s canteen.

Sightseeing river cruise along the Ottawa River
Views of Ottawa landmarks and natural beauty
Narrated by a tour guide in French and English
Snack, drinks, and alcoholic beverages available from the boat’s canteen

What's Included

Bilingual commentaries
All Fees and Taxes

Hotel pick up & drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting points

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Paul's Boat Lines

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

National Gallery of Canada (Pass By)

Nepean Point (Pass By)

Canadian Museum of History (Pass By)

Supreme Court of Canada / Cour Supreme Du Canada (Pass By)

Parliament Hill and Buildings (Pass By)

Royal Canadian Mint (Pass By)

Rideau Falls (Pass By)

Prime Minister's Official Residence (Pass By)

Rockcliffe Park Pavillion (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Most travellers can participate
Please note- there is no rescheduling
Only wheelchair accessible on the Hull Marina on Gatineau side
Please note - Our tickets our non-refundable.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 80 travellers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Featured review

Steven_C

The cruise was very enjoyable. Seeing Parliament and other historic spots from the Ottawa River was beautiful. Our guide, Andie, was fun and really enjoyed interacting with the guests. The Blue Moon beers were good too.

Reviews

4.0

514 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 514 reviews

Excellent experience

Nasreen_L, Sept 2023

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip! Excellent tour and narrator was very knowledgeable. Lots of information about the buildings and their purposes and a very pleasant atmosphere

Enjoyed!

Karen_B, Sept 2023

Interesting sightseeing trip. Very knowledgeable tour guide fluent in English and French. Boat was clean and tidy.

Perfect guide

Sheila_K, Sept 2023

Love our tour guide! She was friendly and cheerful. A real addition to the trip! Loves her funny comments.

Expensive and cold

PAUL_C, Sept 2023

Lots of steps and bad ground to get to the dock. Dual English / French commentary. Good guide till she asked for tips. Cold! Take a jumper in September. 11/2 hour tour was 50 mins then moored up across the river for 15 then 10 back to the start. Not good! Runs Parallel to the hop on hop off bus for most of its route but a different view.

I took my daughter, Lily...

Fiona_C, Sept 2023

I took my daughter, Lily on the river cruise, for her 16th. We'd done the canal cruise last year. Also very good. . She/we really enjoyed it and the host, Elione (?), cannot remember her name!! She was fantastic, very knowledgeable. She's probably done the cruise a million times. I would definitely recommend doing both.

Terrible directions

arnie_w, Sept 2023

We could not find the boat dock. The address was confusing, and we did not receive any directions. So, we missed the boat and took another cruise with a different company.

Wonderful experience

Halima_A, Sept 2023

Beautiful view, we enjoyed the nature and wonderful atmosphere! We will love to go again soon. I was so surprised how my kids was excited and had so much fun

Overpriced

Simon_Y, Sept 2023

I think It is overpriced for the product they offer . It is one hour trip with 20 mins commentary . Almost $50 per person . I wouldn’t pay more than $30

It was ok

KarleighMeadow_L, Aug 2023

It was ok. The tour guide was great and super charismatic but only spoke for half of the boat ride and it was a bilingual tour so you only really got information for 1/4 of the ride. I just found it pricy for lawn chairs in a boat. I think I would have enjoyed the canal tour more than the river tour.

The boat trip was nice....

Smita_P, Aug 2023

The boat trip was nice. The narrator narrated each landmark in both English and French, so all types of customers can understand about the landmarks.

Very Scenic!!

maria_c, Aug 2023

The most memorable part of the experience was seeing the Rideau Falls along with the lovely landscape of the area.

I just wanted to...

Irene_R, Aug 2023

I just wanted to experience something different from my routine . I m from Ottawa and i like doing this once a summer . Fun experience

Great

Hand_D, Aug 2023

Good explanation, For my,I am from the Netherlands, maybe to short! But the most was understandable , great experience

The trip is very adorable...

Soheir_A, Aug 2023

The trip is very adorable but the boat needs a lot of work to become in a good shape… like a plastic chairs on a boat 🙄

Ottawa

JeanRonald_D, Aug 2023

The view of the city in a different angle. The moderator did an excellent job explaining everything around the city

It was ok, though we...

Rosary_A, Aug 2023

It was ok, though we spent a good amount of time picking up other passengers. Somehow I thought the entire duration of the cruise was for those already onboard. Very informative. There is a lag time since it is bilingual.

It’s extremely hard to...

Breanne_S, Aug 2023

It’s extremely hard to talk to someone in charge and will not give you a refund of your money even though my gps sent me to the wrong dock (the Québec side) so I just burned for $100 & couldn’t even switch to another day. How frustrating!

Too expensive. Company...

Sarfraz_S, Aug 2023

Too expensive. Company claims it is a 1.5 hour cruise but in reality it is actually a 50 min cruise. The rest of the time is spent on loading and unloading passengers from Gatineau side. We have taken the thousands Islands cruise for less price and you get to travel for 3 hours in the water:

Good view but too much crowded

shayankhurshid, Aug 2023

Too crowded at the start, they could do with lesser people on board to have more moveability especially for family with strollers.

The tour guide was very...

Michelle_F, Aug 2023

The tour guide was very knowledgable and all the staff were friendly. There was plenty of space to view sites and opportunities for photos.

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