Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/679293
The First World War, meanwhile, is the focus of two exhibitions at the Canadian War Museum: Deadly Skies—Air War, 1914– 1918 ( June 3, 2016, to January 29, 2017) and Traces of the First World War—Newfound- land and Labrador ( June 14, 2016, to January 1, 2017). Want to go back much further in time? Then head to the Canadian Museum of Nature, where the featured exhibition this summer is Ultimate Dinosaurs ( June 11 to September 5). Even if you think you (and your dino-obsessed kids) have seen every ancient critter imaginable, think again. This exhibition features unique dinosaurs that lived in Gondwana, a prehistoric continent in the Southern Hemisphere. Video walls, skeletons and fossils call up a lost world. The capital is also home to many smaller museums that are well worth a visit, including the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum and the Bytown Museum. One of the quirkiest is the Diefenbunker, a decommissioned 1960s bunker on the city's rural western fringe. Its summer exhibition, The Cold War: Causes, History, Impact, runs until August 28. Several of Ottawa's museums are cur- rently undergoing extensive renovations. The Bank of Canada Museum (formerly the Currency Museum) and the Canada Science and Technology Museum are both sched- uled to reopen in 2017. ACTIVITIES ABOUND If you'd rather be outside in the fresh air, the region offers plenty of choices. A 600-kilo- metre network of recreational pathways draws cyclists, walkers, joggers and inline skaters. Gatineau Park, a 361-square-kilo- metre wilderness enclave, is home to campsites, beaches, hiking trails, bears, moose and more. Near Ottawa, thrill-seekers can test their nerve at Great Canadian Bungee, zip line at Arbraska Laflèche Park or go whitewater rafting on the Ottawa River. Perhaps you appreciate sports best from the sidelines? Then you can cheer on the CFL's Ottawa REDBLACKS ( June 13 to November 4), the Ottawa Fury of the North American Soccer League (April 30 to October 29) or the Can-Am baseball league's Ottawa Champions (May 19 to September 5). And if all that activity makes you hungry, you're in luck: Ottawa has no shortage of fun for food and drink fans, from cooking classes at spots such as Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa and The Urban Element to food tours of the booming Wellington West/Hintonburg neighbourhood. Festivals include Capital Ribfest (July 28 to 31) and the Ottawa Craft Beer Festival (August 26 to 28). As you've probably figured out by now, the capital has something for just about every interest, from offbeat theatre (Ottawa Fringe Festival, June 15 to 26) and fran- cophone culture (Festival Franco-Ontarien Banque Nationale, June 16 to 18) to hot-air ballooning (Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Fes- tival, September 1 to 5) and fireworks (Sound of Light, August 6 to 20). With all of this, don't forget to stop by Parliament Hill to see the Changing of the Guard (June 26 to August 20) and the Northern Lights sound- and-light show (July 9 to September 10), and to snap that Peace Tower selfie. T R A V E L P L A N N E R Plan your Ottawa trip with a visit to ottawatourism.ca. DS RIGHT: A recreational pathway along the Ottawa River is a favourite among joggers. © Ottawa Tourism