Ottawa is home to several national and local museums. If you are interested in Canadian history or Ottawa’s story, there’s something for you. National Museums

• Canadian Museum of Civilization – explore 1000 years of Canadian history. The museum houses the Canadian Children’s Museum, the Canadian Postal Museum and an IMAX® Theatre.

• Canadian War Museum – presents Canada's military past and how it shaped the country. The exhibitions are divided into four galleries, from earliest times to the most recent military operations.

• Canadian Science & Technology Museum – highlights results in science and technology and includes a collection of steam trains.

• Canadian Museum of Nature – explore this natural history museum and take a peek at dinosaurs, insects, birds and mammals

• Canada Aviation Museum –           see more than 130 different aircraft, old and new or take a ride on vintage biplane

• Royal Canadian Mint –                        take a tour and discover the sophisticated art of coin production.

• Currency Museum –                        dedicated to the history of money and currency, located in the Bank of Canada building

• Canadian Agriculture Museum – learn about agriculture in Canada at this museum which features a working farm in the heart of the city

• Library and Archives Canada – home of the world’s most comprehensive collection of books, magazines, sound recordings, government documents and electronic publications

• Laurier House National Historic Site – historic house commemorating Rt. Honourable William Lyon Mackenzie King and Sir Wilfred Laurier, two Canadian prime ministers who lived in this house

Local Points of Interest

• Bytown Museum – traces the history of Ottawa's early years—from the construction of the Rideau Canal and the rough-and-tumble days of Bytown to the city's emergence as the nation's capital.

• Deifenbunker – live Cold War history by visiting the place where Canada's government would have come in time of nuclear war.

• Cumberland Heritage Village Museum – costumed interpreters depict rural life in the 1920s and 1930s on this 25-hectare site with 28 buildings

• Billings Estate Museum – the oldest frame building in Ottawa and the estate home of Braddish and Lamira Billings, Ottawa settlers in the 1810s

• Pinhey’s Point Historic Site – this 88-acre historic site and estate located on the scenic shores of the Ottawa River was once the estate home of Hamnett Kirkes Pinhey, a settler in the 1820

• Watson's Mill – this working grist mill, Watson's Mill is one of the best-preserved examples of 19th century mill architecture and the only operating industrial heritage site within Ottaw

• Vanier Museopark – the only francophone museum in Ottawa, and one of the rare Canadian museums outside of Quebec dedicated to the French-speaking community