ByWard Market

Ottawa’s oldest working neighborhood

ByWard Market takes its name from Lieutenant Colonel John By, the British Royal Engineer who oversaw construction of the Rideau Canal and laid out the market in 1826 as a trading post for the workers and settlers building the waterway. Nearly two centuries later, it’s still a functioning market — outdoor stalls sell produce, flowers, and local goods through the warmer months — layered under a dense district of restaurants, bars, and shops that make it the liveliest few blocks in Ottawa.

Where	Downtown Ottawa, 5 minutes from Parliament Hill
Cost	Free to walk; meals vary, market snacks a few CAD
Time needed	A few hours, or a full evening for dinner and bars
Getting there	4 hrs by car from Toronto, or direct VIA Rail
Best time	May-October for outdoor stalls; year-round for dining

Its location, a five-minute walk from Parliament Hill, means most visitors pass through ByWard Market at some point regardless of whether they planned to, and for many it becomes the default choice for dinner and evening plans during an Ottawa stay.

The market stalls

The open-air market building and surrounding stalls run a produce and goods market from spring through fall, with vendors selling everything from Ontario sweet corn in late summer to maple products and local crafts year-round in the indoor sections. It’s a smaller, more compact market than Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, but it has the advantage of sitting directly inside the neighborhood’s restaurant and bar district rather than being a standalone destination.

BeaverTails and the market’s signature food

BeaverTails — fried, flattened pastry dough topped with cinnamon sugar, chocolate, or fruit — was invented as a business in the ByWard Market area in the 1970s and has since become a fixture of Canadian street food, with the original Ottawa location still operating in the market. It’s become closely associated with the Rideau Canal’s winter skate, where a BeaverTails stand is practically mandatory, but the market-area shop runs year-round.

Restaurants and nightlife

ByWard Market has one of the highest concentrations of restaurants and bars in the city, ranging from casual pubs to more serious dining rooms. The district’s nightlife scene, driven partly by its proximity to the University of Ottawa, means weekend evenings get considerably livelier than the rest of downtown — a contrast to the more subdued government-district feel closer to Parliament Hill.

For visitors who want the neighborhood as part of a broader city introduction, the market district is typically included as a stop on general Ottawa sightseeing routes. An Ottawa scenic city tour with canal cruise combines a guided pass through downtown, including the market area, with time on the Rideau Canal — a useful way to see how ByWard Market connects to the rest of the capital’s core sights.

Historic architecture

Beyond the market stalls, the neighborhood has a genuine architectural history: 19th-century stone and brick buildings line several of the core streets, some dating back to the market’s earliest decades. The Basilica of Notre-Dame Cathedral, just a few blocks from the market, is Ottawa’s oldest and largest church, completed in the 1840s with twin spires visible from much of the surrounding district.

Shopping beyond the market stalls

Alongside the produce vendors, ByWard Market’s streets carry a genuine mix of independent boutiques, galleries, and specialty food shops — kitchenware stores, a long-running cheese shop, and a handful of bookstores that have survived despite the area’s shift toward restaurants and bars. It’s worth budgeting time for browsing rather than treating the district purely as a dining destination; the retail side rewards an unhurried wander as much as the food does, and it fills in nicely between a Parliament Hill visit and dinner.

Comparing ByWard Market to St. Lawrence Market

Visitors familiar with Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market often ask how the two compare. St. Lawrence Market is fundamentally a food-shopping destination with over two centuries of continuous daily market operation; ByWard Market’s outdoor stalls are smaller and seasonal, with the neighborhood’s real draw being its density of restaurants, bars, and nightlife layered on top. If food shopping specifically is the goal, St. Lawrence Market’s year-round indoor hall is the more reliable choice; if an evening out is the goal, ByWard Market has no real equivalent back in Toronto.

Getting there from Toronto

Since ByWard Market sits within downtown Ottawa, reaching it follows the same route as reaching the city itself: about 4 hours by car (roughly 450 km) via Highway 401 and Highway 416, or a direct VIA Rail trip to Ottawa’s downtown station, from which the market is a short walk or taxi ride.

A base for exploring downtown Ottawa

Because of its central location, ByWard Market works well as an accommodation base for a broader Ottawa visit — Parliament Hill, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Rideau Canal are all within a 10–15 minute walk, and Gatineau Park is a short drive or bike ride across the river.

When to visit

The outdoor market stalls run from roughly May through October, with the fullest selection during summer. The restaurant and bar scene operates year-round, and the neighborhood takes on a specific winter charm when the nearby Rideau Canal freezes and BeaverTails stands do brisk business alongside skaters.

Practical notes

Parking in ByWard Market is limited and relatively expensive on weekend evenings — walking or taking OC Transpo from elsewhere in the city is usually the more practical option if you’re not staying within the neighborhood itself. The area can get loud and crowded on weekend nights given its concentration of bars, which is worth knowing if you’re looking for a quieter dinner rather than a nightlife scene.

Where this fits in a broader Ottawa trip

ByWard Market rarely works as a standalone destination — it’s almost always folded into a wider Ottawa visit alongside Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, and the National Gallery, all within easy walking distance. The things to do in Ottawa guide covers how the market fits into a fuller itinerary, and the Toronto to Ottawa capital escape itinerary lays out a multi-day plan that treats ByWard Market as the anchor for evenings. First-time visitors weighing whether Ottawa deserves more than a single day should read why Ottawa deserves more than a day trip.

Frequently asked questions about ByWard Market

Is ByWard Market a good place to stay in Ottawa?

Yes, for visitors who want to be within walking distance of Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal, ByWard Market’s central location is hard to beat. It does get louder in the evenings than more residential parts of downtown, which is worth weighing if noise is a concern.

What is BeaverTails, and where did it start?

BeaverTails is a fried pastry topped with sweet toppings like cinnamon sugar or chocolate, originally sold as a business starting in the 1970s in the ByWard Market area. It’s since become a Canada-wide chain, but the market location remains closely tied to its origin story.

Is the market itself still an actual farmers’ market?

Yes — outdoor stalls selling produce, flowers, and local goods still operate from spring through fall, layered within the broader restaurant and retail district that’s grown up around the original 1826 market.

How far is ByWard Market from Parliament Hill?

About a five-minute walk, which is part of why the neighborhood functions as the default dinner and evening destination for most visitors to downtown Ottawa.

Is ByWard Market safe to walk around at night?

It’s a well-trafficked, well-lit commercial district and generally considered safe for an evening out, though like any dense nightlife area, ordinary city awareness applies on the busiest weekend nights.