Daniel Alfredsson
Daniel Alfredsson captained Ottawa during the Senators' top-era playoff runs at
north-america
Ottawa
ON, Canada
Ottawa Fan Travel Guide
Ottawa is a major fan-travel destination in Canada, known for high-demand sports, concert, and festival weekends.
Ottawa Fan Travel Blueprint
FanTravel tracks 0 events and 12 fan-favorite local spots in Ottawa — here's how to turn them into a fan trip:
- What fans can already use: 2 city sightings already on the board and 12 fan-favorite hotels, restaurants, bars, and things to do.
- Main event anchor: Use the yearly city calendars below to choose your anchor event.
- Stay + eat core: Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market with BeaverTails can frame your pre-event window.
- Night + recovery: Bar Laurel plus ByWard Market Fan District can round out day two.
Sample 48-Hour Fan Route
- Day 1 Arrival: Check in at Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market, settle near the event zone, and open your first local meal block.
- Day 1 Peak: Pick the strongest event from the city calendars and then push into post-event fan energy at Bar Laurel.
- Day 2 Closeout: Use daytime space for ByWard Market Fan District, then finish with BeaverTails before departure.
Celebrity Sightings in Ottawa
Celebrity Hotspots in Ottawa
All City Hotspots →
Hotels
Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Hotels
ARC The Hotel
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Restaurants
Beckta Dining & Wine
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Attractions
ByWard Market Fan District
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Bars
ByWard Market Sports Bar Cluster
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Attractions
ByWard Market Walk
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Restaurants
Chez Lucien
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Hotels
Fairmont Château Laurier
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Attractions
Ottawa Hockey Heritage Tour
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Attractions
Rideau Canal Skateway Fan Experience
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Bars
The Senate Tavern
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Bars
The Whisky Bar Ottawa
2 source links · 2 celeb-linked mentions
2 city sightings
Venues in Ottawa
Where to Stay in Ottawa
Fan Stay
Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market
Hyatt's lifestyle brand hotel in the heart of the ByWard Market, featuring a rooftop bar with Parliament Hill views. Its walkable location amid Ottawa's best restaurants and nightlife makes it an ideal base for Senators fans and visiting supporters.
Fan Stay
ARC The Hotel
Art-forward boutique hotel in downtown Ottawa featuring locally curated artwork and sleek modern rooms. Its central location on Slater Street puts visiting sports fans near Parliament Hill and the ByWard Market bar scene.
Fan Stay
Fairmont Château Laurier
Ottawa's grand castle hotel has stood beside Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal since 1912. With its limestone turrets and copper roof, the Château Laurier is one of Canada's most recognizable buildings. Fans love its central location, elegant rooms, and proximity to the ByWard Market nightlife.
Where to Eat in Ottawa
Fan Eats
BeaverTails
Born in Ottawa's ByWard Market in 1978, BeaverTails serves hand-stretched whole-wheat pastries topped with cinnamon sugar, chocolate, or maple. This quintessential Canadian treat is a must-eat while skating on the Rideau Canal. The original location remains a fan pilgrimage site and late-night favourite.
Fan Eats
Beckta Dining & Wine
Ottawa's most acclaimed restaurant on Nepean Street serves modern Canadian cuisine with an exceptional wine program. Chef Michael Moffatt's seasonal menus spotlight local producers and Ontario wines. A refined choice for fans celebrating a Senators victory or visiting Ottawa for events on Parliament Hill.
Fan Eats
Chez Lucien
Cozy ByWard Market bistro-pub famous for what many consider Ottawa's best burger, served with a no-fuss attitude and a curated beer list. Senators fans have been making the pilgrimage to this candlelit hideaway for postgame bites for decades.
Fan Eats
Play Food & Wine
Inventive small-plates restaurant in the ByWard Market earning national recognition for its creative seasonal dishes and extensive wine list. A sophisticated pregame option for Senators fans who want something more elevated than arena fare.
Fan Eats
Riviera
A refined Modern Canadian restaurant near the ByWard Market with an acclaimed wine program and seasonal tasting menus. Senators fans and visiting dignitaries celebrate special occasions here with dishes showcasing Ottawa Valley ingredients.
Fan Eats
The Elgin Street Diner
Open 24 hours a day, The Elgin Street Diner is where Ottawa sports fans end up after every Senators game, Redblacks match, or late-night concert. The enormous poutine — smothered in thick gravy and fresh cheese curds — is a Canadian rite of passage, especially at 2 AM. Its no-nonsense diner format and central location make it a beloved Ottawa institution that no visiting fan should skip.
Best Bars in Ottawa
Bar Laurel
An intimate cocktail bar on Elgin Street crafting inventive drinks with house-made syrups and local spirits. After Senators games at Canadian Tire Centre, fans in the know wind down here with some of Ottawa's finest cocktails.
ByWard Market Sports Bar Cluster
Ottawa's ByWard Market neighbourhood concentrates the capital's best sports bars within walking distance, making it the natural gathering point for Senators and Redblacks fans. Bars like The Chances and The Ale House broadcast all major NHL, CFL, and international hockey with large downtown-friendly crowds. The market's pubs pulse with hockey energy during playoff season.
Clocktower Brew Pub
Ottawa's homegrown brewpub chain with multiple locations around the city, each pouring house-brewed ales alongside hearty pub food. The Glebe and ByWard Market spots are prime Senators game-day gathering points where fans watch pre-game coverage over pints of Wishart's ESB.
The Honest Lawyer
A downtown Ottawa staple near the ByWard Market, The Honest Lawyer is the go-to Senators bar for fans who prefer a lively pub over the arena concourse. Multiple screens, an impressive selection of Canadian craft beers, and a passionate local crowd make every NHL broadcast feel like a home game. The post-game crowd floods in whether the Sens win or lose, making for some of Ottawa's most honest sports conversations.
The Lieutenant's Pump
Popular Elgin Street gastropub with an impressive craft beer selection and hearty British-Canadian fare. Ottawa Senators and Redblacks fans fill the space on game days to watch live sports on multiple screens.
The Senate Tavern
A go-to gathering spot for Ottawa Senators fans in the downtown Elgin Street area, The Senate Tavern serves cold local craft beer and game-day pub food with multiple screens showing every angle of the action. On game nights it transforms into a sea of red and black.
The Whisky Bar Ottawa
One of Ottawa's top sports bars, with an impressive whisky list that makes post-game analysis particularly pleasurable. The Senators and Redblacks memorabilia walls give it genuine Ottawa sports character. International fans appreciate the knowledgeable bar staff who can explain CFL and junior hockey as readily as NHL.
Fan Attractions in Ottawa
Things to Do
ByWard Market Fan District
Ottawa's oldest and most colorful neighborhood, ByWard Market, is lined with pubs and restaurants that fill with Senators and Redblacks fans on game days. The Château Laurier hotel nearby adds a grand backdrop to the pre-match ritual. Beaver Tails, poutine, and Canadian craft beer are the fuel of the ByWard game day experience.
Things to Do
ByWard Market Walk
Ottawa's vibrant ByWard Market district buzzes with restaurants, patios, and bars — where Senators fans eat, drink, and celebrate steps from the arena.
Attraction
Canadian Tire Centre
Home of the Ottawa Senators and a venue with genuine playoff history including the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals run. The arena complex in Kanata includes extensive fan amenities and a Senators Hall of Fame. The pre-game atmosphere in the parking lot — a suburban tailgate culture unique to Ottawa — is an essential Canadian hockey experience.
Attraction
Canadian Tire Centre Arena Tour
Home of the NHL's Ottawa Senators, the 18,652-seat Canadian Tire Centre is the hub of hockey culture in Canada's capital. Behind-the-scenes tours offer access to the players' bench, press box, and Senators Hall of Fame displays. Matchday atmosphere features passionate fans and the famous Spartan mascot.
Things to Do
Canadian Tire Centre Fan Zone
The outdoor plaza and concourse surrounding Canadian Tire Centre transforms into a lively fan zone hours before Ottawa Senators home games, with live music, food trucks, merchandise pop-ups, and the unmistakable energy of 18,000 hockey fans converging. The tailgate culture here is distinctly Canadian — poutine vendors, craft beer tents, and endless hockey debate in biting cold air. It's the essential warm-up ritual for any first-time Senators game.
Attraction
Lansdowne Park & TD Place
The revitalized Lansdowne Park is Ottawa's sports and entertainment heart, home to the Ottawa Redblacks CFL team and Atlético Ottawa of the Canadian Premier League. The Aberdeen Pavilion adjacent to the stadium is one of Canada's oldest event venues. The Glebe neighborhood surrounding Lansdowne is one of Ottawa's best pre-match pub crawl destinations.
Things to Do
Ottawa Hockey Heritage Tour
Ottawa is the birthplace of organised hockey in Canada and guided heritage tours visit the Rideau rinks, the original Governor General's Cup donation site, and the National Archives' hockey collections. The tours contextualise how Canada's capital exported hockey to the world in the 1890s. For hockey history fans, this is a genuinely foundational sporting pilgrimage.
Attraction
Rideau Canal Skateway
The world's largest naturally frozen skating rink stretches 7.8 kilometres through downtown Ottawa along the UNESCO World Heritage Rideau Canal. Open in winter, the Skateway draws over a million visitors who skate past Parliament Hill, stopping at heated chalets for BeaverTails pastries and hot chocolate. A quintessential Canadian fan experience.
Things to Do
Rideau Canal Skateway Fan Experience
The world's largest naturally frozen skating rink, the Rideau Canal is where Ottawa sports fans burn energy between playoff games and CFL matches in winter. The BeaverTails pastry stands along the canal are as much a part of Ottawa sports culture as any arena. During NHL playoff weeks the canal sees fan groups skating in team jerseys even at midnight.
Attraction
TD Place at Lansdowne Park
TD Place at Lansdowne Park is Ottawa's multi-sport hub, home to the Ottawa Redblacks CFL team and Ottawa Fury FC soccer, situated in the stunning Glebe neighbourhood beside the Rideau Canal. The rebuilt stadium combines heritage grandstands with modern facilities and an outdoor retail village. The rooftop view of the Rideau Canal from the press box is one of Canadian sport's most scenic.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ottawa
Popular celebrity dining spots in Ottawa include BeaverTails, Beckta Dining & Wine, Chez Lucien. See our full guide for more recommendations.
Visit our Ottawa city guide for a complete list of sports teams, venues, and upcoming events.
Top-rated fan bars in Ottawa include Bar Laurel, ByWard Market Sports Bar Cluster, Clocktower Brew Pub.
Recommended fan stays in Ottawa: Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market, ARC The Hotel, Fairmont Château Laurier. All within easy reach of major venues.
Use our city guide plus events calendar for Ottawa to plan your fan weekend route.