Offering the best views of Ottawa’s dramatic riverside setting, the francophone town of Hull (pop. 62,339) is a nice change of pace from the Canadian capital. Older than Ottawa, French-speaking despite having been founded in 1800 by an American Loyalist (Philemon Wright) fleeing the Revolution, and named after an English port despite being miles from any ocean, Hull has managed to retain its traditional identity in the face of the multi-cultural federalizing of its cross-river neighbor.
The best thing about Hull, apart from the chance to walk across the bridges and wander the riverside parks that link it to Ottawa, is the Canadian Museum of Civilizations (daily in summer, closed Mon. Oct.–April; $C10–17; 819/776-7000), a huge and fascinating institution, housed in a sinuously curving 3,200-square-meter (35,000-square-foot) complex on the banks of the Ottawa River at 100 Rue Laurier, directly across the water from the Parliament Buildings at the foot of the Alexandria Bridge. The main lobby is filled with historic totem poles and canoes made by Canada’s diverse native peoples, and galleries elsewhere in the building highlight everything from whaling communities in Labrador to life on the vast western prairies. It’s a fun and educational place, well worth half a day at least.
Across the street from the museum is one of Hull’s, and Ottawa’s, most enjoyable French restaurants, Cafe Henry Burger (819/777-5646), at 69 Rue Laurier.
