Your guide to the Ottawa tulip festival
Do you have a Mother’s Day tradition? In my family, my mom LOVES to go to the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa. This is the world's largest tulip festival, this annual festival runs for almost 2 weeks in May and showcases more than 100 plus varieties of tulips. The festival is not only flowers, there are musical performances, races, fireworks, parades, and more. The best thing is that you don’t need to buy any tickets, this is a free activity!
The Ottawa Tulip Festival is the perfect spring activity or the perfect Mother’s Day activity!
The history behind the festival
When you think of tulips, you are probably thinking of Holland and the beautiful Keukenhof Gardens. But, tulips are native to the Middle East but the Dutch made them their iconic flower during their golden age of commerce around the mid-16th century. Read more about the tulip’s history here.
So why is there a tulip festival in the national capital? Well, we need to backtrack to the Nazi Invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. To escape, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands took refuge in Ottawa along with her two young daughters. While in exile, the princess got pregnant and the Ottawa Civic Hospital was declared Dutch soil so that the princess could give birth in Dutch territory. In 1943, the third princess, Princess Margriet was born. In 1945, when the Netherlands was liberated and the Second World War finished, the Dutch royal family members went back to their kingdom. In 1946, future Queen Juliana sent another 20,500 bulbs to represent the hospital and promised to send 10,000 more bulbs each year.
Upon her return, to show her gratitude to Ottawa and the Canadian people, Princess Juliana sent several gifts, including a million tulip bulbs. Since then, the tradition has been carried over decades and the Dutch royal family still sends tulips every year, also known as the “Tulip Legacy”. The Canadian Tulip Festival was established in 1953 as a way of celebrating this gift. Ottawa even made the tulip its official flower.
Every year, the festival has a theme like fund-raising efforts in support of War Child Canada or to commemorate the liberation of the Netherlands.
Where to see the tulips in Ottawa
During the festivities, the city is full of tulips everywhere. However, here are THE places to go see them:
COMMISSIONERS PARK - DOW'S LAKE
The best place to see the tulips is Dows Lake and the Commissioners Park. The park goes along the Rideau Canal, one of the many UNESCO World Heritage Site in Canada, and is the most popular spot since it has the highest concentration of tulips in the federal capital. The downside is that this is where crowds are concentrated as well; thankfully the park is huge so there is more than enough space for everyone.
The park has plenty of picnic areas and food vendors. We do our Mother's Day picnic in this area.
Are you a bike lover? If so, I highly recommend doing this part of the festival by bike, as it will enhance your experience.
Lansdowne PARK
This park mixes art, photography and floral installations. The park is also the stage for international performances, you can find more about the programming here.
GARDEN PROMENADE
The promenade is between Ottawa & Gatineau (a neighbouring city in the Quebec province) and has plenty of activities such as culinary events, and Les Rendez-vous de Saveurs. This is also a great spot to bike and admire the tulips at the same time.
ByWard Market
Downtown Ottawa, is the urban part of the festival, you can spend the afternoon in boutiques, restaurants and cafés, plus there is tons of tulip art.
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill is under construction, but in the past and in the future, the tulips will be back. In the past, tulips blooming in this location were thematic to the county, like “Canada 150” (white with red flames), “Fireworks” (yellow with red flames) and “Canadian Liberator” (red).
Major's Hill Park
Major’s Hill Park is the second-most appreciated site to see the flowers in spring. The Major’s Hill Park usually has a cream-colour palette.
Olympic Garden
The Olympic Garden pays tribute to our Olympic athletes, it commemorates the 1988 Olympic torch relay. During the festival, Olympic thematic tulips like “Olympic Flame” tulips and “Jan Seignette” tulips.
Maplelawn Garden
Maplelawn Garden has Canadian-grown tulips from Prince Edward Island, “Ladies Night” (rose pink) and “Peacekeeper” (purple) are the tulips that you will find here.
Canadian Museum of History
The Canadian Museum of History is one of the must-see museums in the nation’s capital. Take this opportunity not only to see the tulips but to tour the museum. The tulips here are of bright colours. If you are a museum lover, Ottawa has other great museums like the National Gallery of Canada.
The festival features over 300,000 Tulips and there are around 20 places to see the tulips, the list above only has the best places. Garden of the Provinces and Territories, Ottawa, Malak’s Bed, Gatineau, Montcalm-Taché Park, and Gatineau are other locations that you can.
Getting around Ottawa
If you are visiting Ottawa by car, I will highly suggest leaving the car in a parking lot and doing the festival by foot or by bike. The festival attracts a huge number of crowds and navigating the city by car and finding a parking spot can be a little complicated.
Additional tips
Sometimes the places of the tulip spots change from year to year. So it might be a good idea to plan your trip before going.
The weather in May is unpredictable, to say the least. Sometimes, there are super warm years and others when I was doing the trail with my winter jacket on. Since the booming of the flowers is weather dependent, you should check when is the most optimal day for your visit.
If you planning a trip to the city and you couldn't admire the tulips or if you can’t visit the city during the festival, you can catch some of the action through their youtube channel.
Go to the website of the Canadian Tulip Festival for more information.
BRB acknowledges that Ottawa is built on un-ceded Anishinabe Algonquin territory. The peoples of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation have lived on this territory for millennia. Their culture and presence have nurtured and continue to nurture this land. The City of Ottawa honours the peoples and land of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.
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