VIA Rail offers passenger rail service to and from Ottawa from all major cities in southern Ontario and southern Quebec. Ottawa’s Central Station is just southeast of downtown at 200 Tremblay Road, off Highway 417. A satellite VIA Rail station is located to the west of the city at Fallowfield-Barrhaven. (3347 Fallowfield Rd., Barrhaven, ON). Easy access to public transit is available from both stations.

Looking to take coach bus to and from Ottawa? The Ottawa region is serviced by Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines and Greyhound Canada. There is hourly service from Montréal, several daily runs from Toronto (including express service), and daily service to many other destinations. The Coach Bus Station is located at 265 Catherine Street in Ottawa.

Ottawa is accessible by a number of highways: Highways 174 and 417 from the east, Highways 416, 16, and 31 from the south, Highway 7 from the west, and Highway 17 from the northwest, as well as Highway 148 (Québec) from the northeast and northwest.

Hwy 416 connects Hwy 401 (interchange near Prescott, Ontario) to Hwy 417. Highway417 (also known as the Queensway), runs east/west through the centre of the City of Ottawa.

Ottawa International Airport, which is located approximately 16 km south of downtown Ottawa, provides the National Capital Region with direct air service to many destinations in Canada as well as to a number of international destinations.

Ottawa is well served with healthcare facilities and programs including:

The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) which is one of the top children’s hospitals in the world.

The Ottawa Hospital, a 1,130 bed health sciences center which is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Canada. Its services are concentrated on three campuses: the Civic, General and Riverside.

• The General Campus- 501 Smyth Road
• The Civic Campus- 1053 Carling Avenue
• The Riverside Campus- 1967 Riverside Drive (No emergency services)

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute which is Canada’s largest cardiovascular health center. It is dedicated to understanding, treating and preventing heart disease.

The Queensway-Carleton Hospital which is a patient-and-family centered community hospital providing a broad range of acute care services. It is located in the west end of the city at 3045 Baseline Rd, Ottawa.

Hôpital Montfort, located at 713 Montreal Road, Ottawa which is a university teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Ottawa that provides service in both French and English.

The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group which provides treatment to residents of Eastern Ontario for people with serious, complex and recurring mental illness. It is a teaching hospital of the University of Ottawa and provides an integrated approach to advancing the treatment of people with mental illness, research and education.

Looking for a walk-in clinic? Need help finding a family doctor? The City of Ottawa provides links to resources throughout the Ottawa area.

For families with children, Ottawa’s public schools provide learning in both official languages. Four school boards meet the elementary and secondary school needs of children and youth.

• Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
• Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board
• Conseil des écoles Catholiques de langue française du Centre-Est (in French)
• Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (in French)

Ottawa also offers a wide variety of private learning institutions for elementary or secondary school students. These include Montessori and Waldorf Schools, as well as a host of schools dedicated to specific religious and cultural groups.

The region has two main universities, two colleges and numerous technology institutes and professional schools providing numerous opportunities for lifelong learning.

Carleton University is a recognized educational leader in the study of technology, public affairs and management, and offers both undergraduate and graduate studies in the major disciplines of the Arts and Social Sciences, Science and Engineering.

The University of Ottawa, which is the oldest and largest bilingual university in North America, is a research-intensive university offering a wide variety of programs in English and French. The University’s nine faculties, all offering graduate or professional programs, include Administration, Arts, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Law (Common and Civil), Medicine, Science, and Social Sciences.

Algonquin College provides career-oriented education and training to about 10,000 students each year. Algonquin offers degree granting and graduate certificates in a number of disciplines, as well as an extensive array of full-time, part-time, continuing education and online courses for those wishing to start a career or continue their education.

La Cité collégiale is Canada’s largest French-language college outside of Quebec. It offers around 90 practical oriented apprenticeship programs and training that meets job market demands including in Administration; Hotel Business and Tourism; Trades; Arts, Media and Communications; Health; and, Community Services.