Canadian War Museum in Ottawa

Best place for the one who loves to do history exploration. Also the display of artifacts with adequate background is presented splendidly

I could spend forever in this place. So much to see here. Could easily spend 6 hours or more looking and listening to everything.

So much information and visual displays to take in! Several interactive areas as well, and that tank gallery with the jet suspended from the ceiling?! Cant be beat. We have to go again because we couldnt fit it all in with one visit! Also, the underground parking is like driving into a bunker - so cool!

Its a nice and informative place to visit. The visit time will be not less than 3-4 hr, so plan accordingly your visit.Visit on thursday for free from 5-7 pm

I’ve never had an interest or passion for war, but this museum has sparked something. It is so well organized and takes you through the history of Canada’s roles in the many wars it’s been involved with.It was an incredible learning experience. We were there for 3 hours and it wasn’t enough time. We will be going back.

Great architectural design and large collection of war machine. It brings the history right infront of you by details graphic and historical items.

Incredibly detailed and documented exhibition. I personally missed the presentation of war cruelties. I understand that the exhibition is for all audiences but still it is something that should be always brought up in this topic.

The museum is pretty good, very large and takes ages to see everything, but I feel many displays could be better. There was a war exhibition at Te Papa in New Zealand that had some excellent displays. I dont think war should be glorified, but Te Papa shows ways you can give visitors a more impactful experience, a deeper connection / appreciation for what soldiers and nurses and families went through.

Very informative, organized, each section was in a different time/area, friendly staff, not too busy, very interesting, clean, and not too expensive for what you get!

Very impressive. But also sobering. War is always bad... But very good explanations. Good videos.

Informative and worth the visit if you are in Ottawa . There are tanks, weapons and lots of other things to see. It was a little eery

What an amazing experience! Id recommend to anyone to visit this museum at least once.

Amazing experience, the place is vast so better pace yourself based on the period you are interested in, otherwise allocate a good 5 to 6 hours to cover everything in detail.An excellent cafeteria is also available with a treats menu appealing to both kids and adults.There are a few interactive exhibits as well as a lot of artifacts including an original copy of the "treaty of Versailles", a document crucial to the fomentation of the 2nd world war, Hitlers Mercedes amongst a few others.A great experience overall.

Good museum, with sections covering pre-European-contact, colonial Canada and French-British wars; South African and WWI; WWII; and the Cold War and more recent conflicts, where Canadians have been involved in both fighting and peacekeeping. There is also a Hall of Honour, a collection of military equipment and a special exhibition (summer 2022relaying personal stories from WWII. There’s a gift shop and a café. I found the soundtrack in the “early wars” section too repetitive, loud and distracting, and some description panels have flaws, but the museum covers a lot of ground well, and you can easily spend two, three or more hours here.

Canadas War Museum - a very large impressive place very nicely arranged. The museum is divided into 4 wings, each wing with a different color and a different theme.A very nice display and explanations of every subject, in the lower part a very large display of war equipment (tanks, airplanes, cannons, etc.).It is very pleasant to walk through the museum with an impressive display and explanations.

Well laid out museum with alot of information on wars Canada has Bern involved in, from the very first battles that shaped our early land. Emotions of soldiers & what they experienced are portrayed very well. You leave appreciative of the people who fought for the freedom we have today. A must see for the whole family!

We visited quickly, mostly to see the room honoring the Unknown Soldier. The architect designed the room so that the light shines from the ceiling to the memorial at 11am on November 11, when the holiday is commemorated.

Very interesting and informative. The only thing I would recommend is that you need 3-4 hours to see it properly. Also there is quite a bit of reading you will have to do to get the best experience

Best Museum experience in Ottawa. You can either buy tickets in advance or in the counter, doesnt matter as it takes literally 30 seconds to get your ticket. The museum is full of Canadian history and there are total 4 alleys to show that to you but there is one thing I need to suggest to the museum administration to add floor arrows to follow from start to the end so you follow the history following those arrows as in some areas you get lost and that kills your interest. Apart from that the museum is worth seeing, my favorite area is the P1 WAR Vehicles where you all kind of Tanks, and vehicles used in different wars.

Went there on a Sunday, no line up at all and plenty of parking spots.It extensively introduces all the wars that Canada has got involved in. I wish I could have more time to go through all the sections, I would recommend everyone who likes history to go.

For up, i’m from Germany and this is got to be taken in perspective, because everything I critic is still worlds better than any American, British or French history museum: it’s the last week of my exchange year and i thought i gotta visit the Canadian war museum at least once, as I knew that it’s going to be interesting to see what Canada thinks about (and did duringworld war 1 and 2, because in Germany we never even mention Canada once. Neither in our museums nor in our history classes (as Canada generally is overshadowed by the US, the USSR and the UK).I enjoyed the exposition on world war 2 and also the ones on the war of 1812 and the Boer war and so on, but the one on world war one seemed quite nationalistic and patriotic. Coming from Germany of course I have a high expectation for self critical historical examinations, because well… there’s a lot of critical history in Germany, but world war 1 is definitely not solely the Central Power’s fault, even though it was quite harshly represented like that.Like most historians agree, even though the war was solely blamed on Germany, the UK, France, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Japan and Austria-Hungary contributed quite a lot to the mess that we call world war 1, but this was not well represented and it seemed like the ‘evil’ Germans were just attacking everyone and the ‘selfless’ UK just happens to have time and help all the poor countries that were attacked.Even though I think the way the war turned out was definitely better than the other options and Germany probably committed more atrocities than the Entente, this was a very one sighted view of history. A minor addition would be maybe to include the Canadian participation during the Dresden fire bombing which can definitely be considered a war crime (It doesn’t even come close to other German atrocities and war crimes during world war 2, but it’s still a war crimeand killed between 35-60k civilians (while some historians suggest numbers up to 600k civilians).I enjoyed the visit, but the lack of self critic made it seem much more nationalistic than any German history museum that talks about world war one and two that I’ve ever visited. It’s not even close to how bad American museums are, but it could still get some improvement.

Its nice place. It has all the word war I and II history and few tanks they have maintained in their ground level that is very much fascinating. Do visit once if you are in Ottawa

Great place for for those with interests in all things military. Unfortunately, there are NO interactive exhibits where children can get into a military vehicle, which makes it a quick visit.

Nice place to visit …. Not sure if I will spend money to buy tickets but good place to show your children and link them to history…. They have tanks and weapons used in old time… information on all the wars soldiers fought…. We went on Canada Day so entry was free and we enjoyed it …. Took us about 2 hours ….

You could spend a weekend in here and still not see everything. Plan to spend at least a full day, with a break at their café, to take in all the fascinating and interesting exhibits.

This is a wonderfully done museum. It tells the stories of people who were impacted by war, and is not simply dry artifacts. In the vehicle bay downstairs, we met a volunteer who had served in the Army in the 1960s. He was engaging and had some excellent stories (appropriate for small ears). Each vehicle is labeled with its specs, and theres a "did you know" story beside most of them.Upstairs, the museum is ordered chronologically. While you can go directly to the period youre interested in, its worth visiting the whole place. We spent 6 hours here.The cafe wasnt open at the time, so we packed a lunch and sat at the picnic tables beside the river.The only disappointment was the gift shop. It was a decent size but didnt have a pin or patch specific to this museum. We collect patches and sew them on a jacket.

My family went to Ottawa. This was our first stop! My kids were so amused! I didnt think they would enjoy it at all... but let me tell you we were there for 4 hours and they still didnt want to leave. Its definitely worth checking out.

Very well done and organized. An impressive collection of tanks and vehicles. And a full history across multiple exhibition areas.

Great museum, very interesting and informative display and layout. Follow the directions on the floor.

Probably the best military museum Ive seen. It may even be better than most in Europe.

I have only had one brief trip to this wonderful museum, but even in its brevity, my visit was wonderful. The building itself is architecturally interesting and unique and the layout is no less interesting. It seems much smaller than it is, until you find your ways around winding corridors and into seemingly secret sections. I had as much fun exploring the building as I did learning from its many sections 💓

What a fantastic place to learn about Canadas role in past wars. The place was clean, interactive and had many interactive exhibits. The hall full of vehicles and Armour was cool as well! Its very large so make sure you wear comfy shoes!

An incredible collection of artifacts and vehicles. Can truly spend an entire day making it through all the exhibits. Would absolutely recommend going if you have any interest in military history. Would also suggest leaving a large portion of a day to visit. Lots to learn from and appreciate from this museum!

This place is wonderful. Very detailed. It covers everything from the early days of the vikings in Canada to modern day conflicts. There is old artillery, arts, medals, personal stories. Give yourself no less than 3 hours to get through it and wear comfortable shoes.

Excellent attraction! Lots of history. Great learning experience for kids and adults alike. 👌🏼

Beautiful, dignified, and unique tribute to Canadas military past. Facilities and exhibits are very well maintained. The array of displayed equipment is impressive.

Great day trip if you’re visiting Ottawa! We spent about 3-4 hours here & could have easily spent more reading every display they have on site. Would definitely recommend to those visiting/a tourist destination.

This place is awesome, incredible .Everything you see here its just very educative you learm Canadas history on war and plus if like guns, tanks and all the war related then this is one of top places to visit highly recommended

Great time. Spend 3hrs and still didnt see everything.Note: current and previous serving mbrs get free entry for them and 2 guests.

Good exhibits, and up to date. Confusing traveling from one area to another, better signage ?. Tank room is wierd - displays jammed together and a huge empty space in the middle of the room. For other purposes?. Cant really have a look at the vehicles because they are jammed together.

I absolutely loved it. Its great for all people alike who are interested in the Canadian Armed Forces and its history over the years. Would highly recommend coming here if you love history, or want too to look and read about interesting stuff.

If you have any interest in military history or even Canadian history this museum is a must see, the attention to detail from the 7 year war to present is fantastic. Each exhibition takes you on a journey throughout history. If you are in or near the ottawa area it is worth every second.

This museum is really well done. It has enough to intrigue everyone and organized by time periods of wars. The displays are varied to be quite appealing with large text, personal stories, equipment, film, maps, photos, all with nice explanations of the situations depicted. The large room in the lower level with actual tanks and other military equipment is an interesting walk through.Well worth visiting.

This place is cool! Lots of war stuff! I highly recommend the lower level with the tanks, submarine, torpedoes, armored personnel carriers, motorcycles, cannons, guns and plane! The rest of the place is very well laid out, but has a LOT of text boards and not so many artifacts. Worth the trip!

This is my third time returning back to the War Museum. This is the best museum I have ever been to, absolutely loved it. My favorite exhibit was the First World War exhibit. I had the opportunity to meet Tim Cook, an absolute terrific curator and very knowledgeable. I cant wait to return here someday and see what they do with it.

A great history of how Canada came unto its own through hardship and sacrifice and evolved to become a global leader and Peacekeepers.Here are handful of pics...plan to spend a half day to see the museum. To get full benefit take the time to read the placards.As a Canadian veteran you get discounts on entry, free parking, and food.

A very humbling experience. Two days would be better to see everything. We had to leave after 4 hours because we were not comfortable with so many people around us (impossible to keep our social distancing). Some amazing objects were poorly lit, it was very hard to appreciate their true value...

Probably my favorite museum Ive ever been to. I went early morning and it was fairly empty. Had a great time going through the exhibitions and the galleries. Im absolutely in love with the tanks and the memorial hall they have. Will be back next time Im in town

Very organized with audiovisual displays too. Many artifacts from the wars in mint condition. Gallery 3 is where they keep Hitlers original car. It was a nice experience and it was so worth it !!! Go and visit it !!! Gift shop had nice things too.

Amazing collection of war artiFACTS. Yes, facts too - with everything explained so well, it’s something to relish.You’d have to set aside at least 3 hrs to throughly browse through all exhibits.The sequencing, placement and segregation is so well done, that I couldn’t think there’s any room for improvement.A fantastic place for young kids and youth alike, to learn about the rich heritage they inherit through this land of the brave go-getters without all the ‘Pompousness’