Rideau Hall

Regal architecture and immaculately groomed gardens telegraph Rideau Hall’s prestige and importance in Ottawa, Ontario—and indeed it holds both. The estate has been the official residence of the Canadian monarch or their representative governorgeneral for 150 years.

Its 79 acres and 175-room primary residence, along with dozens of mismatched outbuildings, suggest too many planners were hovering over the blueprints, feeling overconfident about how many guests would come to stay. But quite a few have been accommodated, most notably during World War II, when the hall became a refuge for exiled royals displaced by invasions.

Its first postwar royal visitors were Princess Elizabeth (later the queen) and Philip, who came and even took part in a square dance, complete with checkered shirts and presumed cringing.

Though spaces such as this one, the indoor tennis court, the billiards rooms, or the ecumenical chapel might suggest there’s little reason to go outside, it is Rideau Hall’s grounds that keep its tour guides busiest.

Its entryway is an environmentally friendly guestbook dotted with nearly a hundred trees planted by prominent figures during their visits. Each tree on the Canadian version of Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame is accompanied by a plaque pronouncing the high-profile guest who arboreally noted their visit. Modern members of the Crown are noted beside trees planted by the likes of JFK and Jackie, Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, and many more. Beyond those are an open meadow, six greenhouses, multiple gardens, beehives, and a farm with stables. Most residents have left their mark by making intriguing additions, like its curling rink, Fountain of Hope, or Inuksuk stone landmark and totem pole.

This jumbled wonderland was opened to the public in 1921, a move that enraged traditionalists. Today, it hosts roughly 200,000 annual visitors, for whom there is no shortage of activities. In the winter, they set up a public ice-skating rink for one and all to glide, twirl, or face-plant freely in Ottawa’s grand and glorious hodgepodge estate.

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