The Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa

What it is

During the Second World War the Dutch royal family took refuge in Ottawa, and Princess Margriet was born there in 1943. In 1945, after Canadian troops had helped free the Netherlands, the Dutch sent 100,000 tulip bulbs in thanks, and have sent more every year since. Those tulips became the Canadian Tulip Festival, held each May. The main beds are in Commissioners Park beside Dow's Lake, where long curving borders hold several hundred thousand bulbs in dozens of varieties. More are planted near Parliament Hill and along the Rideau Canal. Signs in the beds tell the wartime story.

Before you go

• The middle of May is the usual peak, but a warm or cold spring can move it by a week.
• Walk or cycle the canal path between sites. Parking near the lake is limited.
• Early morning light and fewer people make the best visit.

The flowers you will see

TulipSpring-blooming bulbs with showy, cup-shaped flowers in many coloursDidier's tulipThe classic tall tulip behind most garden and cut-flower varieties

Read more

Canadian Tulip FestivalOttawa’s annual celebration of tulips and friendship with the Netherlands

More in Canada

🇨🇦 Victoria · Mar to OctThe Butchart Gardens near VictoriaA worked-out limestone quarry on Vancouver Island that one family turned into a sunken garden of bedding and bulbs. 🇨🇦 Montreal · May to OctThe Montreal Botanical GardenOne of the world's large botanic gardens, with Chinese and Japanese gardens, a lilac collection and long rose beds.