Canadian Tulip Festival

Canadian Tulip Festival

Canadian Tulip Festival
4
About
The Canada Tulip Festival is the world's largest tulip festival and attracts 500,000 visitors every year. Since 1953, the tulip has symbolized the strong bond that formed when Canada liberated the Netherlands during the Second World War. Princess Juliana from the Dutch Royal Family escaped the Netherlands during the Nazi invasion and stayed in Ottawa. As a gift of her gratitude to Canada, she presented over 100,000 tulip bulbs to be planted on Ottawa's grounds. As the tulips bloomed, they quickly generated interest among Canadians and turned into a tourist attraction. Every year, people can admire the many tulip colours, Dutch culture, an International Pavilion, flower arrangement workshops, fireworks, and music.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

Are you currently on your trip?
Help us find experiences available for you.
The area
Address
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles140 reviews
Excellent
64
Very good
44
Average
19
Poor
10
Terrible
3

Eva T
United Kingdom5,875 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Couples
We visited Ottawa before official start of this year (2024) festival started. But the tulips were already blossoming around the whole city. It was amazing to see them around the streets in big planters and in nice arrangements in the parks. We just walked and enjoyed them. To tell the truth I was quite envious that this city can afford to plant millions of bulbs every time - great for its citizens and visitors. Loved it and it was free to enjoy it.
Written June 5, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chaitanya
Cambridge, Canada1,454 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2024 • Friends
We checked out the Tulip festival in ottawa centre with friends and took a lot of photos. Tulip festival is good and worth checking out once if you're a fan of the flowers. Its very beautiful with the beautiful flowers and great for photos but is very busy, especially on the weekends - since the festival is only for a short time.
Great way to visit the festival is have a picnic and just enjoy/chill the afternoon there.
Written August 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

HappyTraveller
Toronto, Canada224 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
We went the day before the festival closed, so many beds were dry. Still, there were so many varieties of tulips to see. We enjoyed walking around, and there were food stalls serving hot food. It was slightly drizzling and cloudy. Overall, had a romantic feel.
Written May 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Annette
Ottawa, Canada1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Solo
There is very little parking near Dow’s Lake and the crowds are huge. The City of Ottawa is very aggressive with numerous green hornets ticketing any little infraction ($110) instead of being reasonable and offering a little grace. Public transit is poor to get to Dow’s Lake. I’ve given up going to the Tulip Festival after living in Ottawa most of my life after circling looking for a parking spot and seeing green hornets everywhere. It’s unfortunate the city is so intent on increasing their coffers at the expense of tourism and a positive experience
Written June 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mary-Anne O
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Friends
The tulips are beautiful. However, the "blacklit beds" are not much to talk about. The sound and light show is a total flop. Crowds all along Dow's Lake and you can only hear the commentary near the docks. All you see really is some floodlights bopping around. Disappointing at best.
Written May 14, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GlobetrotterSH
Canada830 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2016 • Couples
The dazzling colors of the magnificent displays of tulips are no doubt the Capital's best ambassadors. They give the city a different, gentler personality and perspective.

Mid-May is a good time to visit. Mind you, it is worth bearing in mind that not all tulips bloom at the same time, so planning to see every one of the half dozen major venues will work in your favor. We started out from one of the festival's major venues, Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau, where dozens of Canada Geese kept us company, watching over their offspring. Their presence made up for the late-blooming tulips in this area and enhanced the already tranquil river scenery. The panorama of the Ottawa-Gatineau skyline, the lovely River landscape and the fabulous close-up view of the Parliament Buildings are certainly something to contemplate.

Major's Hill Park at Ottawa's end of the bridge was one of the highlights of our visit. The holiday atmosphere, the spectacular colours of tulips in full bloom framed by soft hills, with the Parliament discretely set in the background, offered a picture of pure delight. After a leisurely lunch on scenic Rideau Canal, we drove along Queen Elizabeth Drive, making sure to take some pictures of the graceful, soft-colored willow trees on Patterson Creek. But Commissioners Park and Dow's Lake made our day. The magnificent displays and the great variety of tulips should impress the most skeptic. A photographer's dream.

Parking was not a problem because we traveled during the week. We usually found a place on one of the side streets, and a small number of restaurants along the Canal and at Dow's Lake offer free parking.

If this review has been helpful, please let me know by clicking on Thank below.
Written July 8, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ephesians5
Toronto, Canada667 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2017 • Family
We went to Ottawa for the Tulip Festival this past weekend. The place with the most tulips is Commissioner's Park. It claims to have over 250,000 tulips that extends 1 km. Due to the cooler weather, the blooms were at 25% this weekend. It is expected to be close to full bloom on Victoria weekend. Even with about 25% of the tulips blooming, the tulip beds in this park were spectacular. There are so many varieties of tulips that I have not seen before, being so colourful and different shapes of flowers as well. There were signs in each bed with the different varieties of tulips. Unfortunately, the Canada 150 tulip had not bloomed yet (can only see the white at the tip of the bud). There was some musical entertainment. There are some food trucks onsite. The 1 km walk was easy and enjoyable.
If arriving by car, the pay parking is right across the street at Queen Juliana's park. We recommend to arrive early as the parking filled very fast.

The official Tulip Festival main venue is Landsdowne Park. The admission fee is $15/ person. We pre-purchased at Groupon for $10 for 2 person. We parked at the TD Place, which is expensive. Being the official venue, we were expecting to see more beds of tulips. To our disappointment, the only tulips we saw were in the indoor exhibit of Tulip floral arrangements, paintings, photos and some outdoor painted tulip sculptures in a section of the park. There is not much to see. There is some music entertainment and not all the tents were opened. We expected much more since this was a paid venue. Don't waste your time or money to come here if you want to see real tulips.

We drove across the city saw some patches of tulips along the way. We went to Parliament Hill expecting to see tulips. Sadly, the only tulips we saw were on concrete tubs. Major Hill's Park across Parliament Hill had some beds of tulips, but not many.
We heard that Rideau Hall also had tulips, but did not have time to go there.

We will recommend if you have limited time to go to Commissioner's Park first. It is gorgeous to see the clusters of tulips spreading throughout the park.
Written May 16, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sandra98walter
Ontario, Canada1,146 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2017 • Solo
First time visitor for the Canadian Tulip Festival. In anticipation of what I had read ahead of time I pre-purchased tickets for Lansdowne Park access, 2 for 1 deal. 2017 is the 65th anniversary of the festival. Expectation was high. Went at the beginning of the week (May 15th) versus attending over a weekend to avoid the crowds

What a joke, give Landowne Park a miss....only venue where you have to pay admission and parking fees are high...if this was to be the hub of the event...place was empty including vendors....yikes, committee better rethink for next year. Staff are volunteers and lack of training showed. Not off to a good first impression.

Commissioners Park is in bloom and the walk around is lovely. Variety of flowers and colours, over 300,000 bulbs planted. Well worth a visit. A photographers dream. Make this your first stop of the tulip festival, won't be disappointed, Food trucks and refreshment vendors on site. Picnic tables and seating available, Plenty of portable toilets within park. Parking can be a challenge during peak periods. Two parking lots around Preston and Queen Elizabeth,

Major's Hill Park is well worth a visit. Plenty of flower beds in bloom with tulips. Located behind the Chateau Laurier. Added bonus, great views of Peace Tower/Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal.

Confederation Park has yet to reach full bloom. A number of beds designated with the Canada 150 tulips. Located at the corner of Laurier and Elgin, Smaller park and has variety of seating available. Parking can be a challenge at this location.

Recommend the festival but stay clear of Lansdowne Park, not worth the money or your time,
Written May 19, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chitrica P
Ajax, Canada25 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2017 • Friends
This year we decided to make this trip by bus to Ottawa and joined the days tour on SAFEWAY coach leaving Scarborough at 7.15am during the Victoria Day weekend.
The coach trip was fun as we did not have the responsibility of driving the journey.
After having lunch in Ottawa the first stop was at the Tulip Festival and there was no issue of looking for parking when we drive by car. Therefore I would always advise anyone to use the mode of coach transport as we don't need to worry about looking for parking in a very crowded area.
It was crowded by the time we reached the site, but it was fascinating. There were special flowers planted for the 150 years of Canada birthday and we noticed few more that were not available during the previous years.
You could spend whole day at this venue going through the history of how the tulip festival was started and lots of basic knowledge could be gained especially for the young ones.
It would have been much better if there were any food stalls added on to the park or along the water front. However in case you have an idea of visiting in the future please take sufficient water and food for your groups consumption.
My best advise is to watch on weather and make it on a day before the rain and no sooner you hear the flowers are blooming.
Because of the lake it can be little cold and therefore I would say take a Cardigan / pull over with you
Written September 3, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stephanie W
Ottawa, Canada327 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2015 • Friends
In a few locations around Ottawa, such as Dows Lake there are thousands of tulips that have been planted. Go to take pictures of the flowers, see the small shows for children or plan your visit so you see the firework displays.
Written March 27, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

…
Showing results 1-10 of 106
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

CANADIAN TULIP FESTIVAL (2025) - All You MUST Know Before You Go

All Ottawa HotelsOttawa Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in OttawaHotels near Canadian Tulip Festival
All things to do in Ottawa
RestaurantsFlightsVacation RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars