The Château Laurier is the most recognisable building in Ottawa — a massive château-style hotel of copper-roofed turrets and limestone walls that sits beside the Rideau Canal locks and faces the back of Parliament Hill. Completed in 1912 and named for Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, it was built by the Grand Trunk Railway and was from its opening one of the finest hotels in Canada. It remains a hotel today, operated by Fairmont.
Non-guests are welcome in the lobby and public areas, which are worth the visit: the baronial entrance hall, the ornate ballroom, and the windows overlooking the Ottawa locks and river are all impressive. The hotel bar and restaurant are a step above tourist traps. The building's location — between Parliament Hill, the National Gallery, and the start of the Rideau Canal — makes it the perfect visual anchor for the city centre, and it appears in the background of most official photographs taken in Ottawa.