Ottawa
The capital of the second biggest country on the planet, Ottawa struggles with its reputation as a bureaucratic labyrinth of little charm and character. The problem is that many Canadians who aren't federal employees -- and even some who are -- blame the city for all the country's woes. All too aware of this, the Canadian government have spent lashings of dollars to turn Ottawa into "a city of urban grace in which all Canadians can take pride" -- so goes the promotional literature, but predictably this very investment is often resented. Furthermore, the hostility is deeply rooted, dating back as far as 1857 when Queen Victoria, inspired by some genteel watercolours, declared Ottawa the capital, leaving Montréal and Toronto smarting at the rebuff.

In truth, Ottawa is neither grandiose nor tedious, but a lively cosmopolitan city of 330,000 with a clutch of outstanding national museums, a pleasant riverside setting and superb cultural facilities like the National Arts Centre, plus acres of parks and gardens and miles of bicycle and jogging paths. It also possesses lots of good hotels and B&Bs and a busy café-bar and restaurant scene -- enough to keep the most diligent sightseer going for a day or three, maybe more. Here too, for once in English-speaking Ontario, Canada's bilingual laws make sense: Québec's Hull is just across the river and on the streets of Ottawa you'll hear as much French as English.

Ottawa's major sights are clustered on the steep, south banks of the Ottawa River to either side of the Rideau Canal. It's here you'll find the monumental Victorian architecture of Parliament Hill, the outstanding art collection of the National Gallery, the military memorabilia of the Canadian War Museum, the imposing Notre Dame Basilica and Byward Market, the hub of the restaurant and bar scene. Many visitors stop there, but there are a clutch of other, lesser attractions too, beginning with the Laurier House, packed with the possessions of the former prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and located 1 km or so east of the centre. Northeast of the centre, on the far side of the Rideau River, is the ritzy suburb of Rockcliffe, home to both the governor-general's mansion, Rideau Hall, and the National Aviation Museum.

Hull
Though recognized as part of Canada's capital region in 1969, Hull remains distinctly separate and predominantly francophone. For years, it served mainly as Ottawa's nightlife spot, as its bars closed two hours later than those of its Ontario neighbour -- a disparity that has ended with both cities now closing shop at 2 a.m. The shift has resulted, unfortunately, in the decline of Place Aubry -- the pretty pedestrian-only square where the greatest concentration of bars was found. Still, the opening of a casino in 1996 has given Ottawa bureaucrats and tourists another late-night playground.

Originally a paper-milling town, Hull was an industrial working-class area removed from the bureaucratic rat-race on the south side of the Ottawa River separating the city from Ottawa. Pressure on the Canadian government to share the wealth -- both financially and job-wise -- prompted the construction of high-rise administrative buildings and the Musée Canadien des Civilisations, the curvy contours of which dominate the waterfront. The city's other main attraction, the sprawling Gatineau Park, is a nature-lover's paradise intersected with numerous bike paths, lakes and wildlife, and the site of the MacKenzie King Estate, former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's summer hideout.

The Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train, at 165 rue Devault (tel: 819-778-7246 or 1-800-871-7246; $29 return-trip; reservations recommended) departs daily for Wakefield, 32 km north of Hull. Built in 1907, Canada's only still-functioning steam train travels ninety minutes through the lush foliage and cottage country along the Gatineau River, while a musical troupe plays amusing ditties to pass the time.