People outside of Canada don't always recognize that Ottawa is a hyphenated market. Much like Minneapolis has its Saint Paul, and Buda has its Pest, Ottawa has its Hull. Hull sits across the river from Ottawa, and contains a sizable portion of the area's population. So it seems only fitting that Hull should get its own attraction to lure tourists away from Ottawa's Parliament Hill. This is it. The Musée Canadien des Civilisations is considered the finest museum in all of Canada, celebrating the various native and imported cultures that have made this such a rich land. The building's design manages to capture this spirit through its successive waves of curving masonry. It could be the waves of the Pacific Coast, or the ice of the Canadian Shield worn away by wind and water, or the sedimentary layers thrust up by the Canadian Rockies or the delicate French beaux-arts influence of the eastern part of the country. The museum covers every culture from the First Nations to the Vikings, British, French, and everyone in between. It also sports has the largest collection of totem poles in the world.

Photograph courtesy Colin Kent

Photograph courtesy Colin Kent

Photograph courtesy Colin Kent

Photograph courtesy Colin Kent