Beside the entrance to the locks to the Rideau Canal (just steps away from the Chateau Laurier) stands the Commissariat, the oldest stone building in Ottawa and the home of the Bytown Museum. The Bytown Museum features a permanent exhibit on the history of Ottawa and its founder, Lieutenant Colonel John By, as well as on the Rideau Canal. Open April to November visit the Bytown Museum at the Ottawa locks. Home of Ottawa's history. More information (613) 234-4570.

The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) is located in a reconstructed railway tunnel at 1 Rideau Canal (between the Rideau Canal and the Chateau Laurier). Canada's first photography museum maintains a permanent collection of more than 150,000 images focusing on Canadian photography as an art form. More information (613) 990-8257

The Canadian Postal Museum operates a complete museum program and acts as a repository to hold objects in trust for the Canadian public. Founded in 1971 and opened in 1974, the National Postal Museum joined the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 1988. In 1996, the name changed to Canadian Postal Museum (CPM). The Canadian Postal Museum operates a complete museum program and acts as a repository to hold objects in trust for the Canadian public. Its mission is to preserve and interpret the material heritage of postal communication within the context of global and societal communications, especially, but not exclusively, in Canada.