A tour of New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and Rockcliffe is an elegant staycation in Ottawa

Looking for an elegant escape without leaving the city? Spend the day exploring Rockcliffe Park, Lindenlea and New Edinburgh.

If it’s a hot day, beat the heat — and the crowds — with a morning swim at the NCC River House (501 Sir George-Étienne Cartier Pkwy.). The River House is a beautifully restored, century-old boathouse on the Ottawa River. Its signature attraction is an enclosed section of the river that serves as a swimming area. Flanked by red Muskoka chairs and overlooked by a café deck, the pool feels like a little slice of cottage country. 

It’s open daily from 7 a.m. until sunset and if you go early, you’ll have a good chance of nabbing one of the limited parking spaces in the NCC’s P3 and P4 parking lots. The building is also right on the river cycling path, if you’d rather leave your car at home.

If you don’t grab a bite to eat at the café, you could drive, cycle or walk (if you’re up for a 2.5-km stroll) through the leafy streets of Rockcliffe Park to the New Edinburgh/Lindenlea neighbourhood. There, your lunch choices include scone sandwiches at The Scone Witch (35 Beechwood Ave.); pizzas garnished with confit garlic ricotta, hot honey and other luxe toppings at Schoolhouse Pizza (11 Springfield Rd.); and poke bowls, gyoza and sushi at SushiMe (8 Beechwood Ave.). Or you could grab a panini, baked goodies and a macchiato or London fog from the tiny Union Street Café (42 Crichton St.).

Thus fortified, you’ll be ready for a leisurely afternoon of retail therapy. Beechwood Avenue isn’t the biggest or the busiest retail strip in Ottawa, but it has some of the most delightful shops, in my opinion.

I usually start at Books on Beechwood (35 Beechwood Ave.), a lovely independent bookstore where the staffers really know their stock. A few blocks east, Clothes Encounters of a Second Kind (67 Beechwood Ave.) is a goldmine for bargain hunters with upscale tastes. Just to the right of the consignment shop’s entrance is a rack where the choicest items are hung in alphabetical order by designer — Brunello Cucinelli, Kate Spade, Diane von Furstenberg and Burberry among them.

Keep heading east and you’ll soon come to Jacobson’s food shop (103 Beechwood Ave.). Perusing the shelves of packaged goods can feel a bit like taking a world tour, with Egyptian preserved lemons, Italian artichokes, Belgian marshmallows, Scottish shortbreads and British crisps all vying for your attention. (If you need a gadget to safely open your champagne bottles, you can get one of those, too.) You can also shop for the best from local makers, including Art-is-In bread, Pickle & Myrrh caramels and Les Fougères soups.

At this point, if you drove, you’ll probably want to return to your car to stash your finds (or just to move your vehicle, as parking time limits are short on many side streets). Once unencumbered again, head for Rideau Hall to walk through the manicured grounds of the governor-general’s residence (you can take a free tour of the house, too, if you’re so inclined).

The last stop of the day may see you sipping an Aperol spritz and enjoying bulgogi beef tacos while watching the sun set behind a waterfall. That’s the magic of Tavern on the Falls (1 John St.), a seasonal outdoor café perched on a cliff at the point where the Rideau River roars over Rideau Falls to join the Ottawa River below. It’s the perfect spot to conclude your chic staycation.

Award-winning Ottawa travel writer Laura Byrne Paquet shares her sightseeing tips for eastern Ontario and beyond on her website, Ottawa Road Trips.