Living in The Glebe, Ottawa

The Glebe — Ottawa's Most Coveted Address

There's a reason people who live in the Glebe rarely leave it voluntarily. It has everything that makes urban living genuinely good: a walkable main street, the Rideau Canal running along its eastern edge, Lansdowne Park for events and markets, TD Place for sports and concerts, and a residential streetscape of Victorian red-brick homes that look like they belong in a different era entirely.

Bank Street is the Glebe's main artery, and it's one of Ottawa's best commercial strips. Independent bookshops, coffee houses that have been operating since before specialty coffee was a concept, restaurants covering a wide range of cuisines, and the kind of local retail that anchors a community rather than just serving it. The Saturday Glebe Farmers' Market runs seasonally and is genuinely one of Ottawa's best.

The canal changes the character of the neighbourhood in a way that's hard to overstate. In summer, residents skate, cycle, and walk along the waterway. In winter, the Rideau Canal Skateway — the world's largest naturally frozen skating rink — runs from the Glebe to the National Arts Centre. Walking to the skateway in the morning before work is a uniquely Ottawa experience, and Glebe residents get to do it on their doorstep.

The housing stock is predominantly Victorian and Edwardian semi-detached homes on narrow lots, with some detached homes and a growing number of condos and townhomes. Character is everywhere — original hardwood floors, bay windows, front porches. It's also expensive, and it has been for a long time. The Glebe is one of Ottawa's most consistently appreciated markets.