NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA

The architecture and the richness of the collections leave one dreaming. The architect Moshe Safdie has designed a superb museum that allows daylight to filter through and provides rest areas. Visitors can enjoy the peace of the cloister, the atrium and the various gardens, or the silence of the garden of the Rideau Chapel, which offers a fine example of Canadian religious decorative art. But you should not miss the surroundings of the museum, which house various works and art installations, such as the giant spider "Maman" by Louise Bourgeois, the various gardens designed by Cornelia Hahn Oberlander (the winter garden, the taiga garden, etc.), the Aboriginal sculpture "The Three Sentinels" by Jim Hart, or the installation "Majestic" by Michel de Broin.

Opened in May 1988, the National Gallery of Canada houses over 75,000 works of art in 12,400 square metres of exhibition space, grouped into six distinct areas, each with its own architectural style: Canadian art; European, American and Asian art; Aboriginal and decolonization; contemporary art (including video); drawings and prints; and photography. It also takes a look at Canadian art history, commemorating the work of the Group of Seven, Alfred Pellan, Jean-Paul Lemieux and Paul-Emile Borduas. The Group of Seven room and the Emily Carr room are both absolutely captivating. The Native Art Gallery and the collections of American and European works are equally remarkable. From Rembrandt to Monet to Emily Carr and Riopelle. Ask about the various workshops and talks offered each day as part of the activity program. The bookstore is well stocked and features works by some of Canada's finest art and documentary photographers.

In June 2017, the museum opened a new Canadian art room where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal art are combined. It also developed its Fred and Elizabeth Fountain Garden in early 2018, located in the Canadian and Aboriginal art galleries. Landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander was responsible for creating "a contemplative space evoking the iconic landscapes of the Canadian Shield." Watch for the reinvention of the collections currently underway at the museum.