Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica Ottawa

Ottawa's oldest church — a National Historic Site with twin silver spires and a gilded Madonna on Sussex Drive.

The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica on Sussex Drive is Ottawa's oldest church and the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall. Completed in 1846, the building is distinguished by its twin-tower facade, whose spires are clad in silver metal in the Eastern Canadian tradition. Between the towers, a gilded Madonna statue stands on the roofline of the nave. Located next to the National Gallery of Canada, the basilica was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990.