Sparks Street

Sparks Street is a historic thoroughfare in central Ottawa, running parallel to Parliament Hill and named after an early settler who once farmed the land. In 1967 it became one of the first permanent pedestrian malls in Canada, closing several blocks to traffic. Lined with heritage stone commercial buildings, banks and government offices, the paved promenade holds sculptures, fountains and seasonal markets. Visitors stroll the traffic-free street past nineteenth-century facades a short walk from the parliament buildings.