Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica on Sussex Drive is the oldest surviving church in Ottawa and the seat of the city’s Roman Catholic archdiocese. The exterior combines a neo-classical lower storey with Gothic Revival upper work and twin tin-clad spires added in 1866; the main structure was completed in 1846. The interior, carried out between 1876 and 1885 under Georges Bouillon, is the real draw: a vaulted ceiling painted deep blue and studded with gilt stars, hundreds of statues set in niches, and thirty large wooden figures in the choir carved by Louis-Philippe Hebert. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990. Entry is free outside services. It faces the National Gallery of Canada across Sussex Drive.
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