Sandy Hill

Sandy Hill is a neighbourhood in Ottawa located just east of downtown and close to the University of Ottawa. The neighbourhood is bordered on the west by the Rideau Canal and on the east by the Rideau River. The area is named for its hilliness, caused by the river, and its sandy soil, which makes it difficult to erect large buildings.

It is a very diverse neighbourhood accommodating everyone from University students to Ambassadors of foreign governments. It is also home to much of Ottawa’s “intelligentsia” who are employed by either the University or the federal government. Sandy Hill is home to the Cordon Bleu cooking school and the 5 star Signatures restaurant.

The schools in this little neighbourhood have strong support from the ardent community activists who are faithful to their community and have joined together to maintain the bonds of their neighbourhood.

The real estate closer to the embassies that look out onto Strathcona Park and the Ottawa River are occupied by more affluent Ottawans, but as you get closer to the university the housing changes to more multi units such assix plexes and row housing.

The area is almost part of downtown and the walkability scale is strong being especially close to the Rideau Centre, the premier shopping centre in the National Capital and Parliament Hill.  The area is well served by mass transit and lies within an excellent school district.

Notable landmarks in Sandy Hill include Laurier House, University of Ottawa, Strathcona Park and 5 Blackburn. Large homes built by Barons are now occupied by embassies. Sandy Hill has a broad variety of embassies that include Algeria, Austria, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar, Niger, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Sudan, Switzerland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Venezuela.