Living in Lowertown & Sandy Hill
Lowertown is anchored by the ByWard Market — the oldest continuously operating public market in Canada, dating to 1826. The surrounding streets have evolved from the city's original working-class quarter into a dense urban neighbourhood of condominiums, heritage conversions, independent restaurants, and galleries. The cultural diversity here is genuine, not performed; the market draws vendors, buyers, and visitors from across the region and reflects Ottawa at its most authentically mixed.
Sandy Hill occupies the elevated ground to the south and east of Lowertown, spreading from the University of Ottawa campus along streets lined with Victorian and Edwardian row houses, large detached homes, and a growing number of modern condominiums. Strathcona Park along the Rideau River provides one of the city's finest green spaces, and several foreign embassies add a diplomatic character to certain streets. The neighbourhood's proximity to the University creates a rental market that investors have historically found reliable.
Together, Lowertown and Sandy Hill offer the broadest range of housing types and price points of any contiguous neighbourhood pair in Ottawa — from a compact bachelor condo steps from the ByWard Market to a renovated Victorian semi in Sandy Hill. The common thread is walkability, urban character, and a sense of being at the centre of things.