Vanier, Gloucester and Orleans

This community was one of Ottawa's earliest settlements, dating back to the 1830s. This community of 17,000 residents is centred around Montreal Road between the Rideau River and the Aviation Parkway, and is the core of francophone living in the Ottawa area. Cyrville is the area adjoining St Laurent Boulevard, very close to lots of great shopping.

To the east of Vanier is Gloucester, a very bilingual community with about 100,000 residents, a third of which are in the 22 to 44 year old young adult demographic. The community is attractive because many of its various residential communities are surrounded by Greenbelt parklands. Carson Grove and Pinelands are positioned between the Aviation Parkway and various federal lands and offers a range of low and medium density housing. Rothwell Village and Beaconwood are just east of Blair Rd, have ready access to the east Transitway to downtown and has a mix of older homes and new construction. Beacon Hill North and South communities are about 30 years old and are surrounded on three sides by parkland. The community of Blackburn Hamlet has a self-contained population of 10,000.

To the east across the Greenbelt is the community of Orleans, the bulk of which lies between Innes Road and the Ottawa River. This community of 90,000 is self-contained with its own shopping areas and plenty of parklands. To the north of the Queensway, are Convent Glen, Hiawatha Park, Orleans Wood, Queenswood Village and River Walk, with ready access to the Orleans recreational pathways. The communities to the south of the Queensway include Chapel Hill, Orleans Village, Chateau Neuf, Queenswood.

Homes in Orleans run 169,000, bungalows from $180,000 and townhomes from $131,000

This area is generally newer and has many schools.. There are 16 public elementary schools, 18 Catholic elementary schools, 7 public high schools and one Catholic high school plus La Cite College. Ottawa University and Algonquin College's Rideau (Lees Ave) campus are accessible via the Transitway which has stops at Blair Rd and in Orleans.

This area has a number of shopping malls, including Place d'Orleans in Orleans, Gloucester Centre, and St Laurent on its western edge. There are a number of retails districts along St Laurent Blvd, Ogilvie Rd near Blair, Innes Rd in Blackburn Hamlet, and 19th Line Rd around Innes.

The area has a number of recreational opportunities, in part because it is surrounded by Greenbelt. There are recreational pathways along the Ottawa River, connecting to Rockcliffe Park. There are two Conservation areas, Green's Creek with its a winter toboggan hill, and Mere Bleue, which excellent cross-country skiing and hiking trails. There is also a golf course here. The area has 4 pools, including a wave pool on Blair Rd, plus another to the east in Cumberland. This part of Ottawa has 5 ice arenas, and a small kiddie ski hill (in Beacon Hill). Other recreation includes two multi-screen cinemas, and the National Aviation Museum at Rockcliffe.