TRAVEL
The 4 Best Places to Travel to in Atlantic Canada
Tour the top sites in these four provinces this summer.
By Doug Wallace
For a healthy measure of outdoor adventure and historic intrigue, you may only have to look in your own backyard. Atlantic Canada is full of sensational spots ripe for exploring. So let’s start at the top, with some of the East Coast’s most iconic attractions.
Seven generations of Cantwells have maintained the Cape Spear Lighthouse. | PHOTO: DONNAMCMULLIN/ADOBE STOCK
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR Cape Spear Lighthouse
Lit first by oil in 1836, then acetylene gas, then finally electricity in 1930, Cape Spear Lighthouse is the province’s oldest, set on North America’s eastern tip. Maintained by seven generations of the Cantwell family until it was automated in 1997, the lighthouse has been meticulously restored and refurnished to illustrate lighthouse family life. Along with an engaging history lesson, visitors are treated to staggering views of the wild Atlantic Ocean, with opportunities to spot icebergs, whales and seabirds.
One of the PEI Bottle Houses built by Edouard Arsenault between 1980 and 1983. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF THIS LIFE IN TRIPS @lifeintrips
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND The Bottle Houses
Art and architecture come together at The Bottle Houses and Gardens on the south coast of Prince Edward Island, within the Cap-Egmont (Cape Egmont) community. Three structures here — The Six-Gabled House, The Tavern and The Chapel — were made from more than 30,000 recycled glass bottles by local resident Edouard Arsenault between 1980 and 1983. The bottles were either found or donated, and their different colours and sizes create a mesmerizing effect, particularly at sunset. The surrounding gardens offer visitors further respite within a peaceful yet unconventional setting.
The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site is the largest reconstructed 18th-century French fortified town in North America. | PHOTO: DANITA DELIMONT/ADOBE STOCK
Taking an old-time stroll through the Fortress of Louisbourg. | PHOTO: ROXANE BAY/ADOBE STOCK
NOVA SCOTIA
Fortress of Louisbourg
Originally built in 1713 by France to help safeguard fishing and trade routes, the Fortress of Louisbourg was a military and commercial hub. It was also once France’s most important overseas headquarters. Reconstruction of this site on the southeastern coast of Cape Breton Island — the largest historical reconstruction in North America — spanned the 1960s to 1980s. Now, it comprises more than 40 buildings recreated from archives, maps and documents. Visitors interact with costumed guides, experience military drills, dine in period restaurants and learn about the different cultures associated with Louisbourg, including that of the Mi’kmaq.
NEW BRUNSWICK
Flower Pot Rocks
More than twenty sea stacks sculpted by tidal erosion have made Hopewell Cape famous. They sit off the sandstone cliffs along two km of the Bay of Fundy coastline. The isolated rock formations are topped with trees, resembling plants growing in clay pots. They have nicknames that mirror their shapes, such as Elephant, Bear, Dinosaur and E.T. As if these geological oddities weren’t enough, the sea rises 9.75 to 14 metres at high tide here, one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. You can walk on the ocean floor at low tide and kayak between the pots at high tide, or enjoy the views from groomed hiking trails nearby.
The iconic formations of the Flower Pot Rocks along the Bay of Fundy coastline.| PHOTO: GQXUE/ADOBE STOCK