By Robert Selwitz
Driving nonstop from northeastern-most Cape Breton Island to Yarmouth at Nova Scotia's southwestern tip would take more than seven hours and cover almost 500 miles. But that would mean missing weeks' worth of landscapes and history to explore, beaches to wander and fine seafood to consume.
Comfortable, laid-back and decidedly cool both in temperature and atmosphere, Nova Scotia is particularly appealing between late spring and early fall. This is the best time to explore, for example, the Fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton's eastern shore — an incredible, one-fifth-scale reconstruction of a hugely important French bastion.
It arose as a result of a treaty that was part of the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Attempting to end conflicts between France and Great Britain, France ceded Acadia (along with St. Kitts and Newfoundland) to England. Within what today is Nova Scotia, this meant France retained Cape Breton Island while Britain gained control of everything else.
To defend its possession, the French soon started building Louisbourg, named for King Louis XIV. They held it until 1745, when it was captured by combined British and New England colony forces. The British held the fort until a 1748 peace treaty returned it to the French. However, the French lost it again and forever when, after recapturing the fortress in 1758, the British decided to raze it once and for all.
The story didn't end there. In the 1960s, Nova Scotia's government decided to restore the site while creating badly needed jobs. That proved to be a win-win situation as skilled workers in a high-unemployment area rebuilt a viable replica, intended to become a must-visit tourist attraction.
And that's just what happened. According to an onsite guide, the project got a huge boost when original Louisbourg architectural plans were uncovered in Paris. Following those, the workmen brought back to life a fortress that is now one of Nova Scotia's most appealing attractions.
Less than an hour's ride (22 miles) from Sydney, Louisbourg today is both a small village and a living history site. The reconstructed fort is best seen during the summer when craft demonstrations; restaurants serving 18th-century meals; and volunteers replicating 18th-century merchants, townsfolk and military personnel are all on hand. It is a pleasure to walk the streets, visit the citadel buildings, enter the shops, drink and eat at the taverns, and explore the exquisitely re-created governor's palace.
Today it takes roughly five hours to cover the 267 miles between Louisburg and Halifax, the only major North American settlement whose construction was ordered by the British crown. Though far apart, the specter of a powerful Louisbourg was a prime factor spurring England's desire to create a military buffer between it and Boston to the south. The fact that Halifax also boasted what many considered to be one of the world's best natural harbors also played a critical role.
Starting in 1749 with a wooden fortress atop the area's highest point, a series of formidable citadels — improved and expanded three times between 1829 and 1856 — stood (and still stand) sentinel over the rapidly expanding city.
Highlights of a visit to the star-shaped citadel include an informative 15-minute presentation, visits to barracks, a guard room and a powder magazine, and watching re-enactors in period uniforms on the parade grounds. The noon gun-firing that has been a fixture since 1857.
Another must is a stroll along the pleasant .6-mile-long harbor boardwalk, where there are many eateries plus access to harbor boat excursions. Here also is the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, whose vast collection includes sailing craft as well as items from two of the city's most important events — the April 15, 1912, sinking of the Titanic and the devastating Dec. 6, 1917 harbor explosion.
Halifax was the closest major port to where the Titanic sank. Not only were 350 of those who died buried in the city, but many wreckage fragments were also brought here and displayed. These include a deck chair and pieces of oak carving.
The harbor disaster, caused by the collision between a World War I relief ship and a vessel loaded with munitions, is believed to have been the most powerful man-made explosion prior to the atomic bombs detonated at the end of World War II. The blast killed more than 2,000 people and flattened vast areas near the harbor. Artifacts, photographs and a movie describe this event that might not be familiar to non-Canadian visitors. The museum also depicts the history of wartime convoys and displays shipwreck treasures. The CSS Acadia, which for years charted Canadian coastlines, is permanently moored here.
Driving south from Halifax means navigating a dense packet of scenery-rich coastal towns that make almost every photographer look good. This is certainly the case at Peggy's Cove, home to what is claimed to be the world's most photographed lighthouse. Also here is a preservation area festooned with intriguing ancient boulders.
Not far away are the charming towns of Chester and Mahone Bay, each with appealing rustic downtowns ideal for strolling, shopping and dining. Three waterside Mahone Bay churches and an intriguing settlers museum that details British efforts to draw Protestant European settlers to counterbalance the dominant Catholic French are other reasons for the town's popularity.
Lunenburg, one of only two North American towns UNESCO has designated to be a World Heritage Site, overflows with attractions. Its waterfront is lined with colorful buildings, and the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic that occupies a former giant icehouse are part of Lunenburg's appeal. It's also fun to stroll its hilly streets that are lined with stately colonial homes and the distinctive churches that make Lunenburg a veritable living museum.
Also explore Liverpool, a shipbuilding and seafaring town that became a major rum-running center during the U.S. Prohibition era in the 1920s.
Then there is Shelburne, once a major center for U.S. Loyalists who backed Great Britain during the Revolutionary War. It boasts a fascinating waterfront-heritage district where today boat-builders still construct unique dories, shallow-draft craft essential to the fishing industry.
Definitely also pause at Pubnico Harbor's 17-acre Historical Acadian Village of Nova Scotia, which depicts early 20th-century life. Authentically costumed re-enactors speak Acadian, describe their lives, and guide you through historic wooden homes and buildings.
Don't miss Annapolis Royal and a chance to stroll down St. George Street, one of the continent's oldest. Founded in 1605, this is the second-oldest permanent European settlement in North American. (St. Augustine, Florida, was first in 1565.)
Highlights include the Fort Anne National Historic Site with remnants of an 18th-century gunpowder magazine, officers' quarters and a small museum. Downriver lies the Port Royal National Historic Site, a reconstruction of the French trading post first erected in 1605. It features costumed volunteers manning and displaying typical functions within the log fort.
Also intriguing is a visit to the Annapolis tidal generating station, which onsite representatives say is the only such facility in North America. At peak hours it generates 20 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 4,500 homes.
Nova Scotia can be reached overland from next-door New Brunswick and by car ferries linking Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island, and Caribou, Nova Scotia, between Digby, Nova Scotia, and St. John, New Brunswick, and the Nova Star connecting Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Portland, Maine.
WHEN YOU GO
Nova Scotia Tourism: www.novascotia.com
Holiday Inn Sydney Waterfront is a comfortable, well-located base for visitors heading to Louisbourg: www.holidayinn.com.
Cafe Restaurant Compose is an excellent Annapolis Royal eatery with offerings ranging from local seafood to Austrian specialties: www.restaurantcompose.com.
Robert Selwitz is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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