6 Best Sights in South Shore and Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

Downriver from Annapolis Royal is this reconstruction of Sieur de Monts and Samuel de Champlain's fur-trading post. The French set up shop here in 1605—two years before the English established Jamestown—making this the first permanent European settlement north of Florida. Port Royal also set other New World records, claiming the first tended crops, the first staged play, the first social club, and the first water mill. Unfortunately, it didn't have the first fire department: the original fortress burned down within a decade. At this suitably weathered replica, which is ringed by a log palisade, you're free to poke around the forge, inspect the trading post, pull up a chair at the dining table, or simply watch costumed interpreters perform traditional tasks in the courtyard. The heritage of the Mi'Kmaq people, who assisted the early settlers, can be explored in a wigwam.

On Saturday morning from 8 to 1 mid-May through mid-October and also on Wednesday from 10 to 2 in July and August, the best place in Annapolis Royal to stock up on picnic supplies is the farmers' market, which sets up on lower St. George Street across from the King's Theatre. Expect artisanal bread, cured meats, homemade sweets, and preserves, plus fresh Annapolis Valley produce. Local artisans attend, too, and there's live entertainment. Most vendors accept cash only.

Like everything else in this town, the plants here are a blast from the past—17 heritage-theme acres represent different eras and include a glorious Victorian garden, a knot garden, a typical Acadian house garden, and a 2,000-bush rose collection with about 250 varieties. The main season is May through October, but the gardens are accessible year-round, although they are not maintained November through April.

Gazing over the grassy knolls, it's hard to believe that this fort qualifies as the "most attacked spot in Canadian history" or that those knolls are actually nearly 400-year-old earthwork ramparts built up, in part, with rubble and blood. First fortified in 1629, the site preserves what is left of the fourth military edifice to be erected here, an early-18th-century gunpowder magazine and officers' quarters. The latter now houses a small museum, and anyone who believes a picture is worth 1,000 words should be sure to see the massive Heritage Tapestry displayed inside. Its four meticulously detailed panels depict four centuries of local history and as many local cultures. Special events at the fort include reenactments and Mi'Kmaq cultural presentations. 

Because Annapolis Royal flip-flopped between the French and English so many times, the past here is a complicated affair, but the members of the historical association are happy to walk you through it. They've developed a series of high-season strolls led by guides dressed in typical 18th-century fashion. This is an entertaining way to learn more about the historic significance and cultural heritage of the region. Options include daytime tours of the National Historic District and sites associated with the Acadian Experience. The wildly popular Candlelight Graveyard Tour of Canada's oldest English cemetery (at Fort Anne) takes place at 9:30 pm several times a week in June and every night from July through October. Reservations for tours aren't necessary, but call or check the website for times. The association has put together a self-guided walk pamphlet for visitors who'd rather wander independently.

In a setting of apple orchards and lawns, Upper Clements Park is both an amusement park with rides and an adventure park where you can test your skills and stamina clambering through treetops. The amusement park has more than 30 rides and attractions, many of which are kiddy classics such as mini planes and trains and an old-fashioned carousel. More action-oriented guests can brave the wooden Tree Topper Roller Coaster, free-fall from The Tower, or zoom above the property on a 300-foot zip line, then splash out on the 230-foot waterslide. There's also horseback-riding and a BMX course.