An Acadian Nova Scotia road trip: Find Canada’s French roots
Quebec may be the first place that comes to mind when you think of French in Canada, but there are many distinct French cultures and identities all across this beautiful country. In fact, the very first French colonies in North America were founded in Nova Scotia, and the Acadians are the descendants of those earliest habitants. Acadian culture is alive and well in Atlantic Canada today, and the Acadian people are proud, resilient, and delighted to share their heritage with the world. Explore the roots of French culture in Canada by planning an Acadian Nova Scotia road trip.
This road trip will take you through some of the most important Acadian heritage sites in the Maritimes. You’ll explore Acadian history, eat local dishes, and learn more about what has made the Acadians the people they are today. And if you time your visit right, you could even celebrate National Acadian Day right in the heart of l’Acadie!
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Presented in partnership with Tourism Nova Scotia
Who are the Acadians?
The Acadians are descendants of 17th-century French explorers, the first Europeans to settle in North America. The first permanent habitation, founded by a group led by Samuel de Champlain, was established in 1605 at the location known today as Port-Royal National Historic Site in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Basin. By the mid-18th century, all of present-day Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as southeast New Brunswick, were part of the New France colony known as Acadia.
Between 1755 and 1764, a tragic event in Acadian history took place called the Grand dérangement (the Great Upheaval). The British had conquered much of Acadia and begun deporting residents who refused to pledge allegiance to their King. Acadians fled or were relocated to elsewhere in North America. They were allowed to return to modern-day Nova Scotia beginning in 1764, but their lands were largely occupied by that time and they were forced to resettle elsewhere.
Today, Acadians can be found throughout much of Atlantic Canada — especially in New Brunswick, parts of Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island, Quebec’s Magdalen Islands and Côte-Nord region, and elsewhere — as well as in Louisiana, where many Acadians settled during the expulsion. (Cajun is a patois version of the word Acadian!) In Nova Scotia, many Acadians live in the southwest part of the province, particularly the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region where the Municipality of Clare is Nova Scotia’s largest Acadian community.
What is National Acadian Day?
National Acadian Day is an annual celebration of Acadian culture. One fixture and highlight of many National Acadian Day events is the Tintamarre. People parade through the streets — in cars, on foot, or both — waving Acadian flags, holding colourful props, wearing grosses têtes (big heads) made from papier-mâché, and making as much noise as possible. It’s all intended to announce to the world that the Acadians are still here and as proud of their heritage as ever. Festivals, traditional foods, and live music are also often featured in National Acadian Day celebrations.
National Acadian Day — in French, the Fête nationale de l’Acadie — is celebrated each year in Canada on August 15th. In Acadian communities the day is often referred to as Quinzou, an abbreviation of quinze août (August 15th in French).
Where to celebrate National Acadian Day in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s largest Acadian community, the Municipality of Clare in the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region, is a natural destination for celebrating National Acadian Day in Nova Scotia. The area hosts the Clare Acadian Festival that dates back to 1955, making it the oldest Acadian festival in the world. It runs for two weeks and culminates on August 15 with the traditional Tintamarre as well as live music and cultural performances, cooking demonstrations, a maker’s market, and more.
Make the most of your visit with these things to do in Yarmouth and Acadian Shores >
Top places to learn about Acadian culture in Southwest Nova Scotia
If your visit to Southwest Nova Scotia doesn’t happen to align with National Acadian Day, you’ll still find plenty of opportunities to learn about Acadian history and culture. Take a look at the destinations below, located in the Annapolis Valley and the fittingly named Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region.
Port-Royal National Historic Site
Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Basin provided the first safe haven for French explorers in Canada and was one of the first European settlements anywhere in North America. Explore a reconstruction of that original habitation at Port-Royal National Historic Site to discover how those earliest French settlers, the direct ancestors of the Acadians, survived their first winters in Canada’s harsh environment.
Depending on the timing of your visit, you may see costumed interpreters demonstrating period crafts, playing traditional music, or explaining how Samuel de Champlain’s Order of Good Cheer kept morale up inside the colony.
Port-Royal National Historic Site has another layer to its history: it was the first Parks Canada site in the country to house a historically accurate reconstruction. While the site’s grounds are open year-round, most visitor services are offered from mid-May to mid-October.
Fort Anne National Historic Site
Fort Anne National Historic Site, located not far from Port-Royal National Historic Site in the town of Annapolis Royal, is the oldest surviving fort in Canada. This location saw more defensive activity while in service than any other fort in North America. It also has the distinction of being Canada’s first national historic site, a status it achieved in 1920.
This site was originally established by Scottish settlers. (It was the Scots who provided the name Nova Scotia, which means “New Scotland” in Latin.) The French acquired it by treaty after Port-Royal was destroyed, and the town served as the capital of Acadia and later of Nova Scotia from 1632 until Halifax was established in 1749.
Fort Anne’s grounds are open year-round, which means you can visit any time to see the oldest building under Parks Canada’s protection, the powder magazine built in 1708. Visitor services are available from mid-May to mid-October, including the excellent museum in the main building, the Officers’ Quarters built in 1797. Here, you can learn about the many times this fiercely contested plot of land changed hands throughout its history. You’ll also see the beautiful Fort Anne Heritage Tapestry, a four-panel and 5.5- by 2.5-metre (18- by 8-foot) canvas work created in the early 1990s to commemorate 100 years of the Parks Canada system.
Grand-Pré National Historic Site
At the east end of the Annapolis Valley near Wolfville, Grand Pré National Historic Site stands as a monument to Acadian ingenuity, hardship, and resilience. The broader Grand-Pré Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was an important settlement for the Acadians before the Deportation.
Today, the park has two key components. One is the visitor centre grounds, where you can stroll through the commemorative gardens, see the Memorial Church, and view the statue of Evangeline. She was the subject of an 1847 poem about the Deportation titled “Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a work that brought attention to the hardships endured by the Acadians during their exile.
Parks Canada offers unique overnight accommodations at Grand-Pré National Historic Site in oTENTiks, camping structures that are part tent, part cabin. There are eight oTENTiks on the grounds, all of which have barbecues, access to toilets and showers in the visitor centre, and carts for moving camping equipment. My daughter and I stayed here in August 2024 and greatly enjoyed the location and the after-hours access to the gardens.
The other important element of Grand-Pré is the farmland adjacent to the national historic site, which was reclaimed from the sea by Acadian settlers using an ingenious dyke system. Learn more about its creation at the visitor centre, take a drive on the small sideroads to see the farmlands that still exist today (but note the farms themselves are private property), or take in the expansive view at the Landscape of Grand-Pré View Park.
The Deportation Cross, located on the shore of the Minas Basin near Horton Landing on the east side of Grand-Pré, marks the exact spot where Acadians were forced onto boats and taken across the sea during the deportation.
Visitors can access the Landscape of Grand-Pré View Park and the Deportation Cross year-round. Grand-Pré National Historic Site’s visitor centre and services are open from mid-May to mid-October.
Le Village historique Acadien de la Nouvelle-Écosse
At the Historic Acadian Village of Nova Scotia (Village historique Acadien de la Nouvelle-Écosse), 17 acres of waterfront countryside in Pubnico Harbour south of Yarmouth will transport you more than a century back in time. Real historic homes and buildings have been relocated here from the surrounding Acadian communities, each playing its own part in a story of Acadian culture that has endured on these shores for more than 350 years.
From sampling molasses cookies to watching blacksmithing demonstrations, learning about the Acadian traditions of boat building, fishing, and cod salting, and grabbing a homemade lunch at the café, the Village offers an immersion into the Acadian way of life.
Tusket Island Tours
This is as personal an introduction to Acadian culture as you can get! Your captain with Tusket Island Tours, Simon LeBlanc, draws on his Acadian ancestry and lifelong connection with the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region to deliver an incredible boat tour experience.
As the tour begins at the wharf in Wedgeport, LeBlanc explains his family’s connection with the local fishing trade. He then ferries you across Lobster Bay to Big Tusket Island, where he’ll serve his own seafood chowder at his personal cottage and sing folks songs as you take in the ocean views. If you’re in the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores area, this is an experience not to be missed!
Rendez-vous de la Baie
The Municipality of Clare is the largest Acadian community in Nova Scotia. One of its central features is the Université Sainte-Anne at Church Point, the only Francophone university in the province.
While this also happens to be the site of the annual Festival Acadien de Clare, visitors can explore Acadian culture year-round at the Rendez-vous de la Baie visitor centre on the university grounds. It houses an Acadian Interpretation Centre and an art gallery, and the nearby Petit Bois trails offer a chance to walk in nature on the shores of Saint Mary’s Bay.
Just down the road, the Sainte-Marie Church dates back to 1905 and is the largest wooden church in North America. Unfortunately, the building is currently closed to visitors due to disrepair, and the community is at imminent risk of losing this cultural icon due to a lack of funding for its restoration. If you’re in the area, it’s worth stopping to see this magnificent structure in case it can’t be saved.
Explore further with a Southwest Nova Scotia road trip >
Where to sample traditional Acadian dishes in Southwest Nova Scotia
There are some signature Acadian dishes that you’ll want to seek out in Southwest Nova Scotia, especially in the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region. Creamed lobster is common on the area’s menus, often served on top of haddock fillets.
Rappie pie is another Acadian delicacy, though some consider it an acquired taste. It’s made by finely grating potatoes and layering them into a casserole with meat, usually chicken. The resulting baked dish, which is starchy and somewhat gelatinous in texture, is locally viewed as comfort food.
You can find these and other Acadian dishes at many restaurants around the region. A few favourites include Ye Olde Argyler Lodge and the Dennis Point Café near Pubnico, and la Vieille École in Belliveau Cove. La Cuisine Robicheau, a family-run operation near Saulnierville, offers samples of rappie pie for a small fee, so it’s a great place to stop if you want to try this local dish without committing to a full plate.
There’s one more essential Acadian food experience in the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region. Les Beaux Vendredis is a weekly summer seafood cookout in Belliveau Cove. Freshly steamed lobster and snow crab with drawn butter, clams by the pound, and seafood chowder are all on offer, served with fresh rolls. Enjoy it at one of the park’s picnic tables and take in the live music with the postcard-perfect Belliveau Cove Lighthouse in the background!
This event runs weekly on Fridays in July and August, but be sure to check the Beaux Vendredis Facebook page for scheduling changes due to weather and events.
Other places to learn about Acadian history and culture
Elsewhere in Nova Scotia, you’ll find an Acadian community on Cape Breton Island in Chéticamp along the province’s famous Cabot Trail.
Learn more about planning your own Cabot Trail scenic drive >
There are also large Acadian communities throughout New Brunswick. The Moncton area has some important historic sites and attractions. The Acadian cultural centre at Monument-Lefebvre National Historic Site is home to an informative museum. Fort Beausejour-Fort Cumberland National Historic Site is important as a location where Acadians were held captive by the British before the deportation. And at Pays de la Sagouine near Bouctouche, Acadian traditions come to life during the day and the Akadi Lumina walk-through light show illuminates the night.
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