Category: Louisbourg

Fortress Louisbourg

You’re going to need a day for this one. This Parks Canada historic recreation covers the years 1740s.  The fortress had a long history of French and English fighting.  When you read this stuff in books, it does not come alive, but it literally comes alive in Louisbourg. When you drive to the site, you stop at the visitor centre to buy tickets and you then take a bus to the walkway to the front gate of the fortress.  (Wear good shoes.) There are people in costume who work the various stations and buildings who are fonts of knowledge.  They […]

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The Town of Louisbourg

Louisbourg is probably the most visited town on Cape Breton Island because that is where a famous, reconstructed French fortress lies at the end of town.  The reconstructed version of The Fortress of Louisbourg is only a very small fraction of the original fortress that stood in the 18th century but it is still big enough to require at least an entire day to see the whole thing!  There are guides in period costume and you can choose to avail of one of these guides for a guided tour or you can explore the fortress on your own.  The grounds […]

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Fortress Louisbourg and The Miners’ Museum

No trip to Cape Breton Island will be complete without taking in two sites that are close to the city of Sydney. They are easily accessible from Sydney’s airport and harbour and are well worth the drive over from the island’s famed Cabot Trail. Just a 30 minute drive from Sydney, Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada, is a reconstructed, fortified French colonial town that provides a day-long living historical experience. Louisbourg played a very important role in the evolution of French settlement in North America. It was the site of two sieges in wars between the English […]

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