Grand Pré National Historic Site

Grand Pré National Historic Site is inland from Minas Basin at 2205 Grand-Pre Rd. This site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, commemorates the town's Acadian settlers who were deported 1755-63 to British colonies throughout North America. The Acadian village that once stood here inspired Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem “Evangeline.” An interpretation center celebrates more than 400 years of Acadian culture, beginning with the first French settlement at Port Royal in 1604. A multimedia theater re-creates the difficult conditions of the Acadian expulsion. Other highlights include a memorial church, exhibit hall, art gallery, Evangeline's Well, a statue of the fictional heroine and a bust of Longfellow. As visitors walk clockwise around the statue of Evangeline, her face seems to age. Time: Allow 30 minutes minimum.