Charlottetown, Canada: Birthplace of Confederation and Prince Edward Island Seafood

Province House National Historic Site on Richmond Street is the building where the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 took place — the meeting that initiated the process of Canadian Confederation, formalized in 1867. The colonial Georgian building, completed in 1847, has been restored and the Confederation Chamber where the delegates met is accessible for viewing. Guided tours cover the political process and the individuals involved. The adjacent Confederation Centre of the Arts, a brutalist complex built in 1964 as a national memorial to Confederation, houses the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, a theater, and a library.

The Charlottetown Farmers Market, operating Saturday mornings on Belvedere Avenue about 15 minutes on foot from the pier, is one of the most complete local markets in Atlantic Canada: Island potatoes, Prince Edward Island mussels and oysters sold live, artisan cheese from small Island dairies, Island-grown strawberries in season, and the red-fleshed potatoes that the Island's soil chemistry produces. The Island potato (Russet Burbank variety, grown in the iron-rich red soil) is the food most associated with Prince Edward Island beyond its seafood, and the market is the place to understand why.

Cavendish Beach, 40 kilometers north of Charlottetown on the Island's north shore, is the sandbar beach that appears in most photographs of PEI: deep red sand, dunes, warm Gulf of St. Lawrence water. The beach is within the PEI National Park; the water temperature reaches 20°C in July and August, making swimming practical. Green Gables Heritage Place — the farmhouse that served as the model for Anne's home in L.M. Montgomery's novel — is adjacent to the national park and operated by Parks Canada. The site attracts significant numbers of Japanese visitors; the interpretive content covers both the novel's literary context and the author's life on the Island.

PEI lobster is the province's defining food and the reason many people plan a visit for June or September, when the two-season lobster fishery is open. Lobster suppers, a tradition of church and community halls that began in the 1960s as fundraisers and persist as casual restaurants, serve a full boiled lobster with chowder, rolls, and dessert for a fixed price. New Glasgow Lobster Suppers, 30 kilometers from Charlottetown, is the best-known of the original church-hall operations. Oysters from Malpeque Bay, on the western end of the island, are among the most consistently praised in North America; they're available at restaurants throughout Charlottetown.

The red sand beaches of the south shore, accessible by car or bicycle, are less visited than the north-shore national park and offer the same deep red coloring without the crowds. Victoria-by-the-Sea, 40 kilometers west of Charlottetown, is a small fishing village with a working wharf, a chocolate shop, and a summer theater.