Port-Royal

Champlain and Dugua de Mons established the Habitation at Port-Royal in 1605, the earliest permanent European settlement north of Florida, built as a single square of buildings around a courtyard on the Norman farm model. To get through the winters Champlain founded the Ordre de Bon Temps in 1606, in which members took turns providing and presenting the meal, generally called the first social club in North America; Marc Lescarbot staged a masque on the water the same year, the first European theatrical performance on the continent. The habitation was burned in 1613 and the present building is a 1939 reconstruction on the original site.

What you actually see

• The habitation square - buildings around a courtyard on the 1605 plan.
• The Ordre de Bon Temps story - the winter dining club Champlain founded.
• The furnished rooms - forge, kitchen, chapel and quarters interpreted.
• The Annapolis Basin - the water the settlement was placed to command.

When to go

May to October; the site closes for winter. Costumed interpretation runs through the season. It pairs naturally with Annapolis Royal across the basin.

Honest expectations

The building is a 1939 reconstruction, not original fabric. It is compact and takes about an hour. Closed for half the year.

Nearby

Annapolis Royal lies across the basin; Digby is west.