Fort Anne National Historic Site, Annapolis Royal

*Disclosure: Our family received a day pass to visit Fort Anne. All opinions are our own.*

Our family has been going to Fort Anne for years. For over 30 years, we have been going to the Natal Day sunset set ceremony by the cadets on the parade square of Fort Anne, Annapolis Royal.

It is our family tradition, and one we look forward to every year.

I have to admit though; I had never been inside the museum before! We have walked the grounds so many times and knew every inch of outdoors, but never took the time to explore inside.

Here’s what the website says

Step foot onto Canada’s oldest National Historic Site and one of the most hotly contested pieces of land on the entire continent at Fort Anne.

For centuries, a succession of Scottish, French, First Nations and English settlers clashed over this prize on the banks of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis River.

Today, visitors can walk the earthen walls, explore the 1797 Officers’ Quarters Museum and soak up centuries of Canadian history.

Our Visit

The first thing we did was to sign up for the Xplorers Program. 

Youth 6-12 are given a booklet with questions to fill out while going around the park. It keeps them focused, gives them activities to do, and they get a prize and certificate when they complete so many pages!

We started inside the main building, the Officers’ Quarters to learn about the history of the area starting with the Natives up to the occupation by the English.

There is an amazing tapestry inside that displays the history of Annapolis Royal. It took 20,000 volunteer hours to make this beautiful piece.

If you look at the medallion around Queen Victoria’s neck, you can see some golden threads. Queen Elizabeth II actually stitched these!

Throughout the museum, in every room, there are lots of hands-on activities for the kids to do. This is great, because it keeps the kids busy and occupied while the parents can read the information panels.

The kids could play Native drums.

Dress up in Acadian clothes.

Or dress up in different periods of British soldiers’ uniforms! 

There is a great touch-screen video explaining how and why the fort was built in the star-shaped formation.

Visiting the museum gave us a whole new appreciation for the grounds with which we were so familiar!

The Grounds

Walk the boardwalk around the museum grounds. This is an incredible walk that could take up to 20 minutes with stops to view and read.

You can explore the cannons.

Go down into the magazine building where they stored gun powder.

Or, try staying in the black hole dungeon to see what it would have felt like to be held in there!

Croquet is also set up on the lawn. Or roll down the hills if you dare!

It’s a way to spend a day!

Our Visit

We spent about one hour at the museum at Fort Anne. You can easily spend a ½ day walking the grounds and visiting the museum, and it’s well worthwhile!

Candlelight Tour

Another great way to learn more is to take the candlelight tour in the evening that leaves from Fort Anne. We have done this tour twice and love it every time! We have not taken the children yet, but kids 8+ would definitely enjoy it, as it is not scary, and Alan Melanson tells some very interesting stories!

You will learn so much history and hear some really interesting stories about people from the area.

We highly recommend it!

Hours and Admission

The museum is open from June 1 to September 30. Check the hours before you go.

The grounds are open year round.

There are no fees to tour the grounds.

There are fees for the museum.

How to get there

The site is in the town of Annapolis Royal. Take Highway 101 to Exit 22 and continue north on Route 8. Proceed through the traffic lights on Saint George Street in Annapolis Royal, then take the second left into Fort Anne.

The Fort is located on the main road through Annapolis Royal. You cannot miss it.

Next time you are in Annapolis, take the time to discover the beauty and history of Fort Anne National Historic Site!