Victoria-by-the-Sea: Historic port turns into tourism gem on P.E.I.
It’s the story of Prince Edward Island in microcosm. Victoria, the tiny port community, is now one of the island’s tourism gems.
The community has fewer than 150 full-time residents, yet even more people came to Victoria on Monday to explore the historic port town.
The village was one of the first on the island. It was designed to be a port and a fishing community and have the kind of amenities to people in the surroundings areas could use, including one of the early island post offices.
Founded in 1819 and seeing heavy traffic during the age of sail, the port was home to three active wharves at its peak.
It still maintains much of that Victorian-era charm.
“Uniqueness is to that central core area where you see all these traditional homes, old style homes right next-door, or included in their home, a small business, said Keith Dewar, Chief Administrative Officer for the rural municipality of Victoria, “That ability to walk around the community feels very much like you’ve gone back in time.”
Visitors come from near and far to visit the fishing village.
“It has to be at the waterfront, said John Holt, of Charlottetown. “The tide coming in and just, well you can see yourself, you see everything is just beautiful.”
Some parts of the shoreline are very long and shallow, good for clam-digging tours and sea kayaking.
“Beautiful little town, absolutely,” said Kristie Ranken, from Ontario. “Friendly, cute, little shops, lots to do.”
Victoria is still very much a rural community. Despite a number of new subdivisions popping up in recent years, the tight core of the old fishing village is surrounded by mostly farmland.
“When you sit down by one of the restaurants, you see the lobster fisherman come in, or when they’re doing crabs they’re coming, or you see the farmers tractors going through,” said Dewar. “It all makes you feel like this is an active little community.”
The port town is a hot spot for crafters and artists, as well as history buffs.
Many of the town’s old buildings are heritage structures, and the community’s tight four blocks wouldn’t look out of place in any of the Maritimes’ more populated historical towns or cities.
Still, this place feels like the small town it remains, even as tourism becomes an ever bigger part of the community’s identity.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.