L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland

Long before Christopher Columbus boarded a ship, Vikings sailed across the Atlantic and arrived in North America. Proof of this mission can be found at L'Anse aux Meadows, an authentic 11th century Norse settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada's most easterly province. These excavated remains are evidence of the first European presence in North America.

The site was excavated in 1960 when Norwegian explorer and writer Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, searched the area. It was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1978

This remarkable archaeological site consists of eight timber-framed turf structures built in the same style as those found in Norse Greenland and Iceland from the same period. In addition, many artifacts, including those related to iron smithing, a stone lamp and sharpening stone, are on display.

The thick peat walls and turf roofs appear to be a smart defense against the harsh northern winters. Each building and its rooms are set up to showcase different aspects of Norse life and interpreters dressed in Viking garb tell entertaining and informative tales.

Getting to L'Anse aux Meadows is not an easy feat. It is at the northern most tip of the island of Newfoundland, most easily accessible from the St. Anthony Airport, or a 10-hour drive from the provincial capital of St. John's.