Charlottetown Travel Guide

Charlottetown is the capital of the province of Prince Edward Island. A small city of about 35,000 residents in a largely rural province, Charlottetown has an uncommonly diverse collection of resources and facilities -- shopping, dining, culture, sports -- for a city of its size. On "the Island," it is only in Charlottetown that you will find a Thai restaurant, a Taiwanese tea house, national chains' local outlets, and a national arts centre.

History

Charlottetown is extremely proud of its very special place in history as the "The Birthplace of Confederation," for it was where the first meeting of the "Fathers of Confederation" was held. These meetings led to the creation of the modern Canada in 1867; ironically, Prince Edward Island itself didn't join the new country until 1873.

The City of Charlottetown, named in honour of Queen Charlotte of England, was incorporated as a city in 1855 and celebrates its 150 anniversary in 2005.

City Layout

The four large squares included in surveyor Samuel Holland’s original late-1700s layout of Charlottetown still exist to this day: Hillsborough Square, Connaught Square, Rochford Square and Kings Square form four corners of a rectangular plan at the centre of which is Province House, the seat of the provincial Legislative Assembly, and the nominal centre of the city.