Best known for its delicious scallops and harbor sights, this summer resort has many historic landmarks that trace its founding in 1783 by Sir Robert Digby and 1,500 Loyalists from New England and New York. This Annapolis Basin town is the ideal headquarters for a day drive southwest down the Digby Neck peninsula, whose shores are washed by the Bay of Fundy with the highest tides in the world. Off Digby Neck are two islands that can be reached by ferry: Long Island and Brier Island, popular sites for rock-hounding, whale-watching, and bird-watching. Swimming along the sandy beaches and hiking the shores are favorite pastimes in this area of dashing spray, lighthouses, and wildflower-filled forests. A 35-mile (11-kilometer) drive to the northeast ends in Annapolis Royal and Port Royal, the first permanent European settlements in North America. Marking this is the restored fur trading fort, the Habitation of Port Royal, built by Samuel de Champlain. With high, imposing cliffs, gently rolling farmland, and quiet woodland settings, this seacoast drive creates a study in contrasts.