Important places in our past are all around you. No matter where you live or travel in Canada, there are museums, historic sites and all kinds of other special places to explore. In each issue of Kayak, we tell you about some that relate to our theme — check them out below! And if you have a favourite historic place, tell us about it.

Visit the Vikings

From museums to festivals, you can discover more about the Norse in Canada.

Until mid-April, you can learn all about Vikings at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa. You’ll find out which ideas about Vikings are probably right, and which are wrong. Like this helmet, for instance — no horns! Our picture of horned helmets probably goes back to Richard Wagner’s operas in the mid-1800s that took some ideas from German and Norse legends.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a whole route devoted to people who want to learn more about the Norse in their province: The Viking Trail. It leads to L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site and through many villages along the rugged coasts where the Vikings sailed.

The Icelandic Festival of Manitoba takes place in late July or early August every year. Also known as the Islendingadagurinn, it’s been running for more than 125 years.