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In a lovingly restored 19th century fishing village on a small island off the coast of Labrador, you’ll find space and time to breathe among the Arctic foxes, icebergs and the Northern Lights.

In the mid-1800s, Battle Harbour was the bustling salt fish capital of Labrador. Several dozen schooners would be moored along the rugged waterfront during peak season, where cod, salmon and herring were landed and processed. Merchants paced the wharves. Barrels were made, nets mended and fish spread to dry on expansive flakes.

Two hundred years later, Battle Harbour is nearly silent. It’s become a top destination for visitors looking to step off the beaten path, journey back in time and escape the stress and strain of everyday life.

“You can go for a hike, take a boat tour, go cod fishing,” says Peter Bull, executive director of Battle Harbour Historic Trust. “But what do you really do in Battle Harbour? You come here and you breathe.”

There are no cars, no cell service, no streetlights in Battle Harbour. Instead, you get whales, icebergs, Arctic foxes and the Northern Lights. There are walking trails with benches inviting you to sit for a while and watch for whales.

As Bull says, “Once you get here, there’s nowhere like it.”

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Magical stops along the way

It does take some planning to get to this carefully restored fishing village on a tiny island off the easternmost edge of Labrador. Visitors usually take one of two routes. The first option is travelling from Québec through Labrador, across the fully paved Trans-Labrador Highway to Mary’s Harbour. Once there, you can take the once-a-day, 32-person ferry over to Battle Harbour.

Or, you might choose to fly into Deer Lake or St. Anthony and drive to St. Barbe to take the ferry across to Blanc-Sablon, Que. From there, you can drive along the coast to Mary’s Harbour.

There are plenty of magical stops along the way. Not far from Blanc-Sablon is Point Amour Lighthouse. Perched atop limestone cliffs, Point Amour is the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada, a Provincial Historic Site and an ideal spot for picnicking and sea-gazing.

Just down the road is Red Bay National Historic Site, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once a 16th-century Basque whaling station, Red Bay offers hikes, spectacular scenery and insight into the traditional Basque whalers who travelled across the ocean for the oil that lit lamps across Europe.

Battle Harbour is also a National Historic Site, operating as a not-for-profit tourism enterprise with the goal of preserving the community’s history and providing four-star accommodations and dining.

A place where connections and conversations come easily

The oldest structure in Battle Harbour is the Pork Store, built in 1780, where salt pork, molasses, butter and other supplies would have been kept. Step inside and you can experience an echo of that legacy today.

“You’ll smell the pickle that spilled out of the barrels 200 years ago,” says Bull. “You’ll see the beams and posts that were chopped all those years ago, you’ll feel the presence of the people who were there before you.”

Accommodations include the stately Battle Harbour Inn, the Merchant Building and several cozy and charming wooden cottages. Other buildings include the Salt Store, Flour Store, Seal Store, Herring Store – each lovingly restored by local carpenters and interpreted for today’s visitor. Most of those who work at Battle Harbour are from the area, freely sharing their stories and deep local knowledge.

The Salmon Store is now the island’s dining room, with communal tables and the best of local fare: moose, cod, salmon, halibut, perhaps a salmon tea biscuit and poached egg for breakfast.

With a maximum of 32 visitors at one time, connections and conversations come easily. The Loft is a bar and gathering place – the one place on the island with Wifi – that sometimes features live music, but always has guitars ready to be picked up.

“People make new friends, and have conversations not unlike hundreds of years ago, when people from all over the world came here to fish,” says Bull.

But unlike those times, Battle Harbour today is far removed from the hustle and crowds of a busy mercantile hub.

“We want people to come experience the slow and peaceful pace. We want to protect it, and maintain the culture of the place too,” Bull says.

“This is a special, special place and we will keep it that way.”

Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.