As you travel our scenic trails, it won't be long before you encounter this phenomenon we call our "living culture".
All across Cape Breton Island the arts are a vibrant expression of our Island's heritage. Music, culture and visual arts take centre stage in our lives, celebrating our Acadian, Scottish, Mi'kmaq, African, Irish and other ancestry.
Cape Breton Island has lured visitors to her shores for thousands of years. It is an amazing place, where the sand and sea air have joined forces with the enchantment of our history to create an indescribable atmosphere.
Itineraries 1
Day 1
Begin your visit to Cape Breton Island by travelling along the Ceilidh Trail to the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique where you can learn about the history of the music and the musicians on our fair Isle. Take time out to participate in a lunch time ceilidh, and/ or visit the exhibit room where you can sit in on an intimate performance with one of the areas fiddlers who will also let you in on the secrets of Celtic music origins and styles.
From the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre follow the route along to Glenville where you will find the Glenora Inn and Distillery where you can participate in a distillery tour, and learn more about the process of whisky making at Canada's only single malt whisky distillery and don't forget your sample of the whisky. A taste that is truly Cape Breton.
You have your choice of nightly accommodations in one of the many communities along this route and be sure to ask all about the choice of local entertainment. You will not be disappointed!
Day 2
The sites and experiences along the Cabot Trail, considered one of the most scenic routes in the world, are second to none. During your tour along the Cabot Trail take time to stop in the Acadian Village of Cheticamp to learn about the famous hand-hooked rugs and to experience Acadian culture at its' finest. But better yet try your hand at this oldest Acadian craft.
Enroute along the Cabot Trail there will be ample opportunities to trek along a number of hiking trails and to take part in boat tours where whales, bald eagles, puffins and other wildlife such as moose and black bear are a common site.
As you travel along the Cabot Trail be sure to stop for lunch in one of the Island's many restaurants, visit the unique gift shops and learn the tricks of the trade from artisans along the route. Then it's off to the beautiful Baddeck area for the night.
Day 3
Spend the morning touring the Alexander Graham Bell Museum or choose to spend it exploring the village of Baddeck. Whatever you decide you will soon discover why the great inventor Alexander Graham Bell fell in love with this piece of paradise on the Bras d'Or Lakes and why he chose to live here the remaining years of his life.
Upon leaving Baddeck, follow the coast of the Bras d'Or Lakes to the Wagmatcook Cultural and Heritage Centre for lunch and the opportunity to learn more about the First Nation people on Cape Breton Island, the Mi'kmaq. Once finished in Wagmatcook you can then travel off the Island and onto your next experience.
Itineraries 2
Day 1
Begin your memorable experience on Cape Breton Island with a visit to the Highland Village in Iona where costumed animators give testimony to the energy, strength of character and love of home and family of the Island's Scottish pioneers.
Then it's off to the Baddeck area for a tour of the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, a tour of the village, an evening sail or a night of toe tapping at a local ceilidh and a bed for the night. Whatever you decide you will soon discover why the great inventor Alexander Graham Bell fell in love with this piece of paradise on the Bras d'Or Lakes and why he chose to live here the remaining years of his life.
Day 2
Following breakfast be prepared for some spectacular scenery and cultural surprises when you begin your travels along the Cabot Trail, considered one of the most scenic routes in the world.
During your tour along the Cabot Trail take time to stop in the Acadian Village of Cheticamp to learn about the famous hand-hooked rugs and to experience Acadian culture at its' finest. But better yet try your hand at this oldest Acadian craft. Enroute along the Cabot Trail there will be ample opportunities to spot a variety of wildlife, visit attractions and museums, and learn the tricks of the trade from artisans or take time out for that ever important opportunity, shopping for local crafts.
Once your travels on the Cabot Trail are complete, it's off to one of the many communities along the route or Sydney for the night.
Day 3
Start the morning by following the route that will lead you into the life of a coal miner and the depths of our Island when you visit the Miners' Museum in Glace Bay. Once at the museum you can take part in a guided tour with a retired coal miner to experience first-hand what it was like to extract coal by the sweat of the brow of the coal miner of yesteryear. The sampling of some appetizing cuisine is next on the agenda, whether you prefer to eat in Glace Bay or another location on your route to or within Louisbourg, wherever you choose your pallet is sure to be satisfied.
In Louisbourg a highlight for you will be your visit to the largest reconstruction in North America, the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. Step back into 1744 and immerse yourself in the past when you take time to visit the homes of the Island's past inhabitants and participate in a guided tour.
Upon leaving Louisbourg you will have a number of communities to choose from along the route for the night. Whether you choose to spend the night in St. Peter's, Dundee, Arichat, Port Hawkesbury or Port Hastings each will offer their unique type of hospitality and will ensure a pleasant and memorable stay.
Itineraries 3
Day 1
Your Cape Breton Island experience will begin when you cross the Canso Causeway and head off to Baddeck for a visit to a museum dedicated to one of the most innovative thinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries, Alexander Graham Bell. From Baddeck set off along one of the worlds' most famous and scenic routes, the Cabot Trail. Stop along the route and be sure to explore the cultural delights of one of the Province of Nova Scotia's oldest Acadian communities, Cheticamp. While in Cheticamp learn about the famous hand-hooked rugs and experience Acadian culture at its' finest. Better yet try your hand at this oldest Acadian craft.
Enroute along the Cabot Trail there will be ample opportunities to spot a variety of wildlife, visit attractions and museums, or take time out for that ever important opportunity, shopping for local crafts. Ingonish is the next stop and your bed for the night.
Day 2
Upon leaving Ingonish your travels allow you to learn the tricks of the trade from artisans and visit the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in St. Ann's, the largest cultural learning institute in the world. While at the site take time to explore the Great Hall of the Clans, an exhibit that presents a brief story of the development of Cape Breton's Scottish ancestral heritage, the structure and formation of the clans and details of many of the clans who's kin are found throughout the Maritimes.
Enroute from St. Ann's take the opportunity to learn about the days of yesteryear when you explore the cliffs of Cape Breton Island for fossils at the Sydney Mines Fossil Museum followed by a trip to Louisbourg where you will step back into time to 1744 at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, the location of one of the largest reconstructions in North America.
Whether your is tour by day or by night your visit to Louisbourg is an experience that is not to be missed. Better yet, stay a night and take advantage of all Louisbourg has to offer whether you choose to participate in a the organized evening entertainment at the fortress (Offered in 2008 were a candlelight tour, a murder mystery, or you could have become involved in the drama when you participated in the Feast and the Fury, the Fortress' newest dinner theatre) or take time to interact with many of the Island's musicians in the intimate setting during an evening at the Louisbourg Playhouse.
Day 3
Begin your day with a tour of Old Town Sydney. Explore the history of the second largest city in Nova Scotia as you traverse the streets of Sydney's North end – Old Sydney Town where you will find Cossitt House, the Lyceum, Jost House and St. Peter's Church. Or you may choose to visit to the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre in Membertou where you can form an understanding and appreciation for our Island's First Nation people, the Mi'kmaq through a tour and interaction.
From Sydney your travels will take you along Route 4 to Rita's Tea Room. Located in Big Pond, Rita's Tea Room is a great place to drop by, have a cup of tea and learn more about this internationally recognized songbird. Open seasonally, it offers warm hospitality, home-baked goodies, full lunch and light dinner menu, and of course, a good cup of tea!
Upon leaving Rita's tearoom travel to the beautiful village of St. Peter's for a tour of the St. Peter's Canal National Historic Site or stroll around the village in search of the unique crafts that abound.
Once you complete your tour of the village your travels and experiences could be extended if you choose to stay along the route for the night and will continue until you say adieu to the fair Isle.