Tag: Museums

North Sydney is a small town located about twenty minutes from the city of Sydney.  The town is known mostly for being The Gateway to Newfoundland because the ferry terminal that houses the ferries that go back and forth between the two provinces is located in the town.  It is also known for being in a scenic area overlooking Sydney Harbour and for having plenty of things for visitors to do. The downtown area of North Sydney is full of restaurants, fast food joints and boutique shops.  The scenic waterfront area makes for a great place to take a break […]

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The small village of Orangedale may have gained much fame with Celtic music lovers who are familiar with the song The Orangedale Whistle by the Rankin Family but not many people know where it is located or that it is even located in Nova Scotia.  Well, it is in fact located in Nova Scotia almost right in the center of Cape Breton Island. The roads leading to Orangedale are distinctly rural; mostly gravel roads through thick forest with the odd stream or field thrown in the mix.  In “Downtown” Orangedale, old buildings line the main street and this is where […]

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Louisbourg is probably the most visited town on Cape Breton Island because that is where a famous, reconstructed French fortress lies at the end of town.  The reconstructed version of The Fortress of Louisbourg is only a very small fraction of the original fortress that stood in the 18th century but it is still big enough to require at least an entire day to see the whole thing!  There are guides in period costume and you can choose to avail of one of these guides for a guided tour or you can explore the fortress on your own.  The grounds […]

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Port Hood is a small village located on the western coast of Cape Breton Island on the Ceilidh Trail.  The most popular attraction in the area is the long, sandy beach and scenic boardwalk.  The beach is perfect for swimming because the waters are calm and warm. Other popular activities that can be enjoyed in Port Hood include hiking, kayaking and boat tours that allow visitors to view whales and other marine life.  Port Hood Island is only accessible by boat and there is a boat that ferries visitors back and forth to the island where there is an uncrowded […]

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Englishtown is mostly known for being the gateway to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. For years, a small car ferry has shuttled passengers across the channel to the highway that winds along the Northern Shore towards to the national park. Despite the traffic that Englishtown sees, many visitors and locals alike are unaware of the many things to see and do in the village. One of the more well-known attractions in Englishtown is the museum dedicated to Cape Breton’s one and only Giant, Angus MacAskill, who stood almost 8 feet tall and weighed more than 500 pounds. Donelda’s Puffin […]

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Glace Bay was once one of the largest towns in Canada. Today it is still very much a large town but much of the industry that existed in its glory days are now distant memories that are kept alive in the people’s memories and the many museums located in the town. Glace Bay is about a twenty-minute drive from Sydney. The most popular attraction in the town is the Glace Bay Miner’s Museum. This museum is home to real underground coal mine that visitors can go down into to see for themselves what it was like for the men who […]

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Cape Breton Island Overview Just a little bit east off the Coast of mainland Nova Scotia in eastern Canada is the tiny island of Cape Breton. While the island belongs to the province of Nova Scotia and is a part of Canada, it is nothing like any other place in the country … or in the world for that matter. It is hard to know where to begin in telling you what the island has to offer because there is so much. The culture, the history, the scenery, the beaches, the hiking, the food, the nightlife! One can travel to […]

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No trip to Cape Breton Island will be complete without taking in two sites that are close to the city of Sydney. They are easily accessible from Sydney’s airport and harbour and are well worth the drive over from the island’s famed Cabot Trail. Just a 30 minute drive from Sydney, Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada, is a reconstructed, fortified French colonial town that provides a day-long living historical experience. Louisbourg played a very important role in the evolution of French settlement in North America. It was the site of two sieges in wars between the English […]

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Halifax museums offer a wide variety of unique experiences that inform and entertain visitors who are interested in military and marine history, art, culture and natural history. Tourists in Nova Scotia can’t go wrong in dropping in to one or all of the museums I have mentioned below. They all are great fun for the entire family offering special programs for the little ones as well as adults. You can’t miss Halifax Citadel because the city surrounds it. Although accessible by car there is no better way to approach the Citadel than on foot. This way you get a clear […]

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The Yarmouth County Museum is arguably the best among all the smaller museums of Nova Scotia. Located in the town of Yarmouth, on the southern coast of the province, this museum is remarkable both for its collections and its structure. Few museums in Canada have such a wonderful home. The building began as the Tabernacle Congregational Church constructed in 1892 in the Gothic Revival style. The granite exterior which is rather plain gives no hint of the whimsical interior. Inside the ceiling is criss-crossed with white painted colonnaded ribs that create a marvellous visual effect. All the wood detailing is […]

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