23 Best Sights in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

This very engaging site pays homage to the many inventions and humanitarian work of Alexander Graham Bell. Inside the main building, films, photos, artifacts, and models provide a window into his ideas for creating telephones, man-carrying kites, airplanes, and a record-setting hydrofoil boat (a full-scale replica of which dominates one exhibit hall). A kid's corner hosts demos and hands-on activities for aspiring young inventors. Bell spent large blocks of time, from 1886 until his death in 1922, at his Baddeck estate—Beinn Bhreagh, Gaelic for "beautiful mountain." His home (which is still owned by the family), and some spectacular scenery, can be seen from the roof of the National Historic Site that bears his name.

A 950-square-km (366-square-mile) wilderness of wooded valleys, barren plateaus, and steep cliffs, Cape Breton Highlands National Park stretches across northern Cape Breton from the gulf shore to the Atlantic. High-altitude bogs here are home to wild orchids and other unique flora. Moose, eagles, deer, bears, foxes, bobcats, and coyotes call this home, and your chances of spotting wildlife improve if you venture off the main road and hike one of the trails at dusk or dawn. The park has 26 hiking trails, ranging from a few yards to a lookout point to 12-km (7½-mile) treks to salmon pools or to a remote cove, and guided hikes are among various activities on offer. A permit or pass is required for entering sections of the Cabot Trail within the national park and for use of the facilities; there are additional fees for camping, fishing, and golf. Full details are available at the gateway information centers.

This may be Cape Breton's—or even Nova Scotia's—most remarkable attraction. After the French were forced out of mainland Nova Scotia in 1713, they established their headquarters here in a walled, fortified town at the mouth of Louisbourg Harbour. The fortress was captured twice (by New Englanders in 1745 and by the British in 1758), and after the second attack it was razed, a critical factor in ending France's dream of a North American empire. In the 1960s, archaeologists rebuilt a fifth of the fortress, using the original plans. From June through mid-October, costumed interpreters well versed in the history of the site convincingly re-create the era with military drills, cannon-firing, and general day-to-day activities of the 18th-century inhabitants. The three inns serve food prepared from 18th-century recipes. Free guided tours are given in high season, and events—including themed dinner theaters and archaeological programs—make a visit even more memorable. An off-season visit, without all these activities, can paint an even more compelling picture of life here 300 years ago.

The 43-acre "village" is set high on a mountainside with a spectacular view of Bras d'Or Lake and narrow Barra Strait. Its 11 historical buildings (among them a forge, a school, a church, and a barn filled with heritage breeds of livestock) were assembled from all over the province to depict the Highland Scots' way of life, from their origins in the Hebrides to the present day. Costumed animators who tackle daily chores lend the village a further touch of authenticity and are always on the ready to give an impromptu Gaelic lesson. Interactive programs include games and activities for children. There's a gift shop on-site as well as a Genealogy and Family History Center (open by appointment) that may be of interest to anyone with Cape Breton blood in their veins. In the off-season, the gift shop remains open weekdays when the rest of the site is closed.

This long, sandy beach remains untouched by modern development, other than the picnic tables on the adjoining grassland. It's a great place for beachcombing and pondering the journeys of First Nations boatmen who once set out from here to paddle to Newfoundland. A cairn in the park, commemorating the purported arrival of John Cabot from England in 1497, offers further historical insights, but the jaw-dropping views of Aspy Bay and the surrounding wilderness area provide the best reasons to come here. Amenities: parking (free). Best for: solitude; walking.

Here you can learn about the difficult lives of the local men whose job it was to extract coal from undersea collieries. After perusing the exhibits, you can don a hard hat and descend into the damp, claustrophobic recesses of a shaft beneath the museum with a retired miner who'll recount his own experiences toiling in the bowels of the earth. The 15-acre property also includes a replica village that gives you a sense of workers' home life, and it has a theater where the Men of the Deeps choir, a world-renowned group of working and retired miners, performs on certain evenings in summer.

At the casino you can try your luck at slot machines, test your skill at gaming tables, or simply settle in to enjoy the live entertainment—assuming you're at least 19 years old, the legal gambling (and drinking) age in Nova Scotia.

Packed with interactive exhibits detailing the fine points of Cape Breton music, the center also has an archive with classic recordings and oral history interviews. Visitors eager to pick up a fiddle and bow can play along to a video tutorial. If you'd rather just listen, that's no problem: there are plenty of ceilidhs, demonstrations, music workshops, and other events here, all listed on the website.

Built in 1787, this unpretentious wooden building was originally home to Reverend Ranna Cossit—Cape Breton's first protestant minister—his wife Thankful, and their 10 children. Now faithfully restored and occupied by costumed interpreters, the North End residence is furnished with period pieces based on Cossit's own inventory.

Being home to direct descendants of the Gaelic pioneers, St. Ann's Bay is a logical site for this college, established in 1938 with a mission to promote and preserve the settlers' heritage. And mission accomplished, because today the campus provides a crash course in Gaelic culture. For instance, after learning about Scottish history in the Great Hall of Clans (particularly the Highland Clearances that sparked a mass exodus of Scots to the New World during the 18th century), you can view a short Gaelic-language film, then discover traditional disciplines like weaving and dancing at interactive stations. Not surprisingly, music at the college is especially noteworthy. Weeklong summer-school courses—as well as occasional weekend workshops—focus on topics such as bagpiping and fiddling. The college hosts lunchtime and Wednesday-evening ceilidhs in summer and in fall it’s a key site for the Celtic Colours Festival.

Nova Scotia is a center of Shambhala Buddhism, and though Shambhala International is headquartered in Halifax, this abbey is its monastic heart. Finding the site high above the sea, however, requires more than soul searching. From Pleasant Bay, a spur road creeps along the cliffs to Red River; beyond that, a gravel road twists and turns for some 3 km (2 miles) before reaching the broad, flat bench of land on which the monastery sits. You can tour the abbey and wander through some of its 230 acres to visit a small shrine and grotto. If the abbey is closed for a retreat or other event, continue down the road for about ½ km (¼ mile) to see the Stupa of Enlightenment, a large and elaborate shrine dedicated to world peace.

Housed in a former railway station, this small museum has a range of artifacts relating to the community's coal mining past and the everyday life of the miners and their families, along with an antique-filled study room and film screenings. Volunteers offer personalized guided tours. 

Harness racing has been happening here since 1926, and the Wednesday and Sunday races held throughout July and August are about as traditional as you get. This is the perfect spot for local color, and placing bets is pretty fun even if your horse doesn't come in! 

This restored 18th-century French blacksmith shop occupies a handsome stone structure on the waterfront. In its 19th-century heyday, it supplied parts to local shipbuilders, and a barn on-site today has seafaring memorabilia. There's also a genealogy center and gift shop.

The center, which contains the Elizabeth LeFort Gallery, displays samples of the rugs, tapestries, and related artifacts that helped make Chéticamp the World Rug Hooking Capital. Born in 1914, Elizabeth LeFort created more than 300 tapestries, some of which have hung in the Vatican, the White House, and Buckingham Palace. (One standout depicting U.S. presidents is made from 11 km [7 miles] of yarn!) Les Trois Pignons is also an Acadian cultural and genealogical information center.

On a spectacular headland, this site commemorates the spot at Table Head where, in 1902, Guglielmo Marconi built four tall wooden towers and beamed the first official wireless messages across the Atlantic Ocean. An interpretive trail leads to the foundations of the original towers and transmitter buildings. The visitor center has large models of the towers as well as artifacts and photographs chronicling the radio pioneer's life and work.

Exhibits at this unassuming and yet widely renowned museum are proudly old-school, which seems fitting because they're housed in a former one-room schoolhouse. On display are all manner of fishing tackle, photographs, hand-tied flies, and other memorabilia related to salmon angling on the Margaree—check out the rod that once belonged to a wartime British spy who shared fly-fishing tips with Hermann Goering. Visitors can watch videos, study models of the river, and peek into the fish tank.

Take a hike through history at this park on the south arm of Sydney Harbour. Initially developed as the private domain of David Matthews, a onetime mayor of New York City who remained loyal to the crown during the War of Independence, its 56 acres are laced with trails.

The very small Big Pond consists of only a few houses, but most people come to see one in particular: the one-time home of singer-songwriter Rita MacNeil (1944–2013), who lived in this former one-room schoolhouse and opened the tearoom in 1986. It has been expanded to accommodate the multitude of visitors who arrive to have tea, visit the display room of Rita's awards and photographs, and browse the gift shop.

The focal point of this park, 14½ km (9 miles) north of Baddeck, is a forested 1½-km (1-mile) round-trip trail to a much-photographed 50-foot-high waterfall (uisge is Gaelic for "water").

The center spotlights the ancient history and rich traditions of the Mi'Kmaq people, with aboriginal guides providing interpretations and cultural entertainment, including drumming and song performances on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in July and early August. The restaurant here serves traditional foods (such as moose and eel), as well as more contemporary fare, and a crafts shop sells items made by members of this First Nations community.

A wide sweep of sandy beach backed by a dune system is the standout feature of this 530-acre park on Mabou Harbour. The only public-access beach in the area, it also has a fishpond, a picnic area, and change rooms, but its status as a protected natural environment prevents any further development and preserves its peaceful quality. Behind the beach are 12 km (7½ miles) of hiking trails, through agricultural land and marshes, that have fine views. Amenities: parking (free); toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

Visitors who like to stay on dry land while observing sea life should stop by here. Exhibits and models inside the center's modern structure explain the unique world of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, and there's a life-size model of a pilot whale. Using zoom scopes on the whale-spotting deck, you may catch a close-up glimpse of the many different species that often frolic just off-shore.