Cape Breton -- Canada 's Beautiful Place

Is this Canada's most beautiful place?
          "I have travelled the globe. I have seen the Canadian and American Rockies, the Andes and the Alps and the highlands of Scotland, but for simple beauty, Cape Breton outrivals them all." (Alexander Graham Bell) Many who have visited Cape Breton agree with Graham Bell's assessment. 
          And which has more fiddlers and dancers -- Scotland or Cape Breton? Almost certainly, Cape Breton has a higher percentage of such individuals. Cape Breton is the home of the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts (website here), where Great Highland Bagpipe and Cape Breton Fiddle are among the disciplines taught.
          About 50,000 Highland Scots relocated here in the early 1800s, at the time of the "Highland Clearances". Their culture still dominates the island, especially in rural areas.
          Cape Breton Island (comprising the northern quarter of Nova Scotia) ranks second in the world as a destination for sustainable tourism. 
(National Geographic Traveler, 2003) It's a great place for a relaxing vacation.


Here are four places to visit when you go:
          1. Bras d'Or Lake - (means "arm of gold") One of the world's largest salt water lakes, renowned for its beauty, and a great place for great blue herons, double-crested cormorants and bald eagles. "The Bras d’Or Lakes are my favorite landscape on planet Earth..." (Gilbert M. Grosvenor of the National Geographic Society)

          2. Cabot Trail - This 185-mile-long scenic roadway completes a loop around the northern tip of the island, with hairpin turns and beautiful scenery, taking you through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, and the communities of Baddeck, Margaree, Ingonish and St. Ann's.

          3. Louisbourg - The restored fortress built by France between 1720 and 1740, operated by Parks Canada as a National Historic Site. Get the guided tour and experience the firing of muskets and cannon.
          4. Baddeck - Alexander Graham Bell and his family moved here in 1885, built an estate (Beinn Bhreagh -- "Beautiful Mountain") and experimented with man-carrying kites, powered flight, hydrofoils and much more.  The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site features three exhibit halls and a full-scale model of the HD-4 hydrofoil craft.
          Come to Cape Breton Island, Canada's beautiful place!