The Cabot Trail encircles Cape Breton Highlands National Park, on the northwestern end of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. A famed 300-km (186-mile) driving route, the roadway also winds through rural communities with fishing, Gaelic, and Acadian histories.
Museums in Baddeck, Nova Scotia on the Cabot Trail
Baddeck is the largest center on the Cabot Trail and where many drivers start and end their route. Must-visit museums in town include:
- Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site (Chebucto St.; (902) 295-2069): The exhibits at this national historic site delve into the inventions of Alexander Graham Bell, which include the telephone and the metal detector. Look across the waters of Bras d'Or Lake to see the inventor’s former estate Beinn Bhreagh.
- Bras d’Or Lakes Interpretive Centre (Chebucto St.): A small museum is slotted into the rooms of the old post office, and explores the eco-system and history of the Bras d’Or Lakes.
- Giant MacAskill Museum (Route 312, Englishtown; (902) 929-2875): See the items Angus MacAskill used in his day-to-day life at this museum. The hook is that MacAskill stood 2.36 meters (7 ft. 9 in.) tall.
Acadian History at Chéticamp Museums
An Acadian community, Chéticamp differs from much of Cape Breton because of its French-speaking residents and strong fishing ties. Learn about Chéticamp art and history at two local museums:
- Acadian Museum (15067 Main St.; (902) 224-2170): This broad-reaching museum introduces historic Acadian life and has a large gift shop with stacks of hooked rug souvenirs. Next door in the same building, dine on fish cakes and seafood at the polished Restaurant Acadien.
- Les Trois Pignons (15584 Cabot Trail; (902) 224-2642): A gallery for the hooked rugs of Elizabeth LeFort provides more insight into this cottage art. The collection includes portraits of politicians, scenes from the Bible, and Chéticamp landscapes.
Mid-Cabot Trail Museums in Cape North and Pleasant Bay
About halfway through the Cabot Trail drive, museums in North Highlands and Pleasant Bay look at life on the coast:
- Whale Interpretive Centre (104 Harbour Way, Pleasant Bay; seasonal (902) 224-1411): Sixteen whale species are covered at this small, wharf-side museum. Visitors can hop on a whale watching tour at the same location.
- North Highlands Community Museum (29243 Cabot Trail, Cape North; (902) 383-2579): A settler-era garden and a blacksmith forge provide insight into life for Gaelic-speaking settlers in this north-island community.
- Cabots Landing Provincial Park (1904 Bay St. Lawrence Rd.): Although not a museum, historic monuments commemorate two major events: The June 24, 1497 landing of John Cabot in the Matthew, somewhere on the east coast; and, the successful installation of the Atlantic Cable, which first connected North America to Europe by telegraph.
Chloë Ernst - Chloë Ernst is a travel guidebook author who writes for Frommer's and Globe Pequot Press.
