Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Glace Bay, 6km northeast of Sydney, would be just another fading coal town were it not
for its exceptional
Cape Breton Miners' Museum
( 902-849-4522;
www.minersmuseum.com
;
42 Birkley St; tour & mine visit adult/child $12/10, restaurant mains
$8-14; museum 10am-6pm, restaurant 11am-8pm)
; it's off South St less than 2km east
from the town center. The highlight of this museum is the adventure under the seafloor to
visit closed-down mines with a retired miner as a guide (it's your lucky day if you get
Abbie). The museum's
restaurant
is highly recommended and offers seafood, sand-
wiches and burgers; there's a daily lunch buffet from noon to 2pm.
mercial St)
is the region's premier entertainment venue.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Louisbourg
Louisbourg, 37km southeast of Sydney, is famous for its historic fortress. The town itself
has plenty of soul, with its working fishing docks, old-timers and a friendly vibe.
Sights & Activities
Starting from the trailhead at the lighthouse at the end of Havenside Rd, a rugged 6km
trail
follows the coast over bogs, barrens and pre-Cambrian polished granite. Bring your
camera to capture the views back toward the fortress at the national historic site.
Louisbourg National
Historic Site
HISTORIC SITE
( 902-733-2280; 259 Park Service Rd; adult/child $17.60/8.80; 9am-5:30pm)
Budget a full
day to explore this extraordinary historic site that faithfully re-creates Fortress Louis-
bourg as it was in 1744, right down to the people - costumed thespians take their charac-
ters and run with them. Built to protect French interests in the region, it was also a base
for cod fishing and an administrative capital. Louisbourg was worked on continually
from 1719 to about 1745. The British took it in a 46-day siege in 1745 but it would
change hands twice more. In 1760, after British troops under the command of General
James Wolfe took Québec City, the walls of Louisbourg were destroyed and the city was
burned to the ground.
In 1961, with the closing of many Cape Breton Island coal mines, the federal govern-
ment funded the largest historical reconstruction in Canadian history as a way to generate
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