Sydney is a former city and urban community located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Situated on Cape Breton Island’s east coast, it belongs administratively to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British it was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolved on 1 August 1995, when it was amalgamated into the regional municipality. It served as the Cape Breton Island colony’s capital, until 1820, when the colony merged with Nova Scotia and the capital moved to Halifax.
Access : Coordinates: 46.13631, -60.19551 / By plane : 1 J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport (YQY IATA). is served year round by Air Canada with prop service to Halifax and seasonal CRJ service to Montreal. During the summer the airport is served by Air Saint-Pierre (with flights from Saint-Pierre and Miquelon) and Sunwing Airlines (with flights from Toronto).
By car : Driving to Sydney can be done by crossing the Canso Causeway which links the island to the Nova Scotia mainland at Auld’s Cove (on the mainland) and Port Hawkesbury (on Cape Breton). From there you have two options: the slightly longer but straighter Highways 105 and 125 or the shorter but twistier Route 4.
By boat : North Sydney is the site of the Marine Atlantic terminal which serves as the main connection to Newfoundland. From the ferry terminal it is about a 20 minute drive on Highway 125 to Sydney.
Get around : Most sights within the downtown are within walking distance, however most major tourist sights are well outside of the city and require a car or pre-arranged tour bus. Tourist Information Center, 77 Kings Rd,
Highlights :
- Although Sydney is the centre of Cape Breton, it lacks major tourist sites itself. A couple of things to see are:
- Two private homes dating to the earliest settlement of the city, Jost House and Cossitt House, remain in the downtown area of Sydney.
- Wentworth Park, a 5-minute walk south from the downtown core, is worth a visit.
- Merchant Marine Memorial Statue, 246 Esplanade. A roadside attraction.
- Old Sydney Society, 175 Charlotte St. Museum.
- St Patrick’s Museum, 87 Esplanade.
Activities : Casino Nova Scotia – Sydney’s Neighborhood Casino . Got plenty of money and no grasp of statistics The government would love to see you! There’s a restaurant on-site.
Go next : The Fortress of Louisbourg, about an hour’s drive away, is a reconstruction of the 18th-century fortified French town whose presence plagued the British colonies of New England.
Stop at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada in Baddeck.
And no visit to Cape Breton is complete without a trip around the famous Cabot Trail, which regularly places high on lists of ‘Best Drives in the World’
