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History, culture, and nature in Canada's beautiful Nova Scotia.

Throughout history, your fellow travelers to this remote place have included the Norsemen in the 10th century, explorers John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, and Giovanni Da Verrazano, and, before them, the Native Canadian Mi'kmaq, who continue to reside in several places near Lake Bras d'Or.

Unique Cape Breton Island offers many choice activities for family travelers. While getting there by most modes of public transport is relatively simple, if you really want to tour, a car is a must. Your own automobile will afford you a chance to see, hear, feel, touch, smell and taste all that this expanse has to offer. Cape Breton is dotted with tiny, picturesque towns, in both the interior and on the seacoast. The roads, by the way, are first class and, with the exception of the occasional curve, steep hill, and seasonal crosswinds, a pleasure to drive. With regard to the past, the area has a history of coal mining and steel manufacture, along with fishing, and farming. To remind us, there are museums and historical areas devoted to each facet.

Touring the Island

Our first night was spent in the resort town of Baddeck, a shipbuilding area. Gisele's Inn (902/295-2849, 800/304-0INN) provided a most comfortable night's rest, and a fine pancake breakfast enjoyed in the sun-filled dining room overlooking Lake Bras d'Or. Baddeck is best known as the summer home of Alexander Graham Bell. To commemorate him, Canada has built the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site (902/295-2069), with many kid-friendly exhibits and hands-on activities, along with films and presentations. Among the more unusual of these are full-scale hydrofoil boats dating from the 1910s along with airplanes from the same era. Mr. Bell was not just the developer of the telephone, but quite the inventor and visionary and this site enshrines his memory in a tasteful, positive way. After seeing the charming town of Baddeck, you will understand why he settled there. The town is also the start of the 186-mile long Cabot Trail, perhaps one of the most scenically diverse in North America.

Just a few miles north of town, is St. Ann's, home of the Gaelic Arts and Crafts College, where the traditions of Scotland flourish on this side of the Atlantic. Most impressive in the college is the Great Hall of the Clans Museum Interactive Museum (902/295-3411), which showcases Scottish history. The admission fee is modest at $20 for a family of four, and the many different Tartans are displayed in large cases, which make them easier to see and admire. Don't expect any buildings from the time of Robert Burns; the campus dates from 1938.