All Things Anne: Prince Edward Island

Week 3: Canadian Summer Staycation Series!

This is the third in a series of 13 weekly blog posts highlighting one iconic Canadian experience in each Province and Territory.

In this weeks’ blog post we are visiting beautiful Prince Edward Island.

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is one of the Atlantic provinces in Eastern Canada, located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It’s the smallest province in Canada (taking only 4 hours to drive from tip to tip) and the backbone of it’s economy is farming. Did you know that PEI produces 25% of Canada’s potato supply? We ate a lot of french fries on our trip there!

To get to the island, you can fly into Charlottetown, take the ferry from Nova Scotia or drive across the Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick.

At 12.9 kilometers, it’s Canada’s longest bridge taking about 12 minutes to drive across. Crossing the bridge was a highlight for our girls.

Rolling hills, woods, reddish white sand beaches, sand dunes, ocean coves and the famous red soil have given Prince Edward Island a reputation as a province of outstanding natural beauty.

In addition to its natural beauty, PEI is home to the story of Anne of Green Gables. Anne of Green Gables was written by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery and published in 1908.

It was an immediate success with millions of copies sold worldwide. Its popularity has drawn tourists from all over the world to discover the land that the imaginative Anne was so enamoured by.

The story is about an 11 year old orphan, named Anne (spelled with an e) Shirley who has a troubled childhood, bouncing from one harsh family to another and between orphanages.

Two middle age siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert ask the adoption agency to send them a boy to help out with their farm in Avonlea, PEI and are sent Anne instead. Anne is devestated to learn that the Cuthbert’s don’t want her at first, but they end up keeping her.

Anne has a vast imagination and a fiery spirit that often get her into misadventurous situations but she grows to win the hearts of those who know her and becomes a teacher and eventually a writer.

Anne of Green Gables tourism is now a major industry in the province, so the government has been preserving the sites that inspired the author.

Here are just a few of these must see Anne of Green Gables experiences…

Green Gables Heritage Place: When we visited the Island we were able to spend time at Green Gables Heritage Place, located in Cavendish.

It’s the site that inspired the setting of Anne of Green Gables. You can explore the new visitor center, the original house, the 19th century gardens, the farmyard and walking trails – including the Haunted Wood and Lovers Lane. Of course you can’t miss picking up a souvenir at the gift shop and grabbing a treat at the Cordial Café. 

Anne of Green Gables The Musical: For 56 consecutive summers (except for 2020) this musical has been playing at the Confederation Center in Charlottetown.

Even though it won’t be available to experience in 2020, it rivals any Toronto musical with an ensemble cast and a live orchestra.

Anne of Green Gables Museum: This 110-acre property has been in the Campbell family for over 230 years. The house was built in 1872 by Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Uncle John and Aunt Annie Campbell.

You will find a museum with beautiful flower gardens on the property, a gift shop with Anne of Green Gables products available, a view of the Lake of Shining Waters, Matthews Carriage Rides and a playground for the children.

Anne of Green Gables holds a special place in the hearts of Canadians making the character of Anne Shirley a mythic icon of Canadian culture.

I highly recommend reading the book or watching the miniseries before you visit the island to get a sense of this beautiful place brought to life through the words of Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Stay tuned next week for part 4 of our 13 part Canadian Summer Staycation Series!

Here are the links to our other blog posts in this series….

Newfoundland and Labrador: Iceberg Alley

Nova Scotia: Tidal Bore Rafting

New Brunswick: Hopewell Rocks

Quebec: Old Quebec

Ontario: Tobermory

Going on Safari in Manitoba

Saskatchewan: Notoriously Moose Jaw

Alberta: The Drumheller Dinosaurs

British Columbia: Rainforest and Beaches

Yukon: The Klondike Gold Rush

North West Territories: The Northern Lights

Nunavut: Inuit Culture in Iqaliut

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If you haven’t had the pleasure of traveling for a vacation within Canada before, now is the ideal time to do so.

With a decrease in the number of international tourists expected to visit because of the Covid-19 travel restrictions in place, popular tourist destinations within Canada will be less crowded this summer. Hotels and resorts have been offering discounted room prices and free room upgrades to entice travelers to book accommodations.

In addition to a less expensive and more enjoyable travel experience, the tourism industry in Canada has been hit hard by Covid-19 and they are going to need our help to recover as quickly as possible with our tourism dollars.

Let’s all do our part and help support our own economy and tourism industry to recover by choosing to spend money on Canadian travel experiences this summer.

Let me know in the comments section if you have read or heard of Anne of Green Gables!