Discover Cape Breton
World-class golf, the iconic Cabot Trail, fresh-caught lobster, ceilidh nights, and the friendliest people you'll ever meet — all on one island in Nova Scotia.
What is Cape Breton First?
Cape Breton First is the Cape Breton-focused planning hub for first-time visitors, returning travellers, and locals showing friends around. We track what's open, what's happening, and what's worth your time across the island's eight regions — with curated restaurants and operators, trails and beaches, golf courses, festivals and events, and deeper town guides and multi-day itineraries for every trip length.
Travelling to Cape Breton? Start here.
Four ways into the island — pick the one that sounds most like the trip you want.
Happening this week
What's on right now
Featured
Local favourites
Baddeck Lobster Suppers
All-you-can-eat mussels, chowder, and a whole lobster on the lake.
★★★★★ (807)
Red Shoe Pub
Live Cape Breton music seven nights a week. Owned by the Rankin Sisters.
★★★★★ (957)
The Rusty Anchor
Lobster rolls, ocean view, and the perfect mid-Cabot-Trail lunch stop.
Tee times
World-class golf, right on the island
Highland Links
Stanley Thompson's seaside masterpiece in Ingonish — top-ranked in Canada for 80+ years.
Cabot Links
Canada's only true links course, on the site of an old coal mine.
Cabot Cliffs
Ranked among the world's top 10 courses — perched on cliffs above the Gulf.
Outdoors
Hike, swim, explore
Skyline Trail
Iconic boardwalk-ended headland trail with sweeping Gulf of St. Lawrence views, frequent moose sightings, and the most-photographed sunset in Atlantic Canada — reserve in peak season.
The Cabot Trail (Scenic Drive)
The most famous drive in Canada — a 298-km loop around the northern Highlands.
Fortress of Louisbourg
The largest historical reconstruction in North America.
Cape Breton, ranked
Curated lists by locals
25 Best Places to Visit in Cape Breton (2026)
A locally-curated, ranked guide to the island's essential stops — beaches, lookoffs, fortresses, lighthouses, fishing villages, and the drives that connect them
The 15 best Cabot Trail stops, in driving order
A clockwise loop with the must-stop lookoffs, beaches, hikes, and meals — plus where to skip and where to spend extra time
Cape Breton in fall — the 12 best stops for autumn colour
Where to be in early-to-late October when the Highlands turn red and gold — plus when to go and what else is on
The best beaches on Cape Breton Island
Sandy stretches, warm-water swimming, and the wild Highlands coast
What's on
Upcoming events
CELEBRATE THE GRAND OPENING OF SEASIDE STUDIO ON THE PORT HAWKESBURY WATERFRONT
A new artist studio and gallery opens on the Port Hawkesbury waterfront with live demonstrations and local artists throughout the week.
SA’SE’WAMUKWA’SIT, CHANGES BY ALEX BALKAM
Visual and media artist Alex Balkam explores transformation through painting, sculpture, tanning, and film in this exhibition.
SAILING BY PAULINA OSORIO
Visual artist Paulina Osorio Ambriz explores emotional textures of place through colour and observation in her first Cape Breton exhibition.
GROUND RULES: MATERIA
Twelve artists explore how present moments shape the future through works inspired by a shared residency in Cape Breton Highlands National…Read more →
From the blog
Stories from the island
Cape Breton in Three Days: The Speed-Run Itinerary
A tight three-day plan for travellers with limited time, hitting the Cabot Trail, Louisbourg, and a real ceilidh without burning out.
Family-Friendly Cape Breton: 5 Days with Kids
A five-day Cape Breton itinerary built around kids, with short hikes, beaches, museums that hold attention, and dinners that work for everyone.
Cape Breton Craft Beer and Distillery Trail
A self-drive route through Cape Breton's breweries, the only single malt distillery in North America, and the cidery worth the detour.
Today's view
Photos from the island
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