Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, is astonishingly lovely: It is a land of rocky coasts, rugged mountains and peaceful valleys, all surrounding a vast, brackish inland sea known as the Bras d'Or (Arm of Gold) Lake. The best way to experience this island is to drive (or, even better, be driven) along the Cabot Trail, a 185-mi/300-km scenic highway that circles the island's northwest coast.
Cape Breton is the most popular tourist destination in Nova Scotia, and once you've been there, you'll know why. Inventor Alexander Graham Bell, a longtime resident of Baddeck, put it this way: "I have seen the Canadian and American Rockies, the Andes, the Alps and the Highlands of Scotland, but for simple beauty, Cape Breton outrivals them all."
