Prince Edward Island - $section - Travel Guide

Click images to enlarge

Lauded as the birthplace of the Canadian Confederation and often referred to as the 'Garden of the Gulf', Prince Edward Island (PEI) is situated on the east coast of Canada and is by far the country's smallest province. Next to agriculture, tourism is the province's largest industry and visitors flock to visit the home of Anne of Green Gables, the novel by LM Montgomery, which was inspired by the island's landscape and people. One of the world's longest continuous multi-span bridges, the Confederation Bridge, connects PEI to the mainland at New Brunswick. Stretching over shimmering ocean, it is a spectacular point of arrival, although many still prefer to reach PEI by ferry, which allows for a more leisurely approach.

With its distinctive red soil and diverse landscape, Prince Edward Island is a beautiful and captivating place. The island's original inhabitants were the Mi'kmaq, who called it Abegweit; poetically translated as 'Cradle on the Waves', though literally meaning 'lying down flat,' reflecting the island's shape. European discovery occurred in 1534, but no colony was established until French occupation in 1719 of what was then called ÃŽle Saint-Jean. Previously expelled from British-run Nova Scotia, the island's French Acadian colony was again displaced when the British seized possession in the mid-1700s, renaming it St John's Island, then later Prince Edward Island. Very little settlement occurred until land was auctioned off to British nobility and settlers were then recruited by landowners to clear forest under a controversial feudal system. Remnants of this fascinating First Nations, Acadian and British history can still be found and islanders are fiercely proud of their heritage and extensive genealogies.