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community in Nova Scotia, Canada
North America > Canada > Atlantic Canada > Nova Scotia > Cape Breton Island > Sydney (Nova Scotia)

Sydney is a city of 30,960 people (2021). It is the main port on Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia.

Understand edit

 
The world's largest fiddle

This former industrial city's main industries today are in customer support call centres and tourism. Cape Breton University is a major employer and has brought students from around the world to the area. Tourism in Sydney has boomed as a result of significant government investment in cruise ship facilities and a waterfront revitalization plan through which a boardwalk and marinas were constructed, as was the world's largest fiddle.

History edit

Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British. Sydney served as the Cape Breton Island colony's capital, until 1820, when the colony merged with Nova Scotia and the capital moved to Halifax.

 
United Heritage Church

A rapid population expansion occurred just after the turn of the 20th century, when Sydney was home to one of North America's main steel mills. During both the First and Second World Wars, it was a major staging area for England-bound convoys. The post-war period, there was a major decline in the number of people employed at the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO) steel mill. The Nova Scotia and Canadian governments had to nationalize it in 1967 to save the region's biggest employer, forming the new crown corporation called the Sydney Steel Corporation (SYSCO). The city's population has steadily decreased since the early 1970s as Sydney suffered an economic decline as local coal and steel industries underwent significant changes. The closure of the SYSCO and the Cape Breton Development Corporation's coal mines in 2000-2001 have resulted in attempts by the municipal, provincial and federal governments to diversify the area economy.

Climate edit

Sydney experiences a cool summer, and windy, wet and stormy winter. February is the year's coldest month on average, and August is the year's warmest month on average.

While occasional thunderstorms and other rains can occur in summer, June through August are Sydney's driest months on average. Sydney's average annual precipitation cycle reflects these realities; the year's driest month, on average, is July; its wettest month, on average, is December. Average annual precipitation in Sydney is over 1500mm, virtually the highest found anywhere in Canada outside coastal British Columbia. Snowfall is heavy, averaging nearly 300 cm per winter season. However, winter-season storms are variable, and can bring changing precipitation types, commonly from ice/snow to rain and possibly back to ice/snow. A winter storm can bring accumulating snow, followed by heavy rain, then a brief return to snow or ice, resulting in no or minimal additional snow accumulation. Overall, Sydney's climate is moderately cold and strikingly variable, wet, stormy and windy from fall to early spring (October to March), and more stable and drier in summer (June to August).

Get in edit

 
46°8′6″N 60°12′18″W
Map of Sydney (Nova Scotia)

By plane edit

Airport edit

Destinations edit

Direct flights to Sydney within Canada include from Montreal (2 hours) and from Toronto (2.25 hours).

Airlines edit

Canadian airlines operating to Sydney:

By car edit

Driving to Sydney can be done by crossing the Canso Causeway which links the island to the Nova Scotia mainland at Auld's Cove (on the mainland) and Port Hawkesbury (on Cape Breton). From there you have two options: the slightly longer but straighter Highways 105 and 125 or the shorter but twistier Route 4.

By bus edit

By boat edit

Ferry service is available from Newfoundland in North Sydney.

Get around edit

 

Most sights within the downtown are within walking distance, however most major tourist sights are well outside of the city and require a car or pre-arranged tour bus.

See edit

Although Sydney is the centre of Cape Breton, it lacks major tourist sites itself. A couple of things to see are:

  • Two private homes dating to the earliest settlement of the city, Jost House and Cossitt House, remain in the downtown area of Sydney.
  • Wentworth Park, a 5-minute walk south from the downtown core, is worth a visit.
  • 1 Merchant Marine Memorial Statue, 246 Esplanade. A roadside attraction. (updated Mar 2018)
  • 2 Old Sydney Society, 175 Charlotte St, ☏ +1 902-539-1572. Museum. (updated Mar 2018)
  • 3 St Patrick's Museum, 87 Esplanade, ☏ +1 902-562-8237. (updated Mar 2018)

Do edit

Buy edit

The Sydney marine terminal and Charlotte Street have an abundance of arts and crafts stores selling traditional Cape Breton souvenirs.

Eat edit

Sydney has many well established restaurants, most with menus full of classic seafood favourites.

  • Celtic Junction Bar and Grille (inside the Sydney casino). This restaurant features a large menu consisting of a good mixture of diner classics and newer 'fusion-fare'. Because it is located inside the casino, it is off limits to those under 19. 
  • 1 Kiju's Restaurant, 50 Maillard St, Membertou B1S 3W3, ☏ +1 902-562-6220, fax: +1 902-564-4921. Su-Th 11AM-9PM, F-Sa 11AM-10PM. Fresh ideas and local ingredients, pub style classics, kid’s meals and finer fare. In Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, near the Hampton Inn Sydney. (updated Apr 2017)
  • Flavor restaurants, four locations, including Flavor on the Water located at the Big Fiddle. Various menu options.

Drink edit

Sleep edit

Sydney is home to a handful of places to rest your head ranging from small motels to larger hotels.

  • 1 Beacon Motel, 294 Keltic Drive, toll-free: +1-866-562-8282. Cheaper motel located 10 minutes outside of the downtown core. No website; call to make reservations. 
  • 2 Cambridge Suites, 380 Esplanade, ☏ +1 902 562-6500, toll-free: +1-800-565-9466, fax: +1 902 564-6011. Although the nicest hotel in the city, it lacks a swimming pool so it might not be very family friendly, which might be a selling point for busy business travellers. $149-199. 
  • 3 Hearthstone Inn Sydney, 560 Kings Road, ☏ +1 902-539-8101, toll-free: +1 800-422-8025, . Hotel with free high-speed Internet, restaurant and lounge, heated pool, exercise room, executive suite, courtyard and free parking. 
  • 4 Holiday Inn Sydney - Waterfront, 300 Esplanade, ☏ +1 902 562-7500. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. This hotel features large conference facilities and ballrooms, a large swimming pool, waterslide, gym and sauna. 
  • 5 Travelodge Sydney, 480 Kings Road, fax: +1 902-707-4603. This hotel also has a pool, sauna, hot tub, and gym. 

For travellers seeking something with a little more character try one of the many bed and breakfasts in the area a selection of which can be found here

Go next edit

  • The Fortress of Louisbourg, about an hour's drive away, is a reconstruction of the 18th-century fortified French town whose presence plagued the British colonies of New England.
  • Stop at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada in Baddeck.
  • And no visit to Cape Breton is complete without a trip around the famous Cabot Trail, which regularly places high on lists of 'Best Drives in the World'
Routes through Sydney
END ← North Sydney ←  N   S  → END
Antigonish ← Port Hawkesbury ← jct   ←  W   E  → Glace Bay → END
END ←  N   S  → Louisbourg → END


This city travel guide to Sydney is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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