Sydney NS walking tour

After purchase, to begin your hunt, you will need to be in front of the Holiday Inn Sydney Waterfront, 300 Esplanade, Sydney, NS B1P 1A7. This is the start location.

Once there, log in to this website and begin your hunt, or go to My Account for instructions.

This tour was tested in person in the summer of 2019 and launched that fall.

It was reviewed and updated in 2023.

This scavenger hunt has a difficulty level of NORMAL.

Buy either a single-person ticket or a group ticket. The ideal group size ranges from 2 to 6 people, but it is not limited to this. Children are welcome and will enjoy most of the challenges.

Ancient History

Ancient First Nations encampments can be traced back as far as 10,600 years. These natives who hunted caribou became the Mi’kmaq.

The Mi’kmaq have been called Cape Breton Island Mi’kma’ki for thousands of years. The Mi’kma’ki region included Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in its entirety, part of the American state of Maine, Newfoundland, and the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec.

The French were the first Europeans to settle here, calling it Acadia. Control of the region shifted between the French and the English during the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1713, France finally obtained official control of the Royal Island (Cape Breton) by the Treaty of Utrecht.

In 1719, they built Fort Louisbourg, which the English captured but returned to France. But during the Seven Years’ War, the English conquered it definitively. They expelled its inhabitants and destroyed the fort. Then, in 1763, Ile Royale finally changed its name to Cape Breton.

Then, the British founded Sydney in 1785. Sydney was the capital of the Cape Breton colony from 1785 until it merged with that of Nova Scotia in 1820. The capital moved to Halifax at that time. In fact, Sydney takes its name in honour of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, who was the British cabinet secretary in 1785.

Recent History

The original population consisted of British and loyalist Americans who fled New York after the Revolution. Among these loyalists is David Mathews, the former mayor of New York under the British.

Indeed, between 1900 and 1945, Sydney prospered mainly from the steel industry. She played a significant role in World War II. Several Canadian ships were based here. After the war, the main industries, steel and coal, had a difficult time. The companies withdrew, forcing the government to privatize the factories to maintain employment in the region.

Then, in 1995, the city dissolved to join the agglomeration of surrounding municipalities, forming the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Finally, in 2001, the coal and steel plants closed down permanently. Since then, we find mainly telephone call centers and tourism.