Sydney

Canada

Sydney is a city of 32,000 people (2011). Itthe main port on Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia.

This former industrial city's main industries today are in customer support call centres and tourism. 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.

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.

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.

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).

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

Merchant Marine Memorial Statue, 246 Esplanade. A roadside attraction.

Old Sydney Society, 175 Charlotte St, +1 902-539-1572. Museum.

St Patrick's Museum, 87 Esplanade, +1 902-562-8237.

  • Casino Nova Scotia - Sydney's Neighbourhood Casino, 525 George St, +1 902-563-7777. Got plenty of money and no grasp of statistics? The government would love to see you! There's a restaurant on-site.

Casino Nova Scotia - Sydney's Neighbourhood Casino, 525 George St, +1 902-563-7777. Got plenty of money and no grasp of statistics? The government would love to see you! There's a restaurant on-site.

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

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

  • Celtic Junction Bar and Grille. 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.
  • Kiju's Restaurant, 50 Maillard St, Membertou B1S 3W3, +1 902-562-6220. 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.

Celtic Junction Bar and Grille. 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.

Kiju's Restaurant, 50 Maillard St, Membertou B1S 3W3, +1 902-562-6220. 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.

  • Breton Brewing Co., 364 Keltic Drive, +1 902-270-4677. A local craft brewery that sells pints in the tasting room.

Breton Brewing Co., 364 Keltic Drive, +1 902-270-4677. A local craft brewery that sells pints in the tasting room.

  • 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'

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'