Summerside
Summerside is the Island’s second-largest city and has all the amenities you’d expect. Harbourfront Theatre attracts world-class entertainers and plays host to many great festivals and events. A lively boardwalk allows visitors to shop and dine beside the ocean and just down the way at the College of Piping, performers show off the Island’s Celtic roots with energetic displays of dancing, piping and drumming.
While in Summerside be sure and check out the great shops at Spinnakers Landing, then dine at one of the many fine restaurants Summerside has to offer.
Why not begin your tour of Summerside with a history lesson. A walking tour of Summerside's tree-lined streets past stately heritage homes will reveal much about this community. Look for the excellent walking tour guidebook published by the City of Summerside. In the downtown area, significant events in the town's past have been portrayed in dramatic fashion in large murals and visitors can learn more about the boat building and fishing heritage at the boatshed at Spinnakers' Landing on the Summerside Waterfront.
Look for the Lefurgey Cultural Centre, the MacNaught History Centre and Archives, the Wyatt Historic House Museum, the Bishop's Machine Shop Museum & Historic Site and The International Fox Museum & Hall of Fame for more information.
Shipyard Market on the site of an historic shipbuilding facility adjacent to Green's Shore Beach, overlooks Summerside Harbour, Indian Head Lighthouse and Holman's Island. Here you can browse the shops, enjoy a promenade on the boardwalk or just relax and enjoy the view from the spacious deck and open-air seating.
The Confederation Trail, once the railway route across PEI and now a groomed walking and biking trail stretching right across the province, passes through the centre of Summerside and on through the heart of the region. Pick up a bicycle or take a stroll on this level, easy-to-negotiate trail. Plan to begin at the pavilion that marks the birthplace of the TransCanada Trail, just in the centre of the city.
The Celtic heritage of the Island is alive and well and waiting to be experienced at the College of Piping, also in Summerside. Throughout the summer, the College has a busy schedule of ceilidhs and concerts, including free mini-concerts each afternoon.