16 Secret "Anne Of Green Gables" Destinations In PEI

Anne of Green Gables? More like FAN of Green Gables!

When I was eight years old, all I wanted was red hair, a best friend like Diana Barry, and a PEI farmhouse. Like many little girls growing up in the Maritimes, I felt a natural connection to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s irrepressible heroine: Anne of Green Gables.

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These secret Anne of Green Gables destinations in Prince Edward Island will make any Anne fan’s childhood dreams come true.

1. Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Cavendish Home

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Lucy Maud didn’t grow up in Green Gables like Anne, but instead spent the majority of her childhood in her maternal grandparents' home, now the Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Cavendish Home. Sadly, none of the original buildings remain, but you can walk the family gardens and see artifacts at the on-site bookstore and museum.

2. Lucy Maud Montgomery Birthplace

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Montgomery was born in this small New London house and lived there until she was 21 months old. Visitors today can see a replica of her wedding dress and her personal scrapbooks — and ponder the resemblance to the fictional Bolingbroke home where Anne herself was born.

3. Kensington Railway Station

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Anne fans will instantly recognize the Kensington Railway Station, as it was featured in the 1985 Anne of Green Gables miniseries. The station is where a young Lucy Maud took her first train rides and pasted flowers from the voyages into her many beloved scrapbooks.

4. The Anne of Green Gables Museum

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Anne’s beloved Lake of Shining Waters is very real, and you can find it here by the Campbell homestead, now known as the Anne of Green Gables Museum. Once the home of Montgomery’s aunt and uncle, the museum preserves the author’s teenage quilting and artistic efforts. Alas, dramatic lakeside reenactments of the “Lady of Shalott” aren’t possible, but a carriage ride from “Matthew” is.  

5. The Montgomery Inn at Ingleside

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The home of Montgomery’s grandfather, Canadian Senator Donald (aka "Big Donald") Montgomery, was a beloved childhood hideaway for the budding author and served as her inspiration for Ingleside, Anne and Gilbert’s family homestead. The house is still family-owned and serves as the Montgomery Inn at Ingleside.

6. The Holland College Campus

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In 1894, Montgomery earned her teacher’s certificate from Charlottetown’s Prince of Wales College, where Holland College stands today. While much has changed, it’s easy to imagine how the stately campus inspired Montgomery when she was imagining the fictional Queen’s College, the alma mater of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe.   

7. The L.M. Montgomery Lower Bedeque School

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Montgomery was schoolmistress in this tiny building from 1896 to 1897, and undoubtedly her experiences influenced her descriptions of the Avonlea schoolhouse and its students. Remarkably, the one-room schoolhouse was still operational until 1961.  

8. Dalvay by the Sea

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If you’ve always dreamed of sleeping in the “sparest of all spare rooms,” the sumptuous king rooms at Dalvay by the Sea (aka The White Sands Hotel) will surpass your expectations. While this luxury hotel doesn’t exactly host dramatic reading recitals like Montgomery’s White Sands did, it never hurts to polish up on your elocution, just in case.  

9. New London Lighthouse

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This beautiful historic building was featured in the Anne of Green Gables miniseries, and the New London lighthouse may have been the inspiration for the revolving channel light mentioned in another Montgomery book, Jane of Lantern Hill. The beach and light are perfect for strolling with your best friend and talking about your future beaux.

10. The Cavendish Post Office

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Anne haunted the Cavendish post office waiting to hear the results of the Queen’s entrance exams, and Lucy Maud herself actually worked there. As assistant postmistress, she had ample insights into community gossip — and possible novel plots. Sadly, a fire damaged this building in 2018, but restoration work remains ongoing.

11. Cape Tryon Lighthouse

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This lonely lighthouse was almost certainly the inspiration for the fictional Captain Jim’s Four Winds light in Anne’s House of Dreams based on the description: “The Four Winds light was built on a spur of red sandstone cliff jutting out into the Gulf.” Nearby New London Harbour served as the fictional Four Winds Harbour, where Anne and Gilbert first made their home together.   

12. Thunder Cove Beach

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Thunder Cove Beach and its famous "teacup" rock formations have been used as the backdrop in all of Sullivan Entertainment’s Anne features. It’s the perfect spot for daydreaming and plotting out the next pages of your short story, just like Anne.  

13. Seacow Head Lighthouse

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Fans of both Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea will instantly recognize Seacow Head Lighthouse, as it’s often seen in the background during filming and was the model for Gus Pike’s lighthouse. 

14. Blue Winds Tea Room

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Many Island cafes have an Anne-inspired recipe, but few match the dedication of the Blue Winds Tea Room. The owners are devoted Montgomery fans and make both homemade raspberry cordial and new moon pudding based on Montgomery’s own recipe.

15. Confederation Centre of the Arts

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Even if you don’t have a real-life Aunt Josephine, an elegant night at the theatre is a must for any well-bred person of distinction visiting Charlottetown. The Confederation Centre of the Arts hosts Anne of Green Gables: The Musical — along with16 Montgomery novel manuscripts and personal artifacts such as her wedding dress.

16. Green Gables Heritage Place

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It’s anything but a secret destination, but no discussion of Anne of Green Gables would be complete without including Green Gables Heritage Place. This is the house where Anne dyed her hair green, set her friend drunk, and let a mouse drown in pudding sauce. It’s also where she would eat plates of russet apples with Matthew in front of the mid-winter fire and master biscuits so light and fluffy that even Marilla couldn’t find fault in them. How could you not stop by?

Tell us: Is Anne your kindred spirit? What dreamy PEI destination is on your wish list? And who will you take with you when you go?

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