Prince Edward Island, Canada celebrates its most popular, albeit fictional resident. Anne Shirley, the main character in the Anne of Green Gables novels written by Author L.M. Montgomery, fills the land that is PEI — also known as Anne Land.
L.M. Montgomery put Prince Edward Island on the tourism map. Visitors swarm the island in the summer months. There is Anne candy, Anne musicals and museums, streets, hotels and restaurants named for characters or phrases from the books and of course you can visit Green Gables. The red-haired orphan can be found around every corner and red-clay cliff on Prince Edward Island. So here’s a guide to all things Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island.
Green Gables in Prince Edward Island
Green Gables Heritage Place
For Anne fans, this is the spot! This is the actual home and centerpiece that inspired L.M. Montgomery to create her character Anne Shirley. Green Gables was Montgomery’s cousin’s house, which she frequented, but Montgomery herself lived through nearby in another home. Montgomery easily blurred the lines between fact and fiction in her novels so while Anne Shirley is a fictional character, she seems to come to life at the white house with green trim called Green Gables. You may even find her wandering around Heritage Place, waiting to take a photo and say hello.
There are plenty of things to do and see while visiting Green Gables Heritage Place. Visitors can tour the inside of the small two-story house and check out the kitchen and Anne’s room. In Anne’s room, you will find her dress with puffed sleeves and the garment bag she carried when she arrived at Green Gables. You can take a guided tour around the exterior of the house and learn all about the house and property itself. There is a reconstructed barn on the property that was once used by Montgomery’s family in the 1900s. There’s even a small cafe selling ice cream and raspberry cordial.
You can watch a short film about the popularity of the books as well as a second film about Montgomery herself. There are handwritten notes from Montgomery on display as well as original copies of her books and her typewriter where she crafted her literary genius.
After touring Green Gables and the property, you can take a stroll through the “Haunted Woods” or “Lovers Lane” (both referenced in the books) for a mile long walk in the cool shade. The Haunted Woods trail leads to an additional find of Green Gables Heritage Place — the site of Montgomery’s home where she wrote Green Gables.
Now, this site can be a bit deceiving. When purchasing tickets at Green Gables Heritage Place, a combo ticket is offered to see the Green Gables house as well as the site where Montgomery wrote her novels. It’s not clearly mentioned however (unless you read between the lines of the word “site”), that Montgomery’s house is not actually still standing at this location. The house’s foundation still exists and visitors are welcome to walk around the foundation and take a short guided tour of where everything once stood in the house while learning even more about the author’s life. But there is no house and after having walked a mile through the words, you could be disappointed to discover this. You can also drive to the Montgomery house site, you don’t have to walk. It’s located just around the corner from Green Gables and there is parking.
There is also a cute bookstore at this site and numerous copies of Anne of Green Gables as well as other books written by and about Montgomery are for purchase here.
Anne Shirley’s room in Green Gables.
Avonlea Village
This adorable replica village is located just down the road from Green Gables Heritage Place and it’s free to enter. Avonlea was the fictitious town Anne Shirley lived in and this replica offers visitors restaurants, shops and more Anne Land to see.
There are several restaurants to choose from in Avonlea Village, including a coffee shop, specialty potato shop, a pizza place and ice cream shop. This little village is a great place to stop for lunch before or after a visit to Green Gables. You can also check out the schoolhouse and church buildings while touring around Avonlea.
Anne of Green Gables: The Musical
Based on the books, the musical version of the Anne of Green Gables story has been continuously running on stage since 1965, making it Canada’s longest-running musical. It’s a Guinness Record holder too. If a musical has been playing for that long, it has to be delightful right?!
Anne of Green Gables: The Musical plays at the Confederation of Centre of the Arts in the Homburg Theatre in Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island. The show runs in the summer months (June through September) and the cost ranges around average theater prices. , a second musical based on the books.
If you’re still craving Anne on stage or want to see her next chapter come to life, the story continues with Anne & Gilbert The Musical, a second musical based on the books.
Anne of Green Gables Museum
Also known as the “lake of shining waters,” the Anne of Green Gables Museum sits on a 110-acre property that Montgomery’s aunt and uncle built and lived in. The Campbell Homestead is now home to the museum that honors the life and works of Montgomery. Visitors can check out author artifacts and see the fireplace where Montgomery was married. You can view the actual Lake of Shining Waters and take a ride in Matthew’s carriage. The museum is cute and worth a stop and the carriage ride on a summer day along the red-clay cliffs is as enchanting as Anne would describe.
Anne Souvenirs
In nearly every store on Prince Edward Island, you can find some sort of Anne of Green Gables souvenir. There are Anne magnets, toys, hats, figurines, books upon books and more books, Christmas ornaments and even food. My favorite however is the Anne of Green Gables Chocolates. It’s a brand of chocolates and less of chocolate shaped like Anne of Green Gables. There is a wide assortment of boxed chocolates. There are truffles, toffees and peppermint patties, fudge and chocolate-covered pecans and toffee called PEI oysters, chocolate-covered pretzels, peanut brittle and even summer tea. You can’t go wrong with chocolate AND Anne of Green Gables…’em I right?!
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