Anne of Green Gables – The Original Locations on Prince Edward Island

We spent a day visiting the places of Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island (PEI). Anne who? Exactly. I was also unfamiliar with the heartwarming story at first. I didn't know the book, nor the series. Nothing. However, on the island, there is a farmhouse with green gables in front of which people from all over the world stand every day. They come because of the girl who never existed.

Anne Shirley is the heroine of Anne of Green Gables, the novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. She wrote it in 1908 on that farm. A red-haired orphan who accidentally ends up with two elderly siblings on the farm and completely turns their lives upside down.

In Canada, every child knows the story, and it is said that the book often served as inspiration for many children's books well-known to us Europeans, such as Pippi Longstocking, among others. So we went there. Without preparation, without an audiobook for the drive, without knowing who Matthew and Marilla are. And everything we know today about Anne, Green Gables, and the author, we learned on PEI.

In the following post, I will show you what we saw at the original filming locations of Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island, how much it cost, and what I would do differently today.

01. Green Gables Heritage Place in Cavendish

First of all, an important piece of information. The house itself is real, but the story surrounding Anne is fictional. The „Green Gables“ house belonged to the Macneill family, who were related to the author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The author never lived there herself, as she grew up about a kilometer away with her grandparents. However, as a child, she often walked through the woods over to the estate.

"Green Gables" is called "Grüne Giebel" in German, so it's clear where the name comes from—because the gables of the house are…ta-da…green!

The Green Gables Visitor Centre Cavendish

When we saw the many cars in the parking lot, it was immediately clear to us that this must be a popular attraction on Prince Edward Island. The visitor center was super important for us, since we didn't know anything about the history yet at all.

There is an exhibition here that explains who Montgomery was and why a 1908 novel became a virtually worldwide place of pilgrimage. The novel has been translated into 35 languages. Furthermore, there is of course a souvenir shop and a café here. For our kids, the Lego replica of Green Gables was very exciting.

Green Gables House Cavendish

We walk past the café and arrive directly at the house. We had zero expectations and were surprised by a neatly furnished, old, yet very exciting interior. It was interesting to see how people used to live here. Above all, I always notice how small people used to be, since both the bed and the clothes on display are always size XXS. 🙂

And now comes a point that almost no one mentions and that we didn't know either. The interior furnishings of the house are not historically recorded, but rather reconstructed based on the novel. The Canadian government had bought the property in the 1930s and initially showcased typical farm life on PEI. It wasn't until the 1970s that the house was remodeled so that the individual rooms and furniture followed the descriptions from the novel.

So, in a sense, we weren't walking through Anne's house, but through a very accurate and detailed representation of it. Since none of us knew the book or had read it before, we didn't realize that, of course, and we had a great time.

Two stories I remember

The author Montgomery secretly sent her first short stories and poems to publishers. Through the post office her grandparents ran, she was able to intercept the rejection letters before anyone in the family saw them. Clever, but not really sustainable, I'd say.

The second story or fact is about a fire on May 23, 1997. The upper floor caught fire due to a short circuit and the interior of Green Gables was severely damaged. The subsequent restoration was then the occasion to further expand the entire site, with barns and a few outbuildings. So what we saw in 2026 owes its form to a fire.

How popular is Green Gables?

Google told me that Parks Canada recorded nearly 3,000 visitors on peak days in 2025. So if you want pictures without strangers in them, come at opening at 9 a.m. or during the last hour before 5 p.m.

We were there around midday, in July 2026, and were also lucky that it wasn't quite as busy. Even though the parking lot was almost full that day, everything spreads out quite well across the huge area.

Practical information about Green Gables

02. Lovers Lane and the Haunted Wood Trail

To be completely honest, the real highlight for us was the hike through the adjacent forest. We walk straight down from the garden into the woods, where there are three trails: Lovers Lane, Balsam Hollow Trail, and Haunted Wood Trail. The names apparently come from the book.

The author Montgomery walked these paths as a child and later mentioned them accordingly in her novel „Anne of Green Gables.“ The Haunted Wood Trail leads over to the property of her actual childhood home, which we did not visit, however.

The paths are easy to walk and therefore perfect for families. Plan for about 1.5 to 2 hours. From the forest, we then walked directly to the cemetery.

03. The Cavendish Cemetery

The Lucy Maud Montgomery grave is located in Cavendish Cemetery. She died in 1942 at the age of 67. It is somewhat unusual for us to visit a cemetery with the kids, but it is part of the „exhibition,“ so to speak. Montgomery wished to be buried in this cemetery, and it is claimed she chose the plot herself. Well, before her death, of course.

By the way, her husband, Ewen MacDonald, lies next to her. Nearby is her mother Clara, who died when Montgomery was not even two years old. And her grandparents, with whom she grew up afterward, are also buried here.

By the way, the rest of the cemetery is just a regular village cemetery. Here you’ll see old headstones and the names of the families and people buried here. What we don’t know is that many of the last names appear in the books—for example, Macneill, Simpson, Clark, etc.

04. Avonlea Village – Anne of Green Gables PEI

Less than a 5-minute drive away lies the picturesque Avonlea Village. I had already read a few travel reports and the place was recommended as a culinary stopover. That is exactly why we went there. Hungry from the hike through the enchanting forest behind Green Gables, we chowed down on a delicious lobster roll here at Dave's.

Avonlea Village is not a historical place in that sense. The village was only built in 1999 to show what Avonlea might have looked like. Three buildings are real, however, namely the schoolhouse where Montgomery taught, as well as the parsonage and the Long River Church from 1872, or Lange Fluss Kirche, as the Germanic people say.

Overall, the village consists of eight restaurants and six shops. We spent about 2 hours here. It is a pleasant and beautiful photo backdrop, and since you're only a few minutes away anyway, a stop here is worth it. However, I wouldn't make a special trip just for it.

05. The Anne of Green Gables Musical in Charlottetown

So that we can finally get to know the whole story ourselves, I bought us some tickets for the musical being performed in Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island. After visiting the house, walking through the woods, and seeing the graveyard, we knew the places, but not the plot. The musical therefore filled in the rest.

The musical has been around since 1965 and even holds the Guinness World Record as the longest-running annual musical. In total, it has been performed 2,500 times.

The musical was a great experience. It was very professional with excellent performers, and the 3 hours flew by in an instant. I especially loved the main character, Anne Shirley. The role has a lot of humor and certainly wasn't easy to play.

The musical rounded off the whole trip to Green Gables for me and my family in a neat and satisfying way. The story is really heartwarming and strongly reminds me of familiar stories such as Pippi Longstocking.

If you are planning a trip to Anne of Green Gables and want to see the musical, please note that the musical is only performed every two years in the summer. Following the previous pattern—namely 2022, 2024, and 2026—the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown will not perform the musical again until the summer of 2028. This has not been officially announced, which is why you official website you should definitely visit beforehand.

How much Anne's visit to Green Gables Prince Edward Island cost

Green Gables Heritage Place: 0 EUR admission.

We were lucky because Canada introduced the Canada Strong Pass in 2026. From June 19 to September 7, admission to all Parks Canada sites—that is, national parks and historic sites—was free. Outside of this period, admission costs about 10 CAD for adults; youth up to age 17 get in for free anyway. There are also annual passes for the parks, which are significantly cheaper.

It is best to check the official website before your trip, where all current prices and models are listed: parks.canada.ca.

Cavendish Cemetery: 0 EUR admission.

Avonlea Village: 0 EUR admission.

Musical at the Confederation Centre: 140 EUR for the whole family, equivalent to about 220 CAD (in 2026)

Would we do it the same way again?

NO. I am pretty sure I would do it differently if I knew the story or at least could connect the sights and the musical. Next time, I would watch the musical first and then go to Cavendish.

On the other hand, our order of things also had something to it—or rather, didn't. Because we drove to Cavendish completely without any expectations and with a total openness toward the story and the sights. Nothing could disappoint us, and we had a wonderful and interesting day with Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island.

When you visit Green Gables with kids, an audio play on the drive or the first two episodes of Anne with an E on Netflix already changes the whole day, for the better.

Regarding „Anne with an E“

Because the question will come up anyway: The Netflix series was mostly filmed in Ontario. Only a few landscape shots were taken on Prince Edward Island. The house from the series, which is Green Gables there, is a private farm in Pickering, Ontario. That is 1,300 km away from the real Green Gables. By the way, the roof was painted green especially for the production.

So if you are looking for the TV set, you are in the wrong place on Prince Edward Island. If you are looking for the landscape that inspired Montgomery to write in the first place, bingo, you've come to the right place on PEI.

All Anne locations on Prince Edward Island at a glance

Place	sightseeing attraction	Admission	Time requirement
Green Gables Heritage Place	Original farmhouse, museum	10 CAD, temporarily free in 2026	2 to 3 hours.
Lovers Lane / Haunted Wood	Hiking trails from the book	free	45 to 90 min.
Cavendish Cemetery	Grave of L.M. Montgomery	free	20 min.
Avonlea Village	Reconstructed village with shops	free	1 to 2 hours.
Anne Musical, Charlottetown	Stage production since 1965	from approx. 220 CAD as a family [140 EUR in 2026]	approx. 3 hours.

06. Frequently Asked Questions about Anne of Green Gables

How much is admission to Green Gables? Regularly 10 CAD for adults in the high season and approx. 8 CAD in the low season. Youth up to 17 years old are always free at Parks Canada. In 2026, admission was free for everyone from June 19 to September 7 thanks to the Canada Strong Pass.

When did Green Gables open? Daily from 9 AM to 5 PM, season from May 1 to October 31.

How long does it take to visit Green Gables? Für das Haus allein knapp eine Stunde. Mit Besucherzentrum und den Waldwegen 2 bis 3 Stunden.

Kann man Green Gables, den Friedhof und Avonlea Village an einem Tag schaffen? Ja, problemlos. Alle drei liegen in Cavendish, nur wenige Minuten auseinander.

Muss man die Bücher kennen? Nein. Wir kannten sie nicht und sind trotzdem gut durchgekommen. Eine Stunde Vorbereitung macht den Tag aber deutlich reicher.

Wo ist Lucy Maud Montgomery begraben? Auf dem Cavendish Cemetery, wenige Minuten von Green Gables entfernt. Der Zugang ist frei, das Grab vom Haupteingang aus ausgeschildert.

Läuft das Anne-Musical jeden Sommer? Nein. Seit der Pandemie wird es nur noch jedes zweite Jahr produziert, zuletzt 2022, 2024 und 2026. Spielplan vorher prüfen.

Lohnt sich das Anne-Musical mit Kindern? Ja definitiv. Wir hatten als Familie eine super Zeit und haben das Musical lustig und spannend gefunden.

Wurde die Netflix-Serie auf Prince Edward Island gedreht? Nur die Landschaftsaufnahmen. Der Grossteil entstand in Ontario.

Anne of Green Gables impression Prince Edward Island

Zum Schluss gibt es noch meine Galerie mit einigen Bildern von Anne auf Green Gables, dem Musical und Avonlea Village. Hab viel Spass beim Planen deiner Reise und ich hoffe, ich konnte dich ein wenig inspirieren. Neben Anne auf Green Gables und den Schauplätzen auf Prince Edward Island bietet die Insel natürlich noch weitere tolle Sehenswürdigkeiten.