Explore the real-world places that appear in Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Green Gables Heritage Place, Park Corner Homestead (Silver Bush area), Lake of Shining Waters (Barachois Pond), The House of Dreams (Four Winds Harbour cottage), Captain Jim's Lighthouse (Four Winds Point) and 6 more.
8619 Cavendish Rd, Cavendish — Anne's girlhood home
Anne leaves Green Gables as a bride at the start of the novel, after Marilla and Mrs. Rachel Lynde help prepare her wedding. She says goodbye to the home where she grew up with Marilla Cuthbert. The farmhouse stays a place of memory and return as Anne begins her married life.
The farmhouse belonged to Montgomery's cousins, David and Margaret Macneill, and inspired the Green Gables setting. It became part of Prince Edward Island National Park in the 1930s.
Parks Canada runs the site as a heritage museum, with the restored house, the Haunted Wood and Balsam Hollow trails, and a visitor centre. It is one of the island's most popular attractions.
Visit: Green Gables Heritage Place (historic site)
Park Corner — Montgomery family connection and the wedding setting
The wedding of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe takes place at Green Gables, which the novel treats as the heart of Anne's old life. The Park Corner area is closely linked with Montgomery's own family life and wedding customs on the island.
Park Corner was home to Montgomery's Campbell relatives, and she was married there in 1911 in the Campbell homestead's parlour. The place figured heavily in her life and writing.
The Anne of Green Gables Museum at Silver Bush is open to visitors in summer, with Montgomery memorabilia and the Lake of Shining Waters view.
Visit: Anne of Green Gables Museum at Silver Bush (museum)
Park Corner — water Anne loved
The Lake of Shining Waters is Anne's name for a beloved pond from her earlier years, and its memory lingers as she settles into married life. It stands for the places of childhood beauty she carries with her to Four Winds.
The pond at Park Corner is a tidal pond that inspired Montgomery's description. She knew it well from her visits to her Campbell relatives.
The pond can be seen from the road near the Anne of Green Gables Museum at Silver Bush. Buggy rides are offered nearby during the summer.
Visit: Barachois Pond viewpoint, Park Corner (landmark)
Four Winds — Anne and Gilbert's first home
Anne and Gilbert's first home is a small white house by the harbour at Four Winds, with a garden Anne loves and a view of the sea. They live there as newlyweds and welcome friends like Diana Barry and Philippa Gordon. The house is also where Anne endures the loss of her first baby, Joyce, and later welcomes her son James Matthew.
Montgomery based the Four Winds area on the north shore around Cavendish and Rustico. Small white cottages with sea views were typical of such fishing communities in the early twentieth century.
No exact house survives. The Cavendish area holds many heritage-themed places, and a replica House of Dreams is a popular photo stop for fans.
Four Winds Point — Captain Jim's home and the sea
Captain Jim is the old lighthouse keeper who befriends Anne and Gilbert and tells them stories of the sea. In the lighthouse he shares the tragic story of Lost Margaret, and his tales deepen Anne's sense of the place. His death near the end of the book is one of its great sorrows.
Lighthouses along the north shore of the island were vital to coastal shipping. Cavendish and Rustico were centres for fishing and trade.
Cavendish Beach and the nearby shore look out on the same gulf. Several island lighthouses are open to visitors in summer.
Visit: Cavendish Beach, Prince Edward Island National Park (park)
Four Winds — the village's outspoken neighbour
Miss Cornelia Bryant is a sharp-tongued, kind neighbour who becomes one of Anne's closest friends at Four Winds. She shares gossip and wisdom, and she helps Anne through hard times. Her feud with and eventual marriage to Marshall Elliott brings humour and warmth to the story.
Rural island communities of the era depended on close neighbour ties, with local gossip and mutual help shaping village life.
Rural homes of the area remain private. The Cavendish district retains a village character with farms and shops.
Prince Edward Island National Park — the north shore
The sea and shore around Four Winds shape the whole novel. Anne and Gilbert walk the sands and watch the sky and tide, and the shore is a constant presence in their early married life. Anne often turns to it for solace and joy.
The red sandstone cliffs and dunes of the north shore were formed over millions of years. The area became part of Prince Edward Island National Park in 1937.
The beach is a popular swimming and walking spot with lifeguards in summer and boardwalks across the dunes.
Visit: Cavendish Beach (park)
Cavendish — Montgomery's resting place
The novel's themes of loss and memory find echoes in the island's graveyards. Anne grieves her first child, and the story reflects on how the living hold on to those they have lost.
The cemetery holds many of Cavendish's early families. L.M. Montgomery was buried here in 1942.
Visitors come to pay respects at Montgomery's grave. The cemetery is a quiet public place.
Visit: Cavendish Cemetery (landmark)
Cavendish — Where Montgomery lived and wrote
The novel was written from Montgomery's deep knowledge of this district. The scenery and community of Cavendish fed her imagination, and she shaped Four Winds from the same north shore landscape.
Montgomery lived with her grandparents in Cavendish, and the farm site is now preserved as a historic place. She wrote Anne of Green Gables here.
The foundation and a small display mark the site. It is open to visitors in the summer months.
Visit: L.M. Montgomery's Cavendish Home (historic site)
Cavendish — heritage attraction
Avonlea is the home village to which Anne returns in thought and visits, with Marilla, Mrs. Lynde, and Diana. It is the old world that contrasts with her new life at Four Winds.
The fictional Avonlea was modelled on Cavendish. A themed village was created for tourism to celebrate the setting.
Avonlea Village offers shops, costumed performers, and food in a recreated village setting.
Visit: Avonlea Village (landmark)
Charlottetown — the island's capital
Charlottetown is the nearest city to the island's villages and the place from which the characters' travels and ties to the wider world run. It stands for the busy world beyond Four Winds.
Charlottetown hosted the 1864 conference that led to Canadian Confederation. It has been the provincial capital since 1873.
The city has Province House, a historic waterfront, theatres, and restaurants. The Charlottetown Festival presents Anne of Green Gables, The Musical.
Visit: Confederation Centre of the Arts (theater)
More by L.M. Montgomery: All L.M. Montgomery books
Other nearby maps: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery locations map · Anne of Windy Poplars by Lucy Maud Montgomery locations map · The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin locations map · Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery locations map