Got bottles????

OK ~ we had heard a lot about the Bottle Houses of PEI and even though we already ran into Hannah's Bottle Village we thought when we went to the Edouard Arsennault Bottle Houses we would see about the same thing ~ so not true.  This place was magnificent and one of the best things on the Island to see & do.  If you've ever wanted to visit a truly different attraction, The Bottle Houses of Prince Edward Island certainly will fit the bill. For a better view of House click on photos to enlarge ~ they are incredible and one  places while here on the Island.

Entrance to Bottle Houses

Located in Cape-Egmont on Route 11 of the North Cape Coastal Drive, the houses are a grand recycling project in which three full-sized buildings were constructed from 25,000 multi-colored glass bottles. What could be more out-of-the-ordinary than that?

Bottle Church ~ Pews are made with Votive Candle Jars from the Catholic Church ~
This church was made with over 8000 bottles

The Bottle Houses were the brainchild of the late Édouard Arsenault, a veteran of the Second World War, who constructed the buildings between 1980 and 1984. The idea was born from a postcard of a glass castle sent to him from a relative in British Columbia. Arsenault was so taken with the structure, he began to collect and clean bottles for his own glass building. Friends, neighbors and local businesses donated bottles to the project, and what began as a hobby for the 66 year old veteran soon blossomed into a most unique tourist attraction. The first of the Bottle Houses was opened to the public in 1981.

House of Six Gables ~ this is the first house built and it has over 12,000 bottles in it.

The House of Six Gables also contains a real organ that you can play if you know how or not!

Upon entering the houses, you are immediately engulfed in a kaleidoscope of color and overcomed by a surreal sense of peace and relaxation. The sunlight, filtered and diffused through the many different colors of glass, gives each structure a timeless feel, as if one has stepped into an alternate realm of multi-colored magic.

Bottoms up ~ Tavern ~ This tavern was Edouards second building which he used about 8000 more bottles

Immaculately groomed gardens and walkways make for a serene environment every bit as colorful as the main attractions themselves and provide a perfect, fantasy-like setting for the houses. You will find the various gardens, with their dry-stacked stone walls, and the pond, with its wooden bridge and fountain, a tranquil retreat. So many pictures I had for you to see so I have put them into a slide show for you to enjoy ~ Sit back and enjoy this wonderland.

The three houses include The Six Gabled House, The Tavern and The Chapel. The Six Gabled House is the first and largest of these and is remarkable not only for its size—20x14 feet—but for its complex architectural structure and for the appealing wall patterns achieved by the careful choice of colors and sizes of the bottles used.  The Tavern is a unique hexagon shape, and it is here that you can examine a huge collection of odd bottles preserved by the architect for their unusual qualities, and while in The Chapel, you can have a seat in the built-in pews, constructed entirely from bottles, of course. The building is designed to allow the sunlight to stream down upon the glass altar, the stained-glass effect giving the chapel a true sense of the sublime.

This is a reproduction of Cape Egmont Lighthouse which Edouard retired from in 1980

This was one of my favorite things on Prince Edward Island and is a BIG must to visit when you come here.  I hope you enjoyed this post and it has inspired you to go and visit it one day.

On the way out there is a beautiful gift shop with lots of GREAT goodies to buy ~ and not to pricey.

Have Fun & Travel Safe