11 top places to experience Nova Scotia

23.05.2024 - 14:47 / lonelyplanet.com / Nova Scotia

On a map, Nova Scotia resembles a duck or a lobster – both fitting references for a province defined by its proximity to the North Atlantic.

Yet the landscapes, seascapes and, um, people-scapes in Canada’s second-smallest province are as varied as anywhere in the country. Take an hour’s drive in almost any direction, and you’ll get a full switch-up of both scenery and cultural heritage.

A stretch of one coastline washed by the world’s highest tides is dotted with French Acadian villages and their tall stone and wooden churches. The opposite coast of rocky headlines is interrupted by great crescents of silver sand and fishing villages founded by European and Black Loyalist settlers. Between the two, the fertile Annapolis Valley plays home to an upstart wine region. In the north, undulating highlands attracted Gaelic Scottish settlers who recognized Cape Breton Island as a Scotland look-alike. And everywhere in Nova Scotia, the Indigenous Mi’kmaq have roamed for thousands of years, using the rivers as highways and the seashore as their pantry.

The hardest question? Where to focus your visit. Let us help you build a Nova Scotia itinerary filled with all the best places to visit along the province’s 7500km (4660 miles) of seabound coast.

Best for a day on the waterfront

A stroll along the Halifax harborside boardwalk is the best way to get to know Nova Scotia’s capital city and its rich history. Begin at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, where waves of immigrants entered Canada. Then, learn about Halifax’s grim role in the Titanic disaster at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

Queen’s Marque is the city’s flashy new waterfront development, complete with high-end accommodations, the city’s best restaurants and a stairway into the sea. Come evening, bar hop up the hill for live music at venues like The Carlton and the Split Crow.

Detour: Cross Halifax harbor aboard one of the bathtub-like ferries that chugs every 15 to 30 minutes to Dartmouth, whose 10-block downtown is like an urban village with a throwback feel. Chuck axes at the Timber Lounge, shop for vinyl at Taz or Renegade Records, or sip a Negroni at Dear Friend Bar.

Best for exploring the province’s multicultural roots

Several culturally distinct peoples share the southern tip of Nova Scotia (known locally as Sou’West Nova). The French Shore is where Acadians resettled in 1763 following a forced exile hugs the Bay of Fundy coastline. Other Acadians settled in the Pubnico area – where today fishing boats are docked two and three abreast, seafood is served in heaping platters and the Historic Acadian Village brings their past alive. In Shelburne and neighboring Birchtown, the story of enslaved Africans who were freed and escaped themselves