If you want a harmonious plane journey, best not let your kids play in the aisle, get drunk, or watch a movie without headphones, an online survey from pollster YouGov found.
24.05.2024 - 11:45 / lonelyplanet.com / Nova Scotia
“Canada’s Ocean Playground” – the phrase emblazoned on every Nova Scotia license plate – is a call to action to get out and explore this magical province.
Imagine looking a whale in the eye, kayaking around hundreds of wild islands or flying to a giant sandbar populated only by wild horses, seals and birds. You can do it all here.
In Nova Scotia, you can walk ancient petroglyphs with a descendant of the Mi’kmaq people who first etched them. Help fire a cannon. Learn about slavery’s missing chapter. Strike up a conversation with a lobsterman.
Is your curiosity piqued? If so, here are 11 ways to get out and play in Nova Scotia, where natural and human history are equally compelling.
More lobster is landed in Nova Scotia than anywhere in the world – and the crustacean is the reason for all those picturesque wharves, fishing boats and lighthouses. It’s always a giant pleasure to crack open a whole, locally caught lobster, steamed to a scarlet red and served with melted butter, a soft bun and a nerdy bib.
Local tip: Dine on lobster at restaurants like the one at Halls Harbour Lobster Pound, or head to a community hall during the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl festival, held every February. For a more hands-on encounter with lobstering, the “Living Wharves” experience at docks near Yarmouth teaches visitors how to band a lobster’s claws, bait a trap and splice a rope.
When the world’s highest tides roll up the muddy Shubenacadie River, the collision of waters generates standing waves. Guides like Shubie River Wranglers and River Runners Tidal Bore Rafting take small groups out to raft the Shubie, its waters agitated into a giant chocolate milkshake. When the waves subside, passengers slide down the muddy riverbank like gaggles of gleeful children.
For another unique thing to do, book a seat at Food Fantastique’s 20-person table for a feast on the ocean floor at Burntcoat Head. At over $800 per person, this three-course meal with paired wines is an experience to remember, but it’s not for everyone. Alternatively, anyone can pack a picnic to enjoy nearly any scenic spot along Nova Scotia’s coastline.
Local tip: When mud sliding, choose clothing you don’t mind tossing afterward.
Instead of jumping out of your skin when Halifax’s noon cannon is fired, as it has daily since 1857, climb Citadel Hill to the fortress ramparts to watch the noisy spectacle up close. The daytime tour led by a kilted soldier is a worthwhile way to learn about 19th-century life. Come sundown, take a lamplight ghost tour that leads inside the very fortress walls.
Detour: Citadel Hill is the centerpiece of the Halifax Defense Complex, five historic sites that once guarded the harbor. Explore the tunnels of Fort Charlotte beneath the grassy cap of
If you want a harmonious plane journey, best not let your kids play in the aisle, get drunk, or watch a movie without headphones, an online survey from pollster YouGov found.
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A version of this article originally appeared in Condé Nast Traveller UK.
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Halifax is a harbor town. A narrow neck opens up to the protected waters of Bedford Basin, making it ideal as a naval and shipping port. Before Europeans arrived, this body of water was a sanctuary and home to Indigenous Mi’kmaq for millennia.
My Atlanta story began in 1990, when my parents moved their young family to the metro area so they could pursue new job opportunities. It was an exciting time to grow up in the unofficial capital of the South. Atlanta’s first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson, was in his third and final term; local leaders were working on their successful bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics; and Freaknik, the biggest college party for historically Black college and university (HBCU) students, had already gained a national reputation.
Nova Scotia, Canada’s second smallest province, offers a surprising variety of landscapes. Rocky headlands end in sweeping crescents of white sand, and the ancient mountains of Cape Breton Island add another dimension. Mammoth tides pick fishing boats up and set them down again in the Bay of Fundy, and rivers stitch together small lakes across the interior. The capital, Halifax – home to a third of Nova Scotia’s population – its walkable waterfront is a beehive of bars, restaurants and attractions. The key to visiting Nova Scotia on a budget? Get outside and explore all these beautiful places.
The newest and most luxurious hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia is the chic, five star Muir hotel, located in the Queen’s Marque district, a newly regenerated waterfront neighborhood in the heart of the city. Owned by local businessman Scott McCrea, the Muir (gaelic for “the sea”) is a gorgeous property, a worthy addition to Marriot’s exclusive Autograph Collection, a select group of unique, independent hotels around the world.
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.