11 finest locations to go to in Nova Scotia

On a map, Nova Scotia resembles a duck or a lobster – each becoming references for a province outlined by its proximity to the North Atlantic.

But 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 nearly any path, and also you’ll get a full switch-up of each surroundings and cultural heritage.

A stretch of 1 shoreline washed by the world’s highest tides is dotted with French Acadian villages and their tall stone and picket church buildings. The other coast of rocky headlines is interrupted by nice crescents of silver sand and fishing villages based by European and Black Loyalist settlers. Between the 2, the fertile Annapolis Valley performs house to an upstart wine area. Within the north, undulating highlands attracted Gaelic Scottish settlers who acknowledged Cape Breton Island as a Scotland look-alike. And all over the place in Nova Scotia, the Indigenous Mi’kmaq have roamed for hundreds of years, utilizing the rivers as highways and the seashore as their pantry.

The toughest query? The place to focus your go to. Allow us to assist you to construct a Nova Scotia itinerary stuffed with all the very best locations to go to alongside the province’s 7500km (4660 miles) of seabound coast.

1. Halifax

Greatest for a day on the waterfront

A stroll alongside the Halifax harborside boardwalk is one of the simplest ways to get to know Nova Scotia’s capital metropolis and its wealthy historical past. Start on the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, the place waves of immigrants entered Canada. Then, study Halifax’s grim position within the Titanic catastrophe on the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

Queen’s Marque is the town’s flashy new waterfront growth, full with high-end lodging, the town’s finest eating places and a stairway into the ocean. Come night, bar hop up the hill for reside music at venues like The Carlton and the Split Crow.

Detour: Cross Halifax harbor aboard one of many bathtub-like ferries that chugs each 15 to half-hour to Dartmouth, whose 10-block downtown is like an city village with a throwback really feel. Chuck axes on the Timber Lounge, store for vinyl at Taz or Renegade Records, or sip a Negroni at Dear Friend Bar.

2. Sou’West Nova

Greatest for exploring the province’s multicultural roots

A number of culturally distinct peoples share the southern tip of Nova Scotia (identified regionally as Sou’West Nova). The French Shore is the place Acadians resettled in 1763 following a pressured exile hugs the Bay of Fundy shoreline. Different Acadians settled within the Pubnico space – the place at this time fishing boats are docked two and three abreast, seafood is served in heaping platters and the Historic Acadian Village brings their previous alive. In Shelburne and neighboring Birchtown, the story of enslaved Africans who have been freed and escaped themselves is instructed on the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre. The month-long Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl each February animates this area with scrumptious occasions, making it an exquisite place to go to in winter.

3. Digby Neck

Greatest place for whale watching

A protracted, finger-like peninsula factors from the scallop fishing port of Digby into the Bay of Fundy, which ends up in ferry-linked Lengthy and Brier Islands. From these rocky, distant knuckles of land, whale-watching tours depart all day lengthy seeking humpback, minke, grey and uncommon northern proper whales. Seabirds, dolphins and seals add vivacious selection to each journey.

Native tip: If pace is your factor, guide a whale-watching tour aboard a Zodiac; if you would like gradual and regular, go for a transformed fishing boat. Both manner, know your tolerance for movement illness – and put together accordingly.

4. Kejimkujik Nationwide Park

Greatest for unspoiled wilderness

There isn’t any place farther from the madding crowds (if crowds are even potential in Nova Scotia) than the lakes, rivers and trails sprawling throughout the swath of wilderness fondly often known as Keji, the place the haunting name of the loon is commonly the one sound.

Renting a kayak or canoe to discover the waterways is one of the simplest ways to absorb the park’s majesty. And don’t miss a tour of Canada’s second-largest assortment of petroglyphs, led by a Mi’kmaw information who will describe how their Indigenous ancestors etched their observations in stone.  

Detour: Guide a frontcountry site for comfy (if reasonably crowded) tenting. Guide a backcountry web site for wilderness journey.

5. Annapolis Valley

Greatest for vineyard excursions and “u-picks”

The breadbasket of Nova Scotia and residential to many “u-picks” (pick-your-own farm stands), the Annapolis Valley is nestled between time-worn mountains and forested ridges. In Might, the air fills with the heady fragrance of apple blossoms; within the fall, the grapes get harvested and discover their manner into Annapolis Valley specialties like Tidal Bay, a crisp white that pairs completely with Nova Scotia seafood.

Detour: For those who’d somewhat not drive, guide a vineyard tour aboard the Magic Winery Bus or Grape Escapes.

6. Cliffs of Fundy Geopark

Greatest for pure historical past

Lately designated the Cliffs of Fundy Geopark, the Parrsboro Shore is likely one of the world’s richest pure historical past websites. Worn by the world’s highest tides, the coastal cliffs quit prehistoric ghosts within the type of fossils from the pre-dinosaur Carboniferous period. Cease on the Fundy Geological Museum in Parrsboro to expertise a time when Nova Scotia was a moist swamp crawling with big amphibians. Then head to the Joggins Fossil Centre for a guided tour of the eroding cliffs to see fossils of prehistoric timber.

Native tip: Make a cease for lunch in Advocate Harbour’s Wild Caraway restaurant, the place most dishes characteristic regionally foraged and restaurant-grown components.

7. 100 Wild Islands

Greatest for sea kayaking

The elegant title 100 Wild Islands journeys off the tongue – although this coastal wilderness is in actuality a seascape of 282 tiny polka-dot specks, some forested, some beach-framed. Going through 32km (20 miles) of shoreline, the seemingly limitless assortment of bumps above the waves is finest explored by way of guided kayak tour with outfitters like Coastal Adventures and the Norse Cove Camping and Kayak Centre. Those that guide at Murphy’s Camping can hitch a experience with the proprietor out to an island to collect wild mussels.

8. Chester, Mahone Bay and Lunenburg

Greatest seaside cities

Start in Chester, a summer season crusing vacation spot for 2 centuries, by taking pictures a recreation of pool and tucking into fish and chips on the Fo’c’sle (Nova Scotia’s oldest tavern, it goes by the nickname “Chester’s lounge”). In Mahone Bay, stroll by the three shoulder-to-shoulder church buildings and quite a few artisan retailers to find why many take into account this Nova Scotia’s most picture-perfect city.

The UNESCO-listed heritage city of Lunenburg is house to the Bluenose II, a duplicate of the well-known schooner that graces Canada’s dime. This seafaring place is chock filled with seafood eating places, historic inns and ocean-themed websites just like the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.   

Detours: From these cities, tour choices abound. Head to Peggy’s Cove to see the white lighthouse perched on ocean-sculpted rocks. Take the ferry to Big Tancook for an island day journey. Set off on a ship tour to the island that gave the TV present The Curse of Oak Island its title. Or drive to Blue Rocks, a checkerboard of coves, islands and tiny fishermen’s properties and sheds. 

9. Tatamagouche

Greatest for experiencing small-town Nova Scotia

For such a tiny city, Tatamagouche is each a vacation spot in itself and an important base for exploring Nova Scotia’s north shore. As soon as a locale for the fact TV present The Week the Ladies Went, the city has re-imagined itself after a protracted downturn. At present, stops like Tatamagouche Brewing, Appleton Chocolates and Creamery Square – named for the city’s agrarian roots – are the rewards for a stroll down Primary St.

Drive south to see the water-powered Balmoral Grist Mill (the oatcakes are scrumptious). Then head east to Seafoam Lavender to stroll among the many aromatic flowers. In Pictou, see a duplicate of the Hector, the ship that deposited the primary Scots right here.

Native tip: Keep and dine on the Train Station Inn – which occupies (sure) a former practice station and railway automobiles, together with a refurbished 1928 eating automotive.

10. Fortress Louisbourg

Greatest for immersing your self in historical past

The biggest historic reconstruction venture in North America sits on a distant, typically fog-bound level on the jap extremes of Cape Breton Island. Coming into Fortress Louisbourg evokes the French fortified outpost and city because it may need appeared within the early 18th century. Contained in the fortified partitions, guests encounter costumed interpreters and livestock as they roam amongst 80 rebuilt constructions. Dine on period-accurate meals at Hôtel de la Marine or Grandchamps Restaurant, and guide an in a single day keep within the comfy Lartigue House, the hardly enough guardhouse or the downright scary jail.  

11. The Cabot Path

Greatest for a scenic drive

It’s unimaginable to overstate the fantastic thing about the drive round northwestern Cape Breton often known as the Cabot Trail. A lot of the route winds via mountaintop wilderness and coastal villages. Alongside the best way, you’ll expertise 200 years of Scottish heritage on the Gaelic College in St Ann’s, 300 years of French Acadian tradition at Les Trois Pignons museum and gallery in Cheticamp, and 10,000 years of Indigenous Mi’kmaw traditions at Kluskap Ridge RV & Campground close to Englishtown. In fall, the mountainsides run riot with coloration, making the Cabot Path a fantasy street journey for leaf peepers.

Native tip: Start and finish a Cabot Path drive on the saltwater Bras d’Or Lake in Baddeck. Drive north so views are in your facet of the street. Make the most of the various lookouts, the place interpretive indicators complement the sheer fantastic thing about the views.

Preserve planning your journey to Nova Scotia: