Canada has so many beautiful travel destinations, you can get both the Atlantic and Pacific ocean from coast to coast, the Great Lakes and even the Arctic ocean. I'm someone who loves water, swimming in it, boating in it, you name it - I'm in. I'm from the city which has such a fast paced lifestyle (albeit not as fast as Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver) and to be able to enjoy a slower paced lifestyle in the East Coast, is something I'm happy to do. With the internet and social media being something I usually turn to to pass time, I was able to unplug and enjoy the little moments in the Maritimes. It was a welcome break from constantly creating content for social media and the blog. But, it also gave me time to reflect on what path I wanted to take for myself.
Without further ado, we got up to all sorts of fun things in Nova Scotia in the Halifax, Lunenburg and Wolfville areas. I will say that from the south shore to the north shore, the foliage and climate is a tad different, which was surprising to me. We talked to a few Lunenburg locals while we were visiting and they mentioned that the northern part of the province gets more snow and colder weather. Are they right? Let us know in the comments.
Halifax
Halifax is the biggest municipality in NS and the capital. As such, it's a great hub to explore! Which we did a lot of (but not quite enough). Some of the attractions/sites we visited include the Citadel National Historic Site, the harbourfront, Pleasant Point park and the Alexander Keith's brewery. Although there is a ton more to see, we kept it to these few spots. However, in terms of food, drinks and shops - I've got quite the list for you! Luckily for you, I've created a comprehensive list of things to do on Google Maps. I will say that we stayed downtown Halifax at the Doubletree and Hotel Halifax, so naturally the majority of our visits were in the area. If you've got recommendations for places outside of this list, please share them with us! We will make a point to visit again soon.
Halifax Gems
Lunenburg
Lunenburg is such a charming coastal town on the south shore. It is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site and 70% of the buildings are the original buildings from the 18th and 19th century. Which means, it's got a lot of historic buildings and loads to see! There have also been quite a few movies filmed in Lunenburg (we actually saw a movie being filmed while we were there). It's definitely got a ton of patios to dine and drink on and especially beautiful in the warmer months.
We stayed in the most tranquil motel called Atlantic View Motel and Cottages just out of the downtown core. The windows in our room offered both a view of the Lunenburg Harbour and a pond in the back with a lot of wildlife. If you love watching for wildlife, this is the spot for you. It gives off cottage/camping vibes and you can feel the cooler temps creep in in the morning.
We enjoyed our time in Lunenburg so much. The locals were friendly and we were able to stop into the farmer's market on Thursday morning to browse the local produce/goods. The restaurants and cafes are also fantastic and there's many options. There's even a few breweries.
Lunenburg gems
Wolfville
We only stopped into Wolfville for one day + night but we did get to experience a bit of the town. It's home to Acadia University and in the Annapolis Valley of NS (also a part of the Bay of Fundy). The houses in Wolfville are stunning and the inns are cute. It's worth a trip up north for a visit! They've got the most well organized farmer's market I've seen in a while. It's housed inside a building and the food vendors serving pastries and hot food have takeout/ordering windows (very neat). We were lucky to be able to stop by and explore the local produce and goods. There's quite a few coffee roasters that we were happy to see at the market as well!
We didn't visit enough spots to create a google map list so instead, I will list out the spots we visited and some that were recommended.
The Naked Crepe for breakfast or just a good crepe meal
Juniper Food and Wine for finer dining
The Farmer's Market(s)
Just Us! Coffee shop
T.A.N coffee shop
Church Brewing Company - really cool repurposed church space
The Odd book store - charming spot for one of a kind books
Annapolis Cider Company for the cider lovers
The Real Scoop Ice Cream
Lightfoot and Wolfville Vineyards (and many more)
Low tide in Wolfville
The last thing that we recommend is driving up to the Cape Split trailhead if you are up north. The hike is quite the hike, I will admit we did not hike the entire trail because it's a long one and we don't hike that often. The views from the lookouts are well worth the uphill trek.
If you are looking for food in the area, there is the Long Table Social Club nearby and it overlooks Scots Bay.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Share them with us.