Lunenburg … a visual feast

 
Exploring colourful towns in Nova Scotia.
 
Lunenburg is a colourful town with a colourful history and you can see it the minute you arrive. Georgian and Victorian style buildings in reds and blue-greens stand up along the hillside from the bay below. I instantly got a sense of a long and proud, seafaring tradition from the tall ships in the harbour to the many marine-related businesses around its shores. The fresh salt air, blue sky and sunshine immediately invite you for a walk around town.
 
Established in 1753, Lunenburg was the first British Colonial settlement outside of Halifax. Many of its buildings date back to the late 1700s and early 1800s and are carefully maintained and still in use. The government of Canada decided in 1992, to give it the important designation as a National Historic District and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 
One of Lunenburg’s (and Canada’s) most famous residents is the tall ship, the Bluenose. (It can be seen on the back of the Canadian ten-cent coin.) The Bluenose was originally a racing and fishing craft but now, the Bluenose II, which is a replica of the original, tours the Atlantic on goodwill missions. By checking the tall ship schedule, you can see or even climb aboard one of these graceful ships. I was fortunate enough to see the Bluenose II and it was an awe inspiring sight, moored in one of the prettiest ports in Canada.
 
Lunenburg is a visual feast with its vintage architecture, its magnificent tall ships, and its many artisans. Of course a feast of seafood is also on the menu in many quaint or formal restaurants. Only about 90 km southwest of Halifax, Lunenburg is a town waiting to be explored and admired.