This is some epic action. Massive mainsails billowing in the brisk sea breeze. Cannons blasting. Soldiers marching. Ghosts gathering. Horse drawn wagons clattering. Blacksmiths’ hammers clanging. Archaeologists digging. History here is a full-on sensory experience.
Plan your trip back to the past to cover all the bases – from the Coal Age to the last standing immigration shed in Canada. Nova Scotia is home to Canada’s beloved
Bluenose II, 27 provincial
museums, 26
National Historic Sites and two
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Our family of Nova Scotia museums ranges from the 77 buildings of
Sherbrooke Village’s 55 acres to the sawdust-strewn rooms of Shelburne’s
Dory Shop or the one-of-a-kind collection in Yarmouth’s
Firefighters’ Museum. Click through to the
Nova Scotia Museum’s website to size up events and activities, then purchase a pass and explore the museum network to your heart’s content for one great price.
Visit Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Town, and visit the waterfront where the schooner Bluenose and her replica
Bluenose II were built. Bluenose II is undergoing a major restoration during 2010 to ensure her legacy for many years to come and will not be offering sailing excursions. Bluenose II, whose famous mother graces the Canadian dime, will return to sailing in the summer of 2011. The restoration is taking place on the Lunenburg waterfront, site of the original construction in the 1960s, so the public can see and learn about preserving this important piece of Nova Scotia's heritage.
In Halifax, visit the
Halifax Citadel at noon as members of the 3rd Brigade Royal Artillery set off a cannon. 25 million Canadians have a link to
Pier 21 National Historic Site – you can get a package deal on experiencing your own heritage here by visiting
Pier21.ca for promotions and discounts.
Check the
calendar for re-enactments and encampments at historic hotspots like
The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. And if you want to go hands-on Indiana Jones-style, be sure to head for the
Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site or to a dig at
Grand Pre National Historic Site or at the Birchtown
Black Loyalist Archaeological Site.
Day trip or costumed, kilted full immersion, a trip back in time is a must.