hey guys samuel and audrey here and today we're showing you around the historic port
town of lunenburg nova scotia this was the first stop of a road trip along nova
scotia south shore and i don't think we could have chosen a more picturesque spot
in this video we'll go on a harbour tour for the best views of lunenburg
we'll learn about the town's fishing heritage with a visit to the fisheries museum of the atlantic
we'll stumble upon a chandlery overflowing with trinkets and treasures we'll sip on maple rum and
fruity liqueurs and nova scotia's first micro distillery will admire the buildings in the
old town which are painted in the most cheerful of colors and a whole lot more so join us as we share
some of the best things to do in lunenburg nova scotia the following is our lunenburg travel guide
well good morning good morning guys morning guys welcome to lunenburg canada yeah a place
we've wanted to visit in nova scotia for years for a very long time this is probably the most
picturesque postcard perfect town maybe even in all of canada i would say so we
are very excited to be here yeah first full day we're planning to just wander around
on foot check out the museums yeah exactly touring there's some great seafood local seafood as well
plenty to do and this is also a great place to obviously hop on a boat and do some a boat tour
there's also whale watching available so we're hoping to do it all and we're so pumped to be
here
of course the first place we visited in lunenburg was the waterfront after all this is a town with
a big seafaring pass plus we were kind of drawn in by the sailboats fishing vessels
tall ships and everything else in between so we've been having lots of fun wandering along
here on the waterfront there's just so many photos to be had everything is so colorful
now normally this would be the part where we'd present the iconic blue nose too but she wasn't
in port for any non-canadians wondering what i'm talking about the bluenose appears on our
10 cent coin and the bluenose 2 is the replica of this original fishing and racing schooner
to give you a bit of history the original bluenose was launched on march 26 1921 in lunenburg she was
designed by william ruiz and built by the smith and rueland shipyard she was built with a specific
mission to win the international fisherman's race this was a race involving working vessels and
fishermen who earned their living on the seas long story short she earned her first trophy in 1921
and over the next 17 years no challenger would overtake her this is how she earned the title of
queen of the north atlantic and landed herself on our currency but now back to sightseeing
just a random pile of ice here on the road i'm gonna add a few of these rocks
to my whiskey tonight oh why not it might taste a little fishy it'll fit in the cup
one of the coolest finds during our visit to lunenburg nova scotia was lunenburg chandlery
sam and i were randomly walking around snapping photos when we stumbled upon this place selling
all manner of nautical items for ships and boats it was really the display of boys or
buoys that caught our attention and then we set foot inside what felt like a collector's paradise
we got to chatting with the owner john who was super informative and really fun to talk to
we've been amazed that people have found this place because it's kind of the end of the road
here and but the right people seem to find it people that like to explore and get into the
sort of the boat building area which of course is down here our whole complex is then connected
to the dory shop and over here is the picton castle you see there's a doll ship victim castle
built in 1928 so that's been around around the world yeah many times so you know we have a little
of everything uh for hardware um and this sort of divides itself into this is all for sale working
making splicing sewing whatever um this is all the pulleys there's no end to pulleys on on vessels
so this is every not every type but certainly close to every type you could have over here uh
this is sort of an array of turnbuckles and then all sorts of little fasteners i mean everybody has
a need for an eyelet you know that kind of thing ah they're blame pins okay is that for the wheel
movies every time the ship starts having a little problem with the crew the crew they
do a good smash oh my gosh it works but i'm always selling so great as much as i collect it's pretty
much keep going and i can't find it yeah i can't find near as much as i used to be able to find
so this is a really you know rigging knife because it's got a straight straight edge
it's not a fillet it's not for fish and so it's a real cutting knife like this and this is from
a tradition of having to stop the sailors from stabbing each other does it always have those
fights go there it's going oh yeah sure imagine being a c for two years and that's what they give
this blunt affair for because it's really not a stabbing knife and it's remained that way and
uh and this one's made in sheffield england and it's by adams jay adams and that's a well-known
company yeah well it's going to make the perfect gift thank you so much yeah if you want to find
this place it's just at the end of blue nose drive right before you hit the dory shop and the pier
well worth the peruse and as you can see they even have items for non-boat owners like ourselves
we walked away with some christmas tree boys or buoys and a cool knife
so
so it is now a lunch time here in lunenburg and we have come over to the smoke pit barbecue
we just finished ordering some brisket mac and cheese with aged cheddar and a mandarin soda i
know you're probably wondering where's the seafood and we will be having some seafood for dinner but
we've been eating a lot of it this week so when we saw smoked barbecue we were like yeah you know
what that sounds good mix it up a little right we are mixing it up so cheers with our soda from
mexico carritos which means little jars let's try this it's a mandarin flavor so like the mandarin
orange how is it that's good you like that that is better than phantom my friends wow real taste of
fruit take that fanta take that say hello to my brisket sandwich check that out thing of beauty
this bun just feels so fluffy toasted on the inside got brisket pickles mayo mustard
i'm so tender guys the the cameraman always has food envy behind the lens yes she does i just love
the meat it's so soft it has a smokiness to him so good i am really happy with what we've ordered
seriously i just needed a little break from seafood you know i love lobster crab and fish
and chips as much as the next person but we've been having it on a daily basis and this is
a nice way to mix it up so for anyone else that's doing a long trip around nova scotia
there are other things to try aside from seafood like this wonderful cheddar mac and cheese
oh baby why don't you bring that clothes you can see the steam coming off
so the bluenose 2 may not have been in port but we did come across the bluenose
2 store so we popped in for some souvenirs my favorite purchase was my bluenose east coast
living t-shirt which i proceeded to rock on on almost daily basis for the rest of the trip
one of our favorite things to do in lunenburg was to cruise the harbor there are all sorts of
tourists to choose from including harbor tours whale tours fishing tours you name it we ended
up choosing the one hour tour which was 30 dollars per person the weather was perfect
we had blue skies nice light and the views of the town were picture perfect if you want the
iconic shot of the brightly painted houses church steeples and boats bobbing in the water this is
the tour you want to take or you can also drive out by the golf course but the harbor cruise is
an experience in and of itself so we'd highly recommend making time for this one activity
do
so we just finished the one hour harbor tour what a boat tour honestly i mean you get the postcard
perfect shots of lunenburg nova scotia yeah i mean and we had the light shining and then five
minutes after our tour it was it's cloudy again so it's like we had everything cooperating for us i
mean our guide was fantastic so informative just a fantastic tour and a great way to see lunenburg
from i mean when you're walking around the town you see the buildings up close but when you're
out in the water like that you get a whole perspective of the town which is just fantastic
we lucked out with our visit because during the
summer months there's live music at the zvickers wharf
it was nice to see lots of people out enjoying the band and there was even a bit of dancing
next up we're going to walk over to the fisheries museum of the atlantic which is already open and
that's a museum that deals with the fishing heritage here in atlanta canada and what's
really cool is that they have a lot of volunteers and retired fishermen on site to share stories
answer your questions they also do demonstrations and have different activities during the day so
we're gonna walk on over there next and see what's happening at the fisheries museum can't wait to do
that
the fisheries museum of the atlantic is housed in these brightly painted red heritage buildings
which are once the home of national sea products the former fish processing plant
now houses different galleries where visitors can explore stories about the town's fishing heritage
stormy seas and community life in a fishing town we really enjoyed the displays and it was nice
to have the interpreters on site who were able to answer all my questions about blue lobsters
because yes those exist if you'd like to visit the museum is open seasonally from mid-may through
mid-october
after our museum visit we decided to grab some ice cream at sweet treasures confectionary they
also sell homemade fudge just in case you're craving a little something sweet
so we saw people eating ice cream and we just had to stop and get a cone of our own
this is the smallest size by the way single unbelievable what flavors did you get
i got the homemade strawberry and pistachio and you got maple walnut and peanut butter i think
it was eureka or something oh yeah oh let me blow the hair out of my face and take a bite tell me
how that is is it good oh homemade too by the way in a waffle cone oh my god i love that good
stuff all right hurry up so i can have mine how's that ice cream it was so next level good flavors
are just fantastic we at least i ordered from the homemade selection me too oh you did too some of
the best ice cream i've had in years to be honest i was like argentina italy good that's not good
we then decided to go on a little diy walking tour of lunenburg's old town
we came across the lunenburg opera house which is fashioned after an old european music hall
we saw some cool street art featuring this lovely blue whale
and then we just kept walking uphill past the town hall and some really pretty houses
so we are now taking a quick break sitting on a lovely little bench here in front of
st john's anglican church and this is actually the second oldest protestant church still remaining
in all of canada it looks like a work of art yeah we tried going in but the door is locked
but yeah if you visit come on up here check it out we're gonna continue our little walking tour and
actually just take a little stroll through the neighborhood admire the different homes because
they're all so colorful and so beautiful and they have these lovely manicured gardens so
yeah it's been a really fun afternoon so far it has i just want to quickly add that as you
basically head up the hill each street becomes a little bit less touristy and the further you go
you just get right into residential areas and very colorful homes so we can't wait to check them out
one of our favorite things to do in a new place is to just walk up and down the streets without
much of a plan in lunenburg this was a real pleasure because all the houses were painted
in such cheerful colors contrasted by white trim the windows dawn flower boxes and the
porches looked so inviting if you're the type who likes to do imaginary house shopping and wonder
what it would be like to live in the places you visit well this is a really fun town to do so
so today has kind of been the prime example of chatting with locals asking for advice tips
where to go and just discovering some real gems thanks to them sharing some of their favorite
spots in the city so right now we've come to both the cemetery and this academy atop a hill
yeah two places that we hadn't even read about in guidebooks or anywhere else this isn't near this
isn't near the tourist area at all no you gotta walk in the residential zone and just beautiful
beautiful places especially the architecture of this place stunning and there's a man practicing
opera right now yes like we're sitting here on a bench admiring a beautiful building and listening
to opera i mean like cannon get any better we've even got shade look at that yeah it's good it's
a little bit too perfect it's good this building is the lunenburg academy national historic site of
canada and it is set on a hilltop at the edge of the old town in 19th century nova scotia academies
were regarded as the most prestigious publicly funded secondary institutions in the county this
academy was designed in the second empire style with mansard style roofs and it's quite ornate
well worth the visit if you have the time hillcrest cemetery sits directly behind
the academy and it's the oldest protestant cemetery in lunenburg and one of the oldest
in all of canada earliest marker dates back to 1761 eight years after lunenburg canada was
established it also contains commonwealth war graves from world war one and world war ii
so we're now going to take you for a nice little walk on the bay to bay trail
this is a walking and biking trail that actually connects lunenburg with mahon bay we're going
to be visiting mahon bay tomorrow and it's a 10 kilometer trail one way so it'll take you about
two hours if you want to walk from lunenburg to mahon bay we're just doing a small section of
it around the backside of lunenburg and it kind of runs parallel to the lighthouse coastal route
that you can actually drive so yeah we thought we'd do it again we spotted this on the map
just by chance and it's a beautiful day to be out so yeah we're going to take you on
this little walk and then we'll head on over to the ironworks distillery
next up we rewarded ourselves with a visit to ironworks distillery
nova scotia's first micro distillery to sample some of their spirits they're all about sourcing
local ingredients and none of the fruits they use travel more than 150 kilometers to their facility
let's go in for a tipple shall we all right so we've now made it down to iron works distillery
this is pretty cool because it's set in a former blacksmith workshop
and yeah i'm going to be trying a liqueur this one is raspberry flavored so cheers
that is quite nice i do like this one they have nice little sets where you can choose
three different bottles so i'm thinking that would be a nice gift for family perhaps for
ourselves indeed we'll see this is pretty tasty so i kind of want to keep a bottle
so next up i'm trying the blueberry liqueur can't wait to try this i mean blueberries
are famous here in nova scotia so why not have it in a liqueur right
oh that's nice and sweet this almost reminds me a bit of the pie filling you'd have but obviously
you know it's got the punch of the liquor too very good number three number three rhubarb guys
that's nice that one's chilled i like that it has a little bit of acidity sourness that's good i
really like all three like i could go with those three flavors so last but not least we're having
maple rum and this is the one that i selected because i mean when you can have something with
maple how can you not when you're in canada why would you pass up the opportunity exactly
oh yeah that is delicious you can just have that straight it definitely has a
taste of maple but i mean it still very much tastes like a rum too so definitely a winner
so it is dinner time here in lunenburg and tonight we've decided to come and eat at the salt shaker
deli and inn starting off with the drinks i got the arnold palmer which is half iced
tea half lemonade first time trying this i thought it sounded interesting you know
something new i know for sure we go cheers cheers well i can honestly tell you guys i'm not doing a
commercial for propeller i just wanted to have two drinks that's how thirsty i am so one is a ginger
beer i had that two days ago on halifax one of my new favorite ginger so i'll open that in a minute
but for now i am trying the propeller pilsner so cheers
it just tastes so much better after you've been walking around the sun for so long
okay let's try the ginger beer let me tell you guys this has some bite to it
like any good ginger beer should just like clears out your nasal cavities
what a lovely thing to hear at the thing oh my gosh you like breathe it in oh yeah oh man
it's got some bite let's do this tacos with shrimp cilantro tomato red onions
how am i going to do this and you got three of them oh i hear the crunch crunchy tastic
that is very tasty the tacos are just loaded with shrimp and i like that the tortilla is actually
kind of crispy i've never had it like that before it's just a different way of preparing it
but it's good it works yeah you're going in for more that's how i know it's good
pizza i've been craving pizza and to be able to get a seafood pizza amazing as they say in italia
fruits of the sea so i've got scallops shrimpies mussels and keepers yeah red onion and mozzarella
mozzarella cheese big onion oh it's nice and thin crust nice and crushed pizza check out that guys
just jacked with seafood that is delicious the excellent pizza i am i've been walking
around all day long so i've built up an appetite even after that big ice cream i'm ready for this
if you're into photography and you're looking for some cool photo ops
tannery road just before you hit the golf course is where to get the classic
shot but even if you're not into photography and you just want to enjoy a pretty sunset
this is a nice spot and there's an area where you can park your car
and for anyone interested in where we stayed i booked us a room at the mariner inn which is
actually spread out across several buildings in the center of town our room was in the cranberry
suites which is the bright fuchsia building over here i like that we were smack dab in the heart of
lunenburg and we could walk everywhere plus they also had a really nice breakfast that was served
in the sun room in the main building however my favorite part of this inn was riding the nautical
slash underwater themed elevator complete with the whale and octopus it's the little things
and that is a wrap for our lunenburg travel guide it's crazy to think we
did all of that in one day but yes it is possible we stayed in town
for an additional three days so we'll be sharing some fun day trips to mahome bay
lahave islands and more if you enjoyed this video we invite you to give it a like hit
that subscribe button and join us for the rest of our road trip across nova scotia see on the road
you