Quick Facts
About Lunenburg
Lunenburg is a meticulously preserved 18th-century British colonial settlement whose candy-striped waterfront and grid of steep, colour-splashed streets earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in 1995. The town is the home port of the Bluenose, the legendary Grand Banks fishing schooner immortalized on the Canadian dime, and its harbourfront Fisheries Museum traces the deep Atlantic cod-and-sail legacy that built it.
History
Founded in 1753, Lunenburg was one of the first planned British colonial towns in North America, settled by Foreign Protestants — German, Swiss, and French Huguenot farmers and fishermen recruited to counter the French Acadian presence. Its distinctive wooden architecture, with its signature "bunk and burst" construction and vividly painted clapboard facades, survived largely intact, and the town's economy shifted from the Grand Banks fishery to heritage tourism after the cod collapse of the 1990s.
Getting There
Distance from Halifax: 92 km (90 minutes)
Route: NS-103 W to Exit 11
Top Attractions
- 🏘️Old Town Lunenburg (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
- 🏘️Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic
- 🏘️Bluenose II schooner (summer harbour tours)
- 🏘️St. John's Anglican Church (1754, national historic site)
Best For
Annual Events
- 📅Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival (August)
- 📅Lunenburg Craft Beer Festival (June)
- 📅Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival (August)
Explore Nearby
🏖️ Beaches
🗼 Lighthouses
Where to Stay in Lunenburg
Find hotels, B&Bs, and vacation rentals in Lunenburg and the surrounding South Shore area.