Lunenburg - Canada’s Most Colourful Town, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

This quintessential Maritime fishing town has a charming heritage centre that you won’t want to miss. Old Town looks like a decorated tiered cake with homes, painted in vibrant colours, climbing the hill above the harbour. All types of boats fill in the berths, from working fishing boats to historical sailing boats. This is Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

One of the places that we really wanted to visit on Our Great Canadian Roadtrip was the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Town Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. After visiting the iconic Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse we excitedly continued our drive to this colourful historic town.

Nothing compares to the amount and variety of colourful houses you’ll see when exploring Old Town Lunenburg. Street after street in this heritage area are filled with brightly painted wooden homes that climb up and down the hills above the busy harbour. Lunenburg is a great place to spend the day with no real objective other than to admire the well maintained 250 year-old homes.

The town was established in 1753 and still retains the look of a typical British Colonial town from that era. The organized grid pattern of streets lets you know it wasn’t haphazardly designed. Old Town Lunenburg is considered one of the best examples of a planned colonial town in North America. Because of this and the excellent condition of the wooden heritage homes, it received UNESCO World Heritage Site status. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).