Travel Guides to Canada

2017 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CANADA

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heritage buildings. Moreover, it makes a handy base for exploring attractions in nearby Glace Bay, including the Marconi National Historic Site which is dedicated to the Italian radio pioneer who established a transatlantic messaging station there in 1902, and the Cape Breton Miners' Museum where you can don a hard hat and descend into a coal mine. The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site is 45 minutes away by car ( www.cbrm.ns.ca). THE GREAT OUTDOORS Nova Scotia has been dubbed "Canada's Ocean Playground," and since you're never more than 67 km (42 mi.) from a coast, enjoying on-the-water activities is easy. Boating is a top draw, which is no surprise considering options include sailing on Bras d'Or Lake, a stunning inland sea, and paddling in Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site—retracing routes Native Mi'kmaq used for thousands of years. Scuba diving and deepsea fi shing are also popular; ditto for surfi ng, a fun if somewhat frigid alternative on the Eastern Shore. Looking for something truly unique? You can experience the rush of rafting on the Shubenacadie River, where a tidal bore whips up big waves. Landlubbers, of course, needn't feel left out. Choices for bikers and hikers abound. The former love to pedal on the 119-km (74-mi.) Rum Runners Trail connecting Halifax and Lunenburg; while Cape Breton Highlands National Park, which alone has 26 trails, is an ideal place for the latter to lace up their boots. If golf is your game, world-class courses span the province. Standouts range from traditional favourites like Highlands Links and Fox Harb'r Golf Resort, to new stars like Cabot Links and Cabot Cliff s, acclaimed sister courses. HERITAGE AND CULTURE Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland" and descendants of its Scottish settlers make much of that connection—particularly on Cape Breton Island, where you can take a class or buy a kilt at North America's only Gaelic college ( www.gaeliccollege.edu), raise a glass at the continent's fi rst single malt whisky distillery (www.glenora distillery.com), tour the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre (www.celticmusiccentre. com), then dance your feet off at one of the summer ceilidhs (traditional Gaelic-infl ected parties) held Island-wide. The province, however, isn't entirely draped in tartan. After all, events like Festival acadien de Clare ( www.festivalacadiendeclare.ca ) and the Musique de la Baie concert series (www.yarmouthandacadianshores.com/en/ things-to-do/view/musique-de-la-baie ) are tuneful testaments to the strength of francophone culture here. Mi'kmaq communities carry on the legacy of this land's original residents through powwows and other special programs ( www.nova scotia.com/explore/culture/mikmaq- culture), while contributions made by new arrivals are celebrated at the moving Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 ( www.pier21.ca). MUST SEE, MUST DO Feast on fresh seafood. Lobster . . . scallops . . . salmon: from waterfront shacks and roadside fast food restaurants to fi ne dining rooms, you'll fi nd seafood topping menus everywhere ( www.tasteofnovascotia.com). Ogle Lunenburg's Old Town. Hundreds of well-preserved heritage buildings have earned this pretty port community's downtown core recognition from UNESCO ( www.explorelunenburg.ca). Explore the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. Turn back time to the mid-18 th century at North America's largest historical QUICK FACT THE PROVINCE'S WINE INDUSTRY HAS A LONG HISTORY; CHAMPLAIN PLANTED THE FIRST GRAPEVINES HERE IN 1611. SPECIAL EVENTS JUNE • PRIVATEER DAYS, LIVERPOOL JUNE – JULY • ROYAL NOVA SCOTIA INTERNATIONAL TATTOO, HALIFAX • STAN ROGERS FOLK FESTIVAL, CANSO JULY • ANTIGONISH HIGHLAND GAMES • HALIFAX PRIDE FESTIVAL • PICTOU LOBSTER CARNIVAL • TD HALIFAX JAZZ FESTIVAL AUGUST • CHESTER RACE WEEK • FESTIVAL ACADIEN DE CLARE • FESTIVAL DE L'ESCAOUETTE, CHÉTICAMP • HALIFAX INTERNATIONAL BUSKER FESTIVAL • LUNENBURG FOLK HARBOUR FESTIVAL AUGUST – SEPTEMBER • WHARF RAT RALLY, DIGBY SEPTEMBER • ATLANTIC FILM FESTIVAL, HALIFAX • DEEP ROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL, WOLFVILLE • GRAN FONDO, BAIE SAINTE-MARIE OCTOBER • CELTIC COLOURS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, CAPE BRETON • NOCTURNE: ART AT NIGHT, HALIFAX NOVEMBER • DEVOUR! THE FOOD FILM FEST, WOLFVILLE www.novascotia.com/events HALIFAX CITADEL NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE • CTC Sydney, technically part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, is Nova Scotia's only other urban centre. Located on the Island's east coast, it has its own waterfront boardwalk and a smattering of NS 122

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