Photos of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: A Quaint Colonial Seaside Town

Posted in Canada

I knew that a day trip to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, would be worth it from Halifax. After all, I knew I wanted to get photos of the multicolor village on the coast I had seen online.

I planned our day trip with our driving route (technically, there is only one road that gets you there from Halifax). I had hoped to get out earlier to get better morning light, but alas, we got delayed and arrived around noon.

While I didn’t get my morning nor golden hour photos of Lunenburg, we did capture the coastal charm of this traditional fishing town in Eastern Canada. While walking around the downtown with the strong sun beating down on us, and not a cloud in the sky, we went on this photo tour of Lunenburg.

Lunenburg was originally a fishing settlement and I’m sure the folks who founded the place never dreamed it would attract tour buses full of visitors from around the world. With its small population and narrow streets, Lunenburg actually feels like a place stuck in time.

That’s the great thing about Lunenburg. The original architectural style has been either kept or restored, and I felt like I was walking in the pages of an old book. It’s for sure what keeps Lunenburg set in the list of the best day trips from Halifax.

Lunenburg’s port and waterfront is its own destination from the town, which is up some steep streets we climbed with our baby’s stroller. The waterfront is where tourists and travelers stroll from one end to the other, taking photos with boats that have docked, or perhaps, the sculpture made of fishing cages.

Lucky for us, there weren’t any giant tours from tour buses because we went on a weekday. In fact, our entire trip was from a Monday to Thursday, so that we could beat the summer weekend rush. Despite going to Lunenburg in high season, I used all my best tips for how to avoid crowds while traveling.

Finally, there’s the famous spot just outside of town where painters and photographers have captured their best shot of Lunenburg for years. I found a spot called “Lunenburg photo spot” on Google Maps, and after assessing the photos that could be taken there, I said we had to go for it.

We drove a few minutes outside of town (4 minutes total) and parked along another bank of the harbor. From here, we could see a shot of the city, but it didn’t look quite like the postcards and stock photography of Lunenburg I’ve seen in the past. That’s the beauty in travel: you have to see it for yourself.

If you are heading back to the big capital of Halifax, head toward our Halifax travel guide for some more inspiration.