NOVA SCOTIA
This almost-island is an indented, islandfringed peninsula connected to New Brunswick by a narrow neck of land. Joggins Fossil Cliffs on this side of the Bay of Fundy are World Heritage listed. Even better, though, is the highland scenery of Cape Breton Island at Nova Scotia’s eastern end, where you can hike sections of the 300-kilometre Cabot Trail. Nearby is Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, dedicated to the inventor of the telephone. Historic fishing towns such as Chester and Lunenburg are lively with fishand-chip shops, boat builders and cheerful summer festivals. Halifax, Nova Scotia’s capital, sits on one of the world’s largest natural harbours, which made it an important naval base during the British Empire, as you’ll see from its eighteenth-century fortifications and Historic Properties district. Later, a million Canadian immigrants arrived through this port, brilliantly outlined at Pier 21 Museum. The town has a very youthful energy and more pubs than any other city in Canada – just the excuse to try the local Alexander Keith beer. The wind off the Atlantic along the town’s zigzagging seaside promenades will put a spring in your step.