*POST UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
Hello hello! Happy Wednesday, friends! I hope this post finds you with a steaming cup of coffee & a hankering for a light bit of armchair travelling. I’m thrilled to bring you the second instalment of my Canadian travel posts today: Two Days in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia! If you’ve never heard of it before, don’t worry – I myself only really learned of its existence shortly before visiting! Lunenburg is a cutesy little harbour town that’s filled with quirky colourful buildings, beautiful scenery, and, if you’re into seafood, some great eateries. Fiancé & I, along with his parents, crammed in a quick visit to Lunenburg during our recent trip to Canada in August; I’ve been dying to tell you about it ever since! Let’s get into it, shall we?
Also! In case you missed it, my first Canadian post is all about the second city of PEI: Exploring Summerside, Prince Edward Island.
All the details on everything you could possible need to know about visiting Lunenburg are listed below, and then some! Sections include: before you visit / getting there / where we stayed / where we had coffee / where we ate lunch + dinner / where we drank / where we tourist-ed. Unless otherwise stated, all recommendations are things and places we experienced ourselves, so you know you can trust it! Enjoy!
Oh PS: get ready for a photo overload! I didn’t realize how many photos we’d taken until I started putting this guide together. Lunenburg was just too pretty not to photograph!
before you visit & two fun facts
A small handful of things to keep in mind if you’re thinking about visiting Lunenburg!
Lunenburg is a real tourist hotspot. It’s exceptionally busy, which we found frustrating at times, but many of the tourists seem to be day-trippers. To avoid the larger crowds, we went out exploring early in the mornings before any tour-buses arrived; this is definitely something I would recommend!
also, likely as a direct result of the tourists, everywhere in town is rather expensive. Restaurants, drinks, attractions – you name it, it’s expensive. We were actually a little taken aback by the prices, and found it reminiscent of the faux-luxurious pricing in Positano. For example: our lunch in Salt Shaker Deli, described below, consisted of two sandwiches & two beers, and cost us $59CAD/€45. Small-town charm with a big hefty price tag.
the town itself is quite small, which is great, because it’s easy to walk around. That said, it is hilly! The waterfront is the lowest point, and every street after that goes up a level. It makes for some pretty scenes, and for some good leg workouts.
this is something that might not bother you, but none of the restaurants in town take table bookings. We found it totally ridiculous, as it resulted in literally every single place having huge queues out the door. On top of this, many places wouldn’t put us on the waitlist because we didn’t have a Canadian phone number – it was infuriating!! We couldn’t plan a thing and twice had to settle for a ‘plan b’ meal option.
now for the fun facts! Old Town Lunenburg has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 1995 – it is one of only 20 such sites in all of Canada! Pretty cool, no?
Season 4 of The Sinner was filmed in Lunenburg! They shot it during the pandemic, when the tourist count was at practically zero, so they were able to take over the town for three months. If you’re interested, here’s a list of each filming location featured in the show. Also! It’s funny because, in the show, one family, the Muldoon’s, basically own the town – but it’s kinda the same in real life Lunenburg! Most of the restaurants – SS Fish Shack, The Half Shell, Salt Shaker Deli, Beach Pea Kitchen AND Bar Salvador – are all owned by one family! Wild!
getting there
The nearest airport to Lunenburg is Halifax Stanfield Airport, located about 85km away. Despite the fact that Lunenburg is one of the most popular tourist spots in all of Nova Scotia, the public transport options are a bit irregular. Anyways, all the details, including how we personally got to Lunenburg, listed below:
we, along with Fiancé’s parents, flew into Halifax Stanfield Airport with WestJet. The direct flight from Dublin to Halifax took 6-hours. It was actually a surprisingly nice flight: we were seated together – me at the window – and the airplane food wasn’t that bad.
from Halifax Stanfield Airport, Fiancé’s parents rented a car with Hertz and drove us all directly to Lunenburg. The drive took approximately 1-hour and 30-minutes.
if you’re looking to get a bus from Halifax to Lunenburg, be sure to plan your journey carefully – there’s often only one bus a day, and on some days there’s none! Click here for schedules from Halifax to Lunenburg, or click here for schedules from Lunenburg to Halifax. The bus journey between the two seems to average out at around 2-hours.
alternatively, if you’re looking to visit Lunenburg without staying overnight, there are a couple of tour groups that offer excursions from Halifax. From the speedy Google search I just now conducted, many of these tours also cover Peggy’s Cove or Mahone Bay, which sounds nice!