LONG THE PRIDE of Quebec and Ontario, there is more to Canada’s ancient maple forests than their annual display of beauty. Every fall, turning leaves splash crimson and orange across the south, but it is in springtime that the trees give up their most famous product: maple syrup.

BUILT BETWEEN 1713 AND 1744, the magnificent Fortress Louisbourg was France’s bastion of military strength in the New World. Today, it is the largest military reconstruction in North America. Visitors stepping through the fortress gate enter the year 1744, when war had just been declared between France and England.

The only city on Cape Breton Island, Sydney is the third largest town in Nova Scotia. Boasting the biggest steel plant in North America, the town is the region’s industrial center.

This vibrant town is the largest Acadian community in Nova Scotia. Its beautiful Saint Pierre Church is visible from miles out at sea. The Acadians of Cape Breton are skilled craftspeople, and the town’s seven cooperatives produce pottery and hooked rugs.

Small and emerald green, the Margaree River Valley is in a delightful world of its own. The river has attracted salmon and trout anglers in large numbers since the mid-19th century.

Across the lake from the estate of Alexander Graham Bell, who loved the little town, Baddeck lies in rich farmland and is very much the island’s premier resort destination.

MAGNIFICENT NATURAL BEAUTY is the attraction on Cape Breton. Every year thousands of people travel the famous Cabot Trail through the craggy splendor of Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Built between 1811 and 1819, Province House is the oldest seat of government in Canada. In 1864 the Fathers of Confederation held two days of meetings here on the formation of Canada.

At the base of Citadel Hill stands the city’s most recognized landmark, the Old Town Clock. The clock was a gift in 1803 from Edward, the British Duke of Kent and then military commander, who had a passion for punctuality.

Overlooking the city, this huge star-shaped fortress has a commanding view of the world’s second-largest natural harbour. Built between 1828 and 1856, the citadel and its outlying fortifications provided a formidable defense.

Created in 1836, the Public Gardens are a beautiful 7-hectares (17-acre) oasis of Victorian greenery and color in a bustling city. A peaceful place to stroll, the gardens’ paths wind past duck ponds, fountains, and a seemingly endless array of vivid flowerbeds.

The current home of Nova Scotia’s lieutenant-general, this beautiful building is not open to the public but well worth exterior inspection for its historic and architectural interest.

This harbourfront museum offers extensive displays on Nova Scotia’s seafaring history, including small craft, a restored chandlery, and, at the dock outside, the elegantly refitted 1913 research vessel Acadia.

A TOUR ALONG the Eastern Shore is a trip through old-world Nova Scotia, through towns and villages where life has changed little since the turn of the 20th century. The tiny house and farm that comprise the Fisherman’s Life Museum in Jeddore, Oyster Ponds (60 km/37 miles east of Halifax) was the home of an [...]

THE GRACEFUL Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse stands atop wave-worn granite rocks and is one of the most photographed sights in Canada, a symbol of Nova Scotia’s enduring bond with the sea.

THE SMALL seaside town of Mahone Bay has been called the “prettiest town in Canada.” Tucked into the shores of the bay that shares its name, the waterfront is lined with historic homes dating to the 1700s, and at the back of the harbor three stately churches cast their reflection into the still waters.

NO TOWN CAPTURES the seafaring romance of Nova Scotia as much as Lunenburg. In the mid-1700s the British, eager for another loyal settlement, laid out a town plan for Lunenburg. They then offered the land to Protestant settlers from Germany.

A QUIET HISTORIC town nestled on the shore of a deep harbor, Shelburne was founded hastily by 3,000 United Empire Loyalists fleeing persecution after the American Revolution in 1775. More loyalists followed over the next few years, and Shelburne’s population swelled to 16,000, making it at the time the largest town in British North America.

THE HARDWORKING fishing town of Digby is virtually synonymous with the plump, juicy scallops that are the prime quarry of the town’s extensive fishing fleet. The area around Digby also offers splendid scenery and is the starting place for a scenic trip along Digby Neck to the rocky coastal landscape of beautiful Long and Brier [...]

AT THE EASTERN end of the Annapolis Valley lies the historic and picturesque town of Annapolis Royal. It was near here that Samuel de Champlain built the fur trading post of Port Royal in 1605.