Historic Shelburne is perhaps the best undiscovered place in Canada, and your Nova Scotia travel vacation should start here... where Canada's history comes alive! 

Described "one of the most culturally vibrant small towns in Canada", there is so much to enjoy here... and we're just an hour's drive from the Cat Ferry from Bar Harbor and Portland, Maine and about 2 hours from Halifax. 

Shelburne is a wonderful year-round home for its 2,000 residents - and is fast becoming a favorite Nova Scotia vacation spot and summer home location for thousands more each year.  

Here you can find wonderful places to stay, activities on the waterfront  - including boating, harbour tours, walking tours, museums (see Frommer's Guide review) & dining. The area is famous for its many pristine beaches. The Osprey Arts Centre features live theatre & music every week. Shelburne is the home to the annual Lobster Festival , Whirligig & Weathervane Festival, Founders' Days and in 2007, we had a most successful Tall Ships Festival and, in 2008 we hosted largest historical reenactment ever on the South Shore!.

Nearby there are great birding spots, geocache sites, lighthouses and beaches. We have a terrific marina, yacht club and sailing school. Within a few minutes drive are the charming communities of Lockeport, Jordan, Birchtown, Barrington, Clarks Harbour, Cape Sable Island, Cape Negro, and Shag Harbour. Visitors come from throughout the world to vacation in Nova Scotia. And all-in-all, Shelburne can easily be considered "Canada's perfect place to live & play".

The town boasts a fascinating history, which is apparent in its charming Historic Waterfront District (see map here). The site of a major Loyalist landing in 1783, the Shelburne area is home to one of the most active reenactment associations in Canada and to six museums.

On a leisurely stroll through the Historic Waterfront (the settling for the movie "The Scarlet Letter" starring Demi Moore and Robert Duvall), you will also find galleries and antique shops, gift stores, cafes, restaurants, kayak and bike rentals, a public marina and arts centre & theatre. Highlights of the Historic Waterfront include the Barrel Factory, Dory Shop, Muir-Cox Shipyard, Shelburne Marina and Yacht Club and the Osprey Arts Centre and Coastline Gallery. There are several planned bike routes through and around the town

Shelburne's built wooden heritage is the most significant in Canada and the small Historic District rivals any area of North America for its density of pre-eighteen hundred wooden buildings.

Wander Dock Street, which borders the world's third largest natural harbour. Eight of the twelve dwellings facing the water were built before 1785. Six narrow lanes and four streets retain the same dimensions and character as laid out by British surveyors who established a city from scratch in 1783 to house over 15,000 Loyalists escaping the American Revolution.

A walk through the Historic District can be a walk through architectural history from 1783 to 1900. Of the 46 residential properties in the District, only one was built after 1900 and over a dozen architectural styles are present.

Surrounding the Historic Waterfront District you will find many businesses, churches, cemeteries and other sites of interest. You can find a Historic Waterfront map here.  If you'd like to see the web site for the Town of Shelburne, click here. The web site for the Port of Shelburne is HERE.

Please enjoy yourself on our website and do come and visit in person!  

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