Lunenburg owes its existence to offshore cod fishery, but now seems to mostly focus on tourism because of its perfect British colonial grid plan and fine collection of wooden houses from the 19th century. It was my last WHS to visit on my Eastern Canada trip in 2022.

Nice weather was predicted, but a thick fog lay over the town when I got there at half-past nine. The large fisheries museum had just opened its doors. Attributes from the Atlantic fishing history are displayed on three floors. It is more like a warehouse than a museum that tells a specific story. In 1992, cod fishing from Lunenburg and the surrounding area was stopped by the Canadian government due to overfishing. A part of the exhibits is shown in the former icehouse.

Then I walked uphill to see some streets with original houses. Most are from the late 19th century – previous buildings have been destroyed by fire. Almost all of them have a sign with the date of construction and the history of the building. Each house is slightly different in color and architecture, it is nice to see the variation. Only the low-hanging electricity cables are not so attractive.

I believe I walked all the streets. There’s a considerable number of churches, of different Protestant denominations. The center also has a small park with several monuments and a bandstand. One commemorates the Norwegian training presence in World War II. Sailors who were stranded here received military training in Lunenburg. And the World Heritage plaque has also been given its own corner, with some information panels around it about Canadian World Heritage.

The former Academy is located on the edge of the town. Still, it turned out to be only 800 meters from the center, which shows how small Lunenburg is (2000 people now live there). This school building from 1895 is the most impressive surviving building from the history of Lunenburg. Now it houses the local library and music school and is undergoing further restoration.

On a practical note: parking is payable at the harbour and lower town, but free in the upper streets and at the Academy. It's a fairly touristy place, but there's not a lot to see or do (I gave it 1.5 hours) and the core zone is very small.