Arts, Culture & Atlantic Canada Museums

Steeped in rich culture, historic arts and impressive museums, the Atlantic Canadian region offers many things to do for every traveler. With a vibrant art scene popping up on every corner of Canada’s eastern seaboard from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick and Newfoundland, it’s easy to spend countless hours exploring some of the country’s best cultural attractions.

Arts & Culture in Nova Scotia

One of Canada’s Maritime Provinces, Nova Scotia’s rugged beauty and rolling green hills make a perfect backdrop for any activity. Set along the Halifax waterfront, walk the deck of this floating vessel and immerse yourself in the deep marine history at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.  Take a guided tour and get a first-hand glimpse of the largest nautical museum and discover never-before-heard tales and legends of this province and its storied past, from World War Convoys, to the Titanic.

Located on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, The Cape Breton Miners Museum takes you on a journey back in time to learn of the coal miners and their families that once resided there. Take a tour from a retired coal miner and discover the Men of Deeps.

Set sail to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic and board a salt bank schooner tied dockside to explore the rich fishing heritage in Nova Scotia.  Learn all about the art of fishing and get up close with your favourite catch of the day to really live like a local.

Take a tour of where Canada’s oldest dinosaurs once roamed at the Fundy Geological Museum, in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Explore mineral treasures and ancient artifacts from land and sea and learn about what inhabited this province centuries ago.

Long live country music in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, where the Hank Snow Country Music Centre resides. Set along the Lighthouse Route, this centre is a commemoration to local country music legend, Hank Snow, and features guided tours, a gift shop and picnic areas to sit outside and enjoy live country music under the stars.

Arts & Culture in New Brunswick

Enter the French fry capital of the world, Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunswick, and experience the potato like never-before imagined. Take a hands-on tour of growing and harvesting this diverse vegetable, and then learn how to cut, peel, dice and cook with it. Make sure to stop in the Harvest Café for some savoury potato dishes to sample.

After visiting the Potato Museum, sweet experiences await your arrival at the Chocolate Museum in New Brunswick, Canada. Tour the factory and museum where Ganong Chocolates originated over a century ago, and then head over to the tasting room for sinful bites of chocolate.

Make sure to save time to tour the beautifully restored Imperial Theatre, located in downtown Saint John in New Brunswick. Situated directly along the Bay of Fundy, this Italian Renaissance-styled architecture houses a myriad of live performances dating back to 1906. Once showcasing silent films to comedy acts, the Imperial Theatre still plays host to live concerts, Broadway shows and dance performances in town.

For a chance to see local New Brunswick artists and their works of original pieces in watercolour, oil, ink, acrylic, pen, mixed media, and hand painting, visit the Bay Breeze Art Gallery in the Promenade Waterfront. Tour the skilled works and exhibits, or sign up for a workshop/class while in town.

Lord Beaverbrook gifted the Beaverbrook Art Gallery to Fredericton, NB, which has since been through a multi-million-dollar expansion. This gallery houses works from Canadian artists Tom Thompson, Emily Carr and Cornelius Kreighoff, as well as popular collections from Dali, Freud, Gainsborough and Turner.