4 Best Sights in South Shore and Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

This is the gallery's satellite location. As with the flagship in Halifax, this one is housed in a heritage building and has a broad mandate, yet it's at its best when showcasing the works of regional artists. The branch exhibits art from the main gallery's permanent collection and mounts temporary shows of folk art and other disciplines. Family Sunday and children's workshops occasionally take place. If you plan to visit both branches, keep your receipt—it will give you a reduction on the second admission fee.

It isn't the South Shore's most photogenic lighthouse—the one at Peggy's Cove wins that award—but this one scores points for its dramatic vistas and the dearth of other camera-clutching tourists. Erected in 1962 on the site of an earlier lighthouse, the concrete structure rises 75 feet above the entrance to Yarmouth Harbour. The adjacent keeper's quarters house a small museum with interactive exhibits, a fully equipped light-keeper's workshop, a restaurant serving seafood and local craft brews, and a gift shop. 

A good rainy-day destination, this museum recounts the history of firefighting in the province through photographs, uniforms, and other artifacts, including vintage hose wagons, ladder trucks, and an 1863 Amoskeag Steamer. Kids will especially enjoy this spot—after checking out the toy engines, they can don a fire helmet and take the wheel of a 1933 Bickle Pumper.

One of the largest collections of ship paintings in Canada resides here, along with exhibits of household items, musical instruments (including rare mechanical pianos and music boxes), and other items that richly evoke centuries past. There's even a Norse runic stone dating back to Viking transatlantic explorations around AD 1000. The museum has a preservation wing and an archival research area, where local history and genealogy are documented. Next door is the Pelton-Fuller House, summer home of the original Fuller Brush Man, which is maintained and furnished much as the family left it. The museum offers guided tours of a third building in high season: the Killam Brothers Shipping Office. Located at 90 Water Street, it recalls a long-standing family business that was established here in 1788.