60 Before 60 Project: #56 - Visit a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Have you ever visited a UNESCO World Heritage Site?  

If you’re not familiar with what these are, they are specific locations selected across the globe by the United Nations Educations, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to;  “...encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.” 

There currently are a total of 1,199 properties on this list from across the globe. 

On this list is the Old Town of Lunenburg in Nova Scotia, Canada. The reason it is on this list is because; 

 “it is the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. Established in 1753, it has retained its original layout and overall appearance, based on a rectangular grid pattern drawn up in the home country. The inhabitants have managed to safeguard the city's identity throughout the centuries by preserving the wooden architecture of the houses, some of which date from the 18th century.”. 

We stayed in Lunenburg for a night during our recent eastern Canada trip. It is a beautiful town filled with multicoloured old homes in amazingly great shape.

As I walked through the town, you couldn’t help but admire and appreciate the architecture. I found that when walking up the hill away from the harbour, the homes started to become larger and more grandiose. During the haunted walking tour we took, I had learned that unlike today, the larger and more expensive homes were built away from the waterfront because back then, even though fishing was a prime source of income, the odour and noise from the harbour was not where the aristocrats of the town wanted to live. 

The town also had some excellent restaurants and bars and as I wandered around, I could only imagine how busy it must be to visit in the summer and was again pleased that we had selected to visit in the off season. 

Lunenburg is a very pretty town and it is wonderful to see how much care and attention is being given to maintaining and securing it’s past for the benefit of future generations to come.  

I also think I’ll have to take a good look at some of the UNESCO other locations for ideas of where to possibly go next! 

My 60 Before 60 Life Lesson: Ensuring we protect our past helps others to appreciate it in the future 

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