Yarmouth Travel Guide

The constant lament of Yarmouth restaurateurs and shopkeepers is this: The summer tourists who stream off incoming ferries rarely linger even a few minutes in their city before mashing the accelerator and speeding off to higher-marquee venues up the coast.

There might be a reason for that. Yarmouth is a pleasant burg that offers some noteworthy historic architecture dating from the golden ages of seafaring. Visitors will see the legacy of this seafaring heritage when they visit Yarmouth today: there are some 400 sea captains’ homes in the region, built between 1850 and 1900 with riches gained at sea. But this town's not terribly unique, and thus not high on the list of places to spend a few days. It's a little too big (pop. 7,200) to be charming, a little too small to generate any urban buzz or vitality. It does have the flavor of a handy pit stop rather than a true destination, even if  redevelopment efforts have spruced up the waterfront and added some evening entertainment options during the summer.

Of course you could linger a few hours while awaiting the ferry (the Maine-bound ferries all leave in late afternoon), or to while away an afternoon while looping around the coast. It’s a great base for exploring the Acadian Shore, which extends on both sides of the town along the coast, but it's probably not worth more than a half-day of your time.. Check with the Visitor Information Centre or Tourism Nova Scotia (tel. 800/565-0000) for maps and the latest schedule of events.