Step inside Nanaimo's riveting past with a private guided heritage walk linking the iconic 1853 Hudson's Bay Company Bastion — one of Canada's oldest surviving wooden forts — with the award-winning Nanaimo Museum and the coal-mining legacy that shaped the city.
What to expect
Your private guide meets you at the waterfront Bastion — a squat, three-storey wooden tower that once bristled with cannons protecting the HBC coal operation — and brings the 1850s frontier to vivid life. The walk threads through the Old City Quarter's Victorian streetscapes before arriving at the Nanaimo Museum, where interactive galleries trace 10,000 years of Snuneymuxw presence and the explosive growth of the 19th-century coal industry. Artefacts, photographs, and your guide's storytelling combine to make the city's complex past utterly compelling. The harbour view from the Bastion alone is worth the visit.
Good to know
The Museum is a 5-minute walk from the cruise terminal along the scenic Harbourfront Walkway. Pre-arrange your private guided tour directly with the museum — flat-rate pricing makes it exceptional value for groups. Allow 2–2.5 hours for the full walk and museum visit. Combine with a harbour-front lunch for a perfect half-day ashore.
Sail there
Luxury cruises that call at Nanaimo — book through us, the fare is identical and your concierge stays on your side.
More to do in Nanaimo
- Wild Play Nanaimo: Bungee Jump & King Swing Over the Gorge
- Cathedral Grove Ancient Forest & Coombs Old Country Market
- Whale Watching Open-Boat Expedition from Nanaimo Harbour
- Newcastle Island Marine Park: Guided Kayak & Wilderness Picnic
- Nanoose Bay Epicurean Adventure: Farm, Orchard & Artisan Tastings