Sidney's claim to fame among literary visitors is its improbable concentration of independent bookshops along and around Beacon Avenue, the town's main street. For a community of around 12,000 people, the number and variety of shops is remarkable — there are dealers in new books, used and antiquarian volumes, nautical charts, maps, and local history. The tradition earned Sidney the informal title of Canada's "book town," joining a small international club of places that have built an identity around second-hand bookselling.
The shops are mostly clustered within a few blocks, making it easy to move between them on foot. Galiano's Books handles new titles; Tanner's Books is a long-established general bookshop with a strong local section; and several dealers specialize in particular subjects from natural history to military history. Even if you don't buy anything, the browsing culture is unhurried and the staff are knowledgeable.