Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is app…Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km north of the larger town of New Glasgow. Once an active shipping port and the shire town of the county, today Pictou is primarily a local service centre for surrounding rural communities and the primary tourist destination in this region of Nova Scotia.