Halifax (Nova Scotia)

The Halifax International Airport is located about a half hour drive outside of Halifax. It is the biggest airport in the maritime provinces and as such services flights from most cities in Canada, as well as many major cities in the US and Europe. To get into Halifax there is a shuttle bus that leaves every hour most hours of the day and stops at all the major hotels in Halifax and Dartmouth. As of 2005 it costs $12. Alternately, there are cabs that charge a flat rate of about $35.

http://www.hiaa.ca/

By train

VIA Rail train station located in the south end of Halifax has daily trains leaving for connection trains in Montreal and Toronto to the North East US.

http://www.viarail.ca/

By car

By bus

Visit HRM's Metro Transit Web site for schedules and city maps.

http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/

By boat

Get around

Make sure you are wearing good walking shoes, as it is a very hilly city. Or alternatively you could take public transit. There are many reliable buses that run between various locations in the city. As well, you can take a bus to Dartmouth, Bedford or Sackville. A ferry service also operates between Halifax and Dartmouth.

See

Citadel. Don't miss if you are downtown.
Old Burial Grounds, Barrington and Spring Garden Road. Some of the gravestones date from the 1700s, and it is a spooky and beautiful spot.
Universities - Home of Dalhousie Univeristy, Saint Mary's University and Mount Saint Vincent Univerisity.
military bases

Parks

Point Pleasant Park (most southern point of the city). Open most days from sunrise to sunset. A large peaceful park that serves as a vantage point to see the mouth of the harbour and into the Atlantic ocean. Was once a dense woods has since been left with patches of devastation and clear-cut from Hurricane Juan in 2003. It still remains a popular place to walk dogs and stroll.

Do

Theodore Tugboat

Harbour Tours, Theodore Tugboat and other boats leave from the wharf.

Busker Festival, Visit in August for the festival of street performers along the waterfront. It's a must see, with amazing acts, some grand and awe-inspiring, some quaint, others funny. A very lively time of year along the harbourfront, with music and stalls selling food and other goods.

Get Out of the City, Explore the countryside surrounding Halifax. St. Margaret's Bay is only half an hour away; a gorgeous bay, almost as big as the harbour itself, but without the cities. Instead, it is dotted with islands and small towns. There are beautiful beaches, such as Queensland, Cleveland, Black Point and others, just before the town of Hubbards. The drive along highway 3 (2 lane, coastal) is well worth the twists and turns, for it is beautifully scenic, especially on nice summer days. At the southwestern tip of the mouth of the bay is the famous Peggy's Cove: stunning bare granite rocks and cliffs with its historic and still-used lighthouse. Worth the drive; nice gift shops, too. While sunsets are gorgeous and peaceful on clear summer evenings; the best times to see Peggy's Cove are the stormier days, when the waves crashing against the cliffs send salt spray high into the air.

Learn

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic:

Located on the downtown waterfront, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is one of 27 museums maintained by the province of Nova Scotia. This showcase of the region's rich marine heritiage includes exhibits and artifacts related to the sinking of the Titanic and the devastating 1917 Halifax explosion. The CSS Acadia, a hydrographic survey ship built in 1913 is an ongoing conservation project and is moored a few meters from the museum building.

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/.

Work

Buy

Farmers' market, in the Old Brewery downtown. Saturday mornings.

Eat

Budget

Trident Cafe
Steve-O-Reno's Just off of Spring Garden Road
Coburg Cafe Located on Coburg Road, near Dalhousie Univeristy
Pizza Corner 3 different pizza restaurants on 3 corners of an intersection. Good cheap pizza and donairs.
Split Crow Long-standing Pub with late week and weekend entertainment and cheap food.
Your Father's Mustache Pub Food - Located on Spring Garden Road
Thursty Duck Pub Food - Located on Spring Garden Road
Kings Palace Chinese Food - Located on Quinpool Road

Mid-range

Fireside - Meals are reasonably priced, atmosphere is cosy and EVERYTHING on the menu is worth eating.
Il Mercato - Good Pasta. Have the lemon tart for dessert.
Economy Shoe Shop - Go on Jazz night (usually Monday) and eat Nachos.

Splurge

Drink

There are a large number of good cafes, pubs, and other eateries all throughout downtown. Of particular note are those on Granville St.