The water sparkled in the sunshine as we strolled along the waterfront in Halifax, a city where the connection with the sea is inescapable. We were visiting for just a couple of days as part of a week long road trip around Nova Scotia. We found plenty of interesting things to do in Halifax, with a downtown area that’s small enough to walk everywhere.
The sea seemed to call to us with the lobster and scallops on every menu. A fortress on the hill overlooked the harbour and ships sailed from here to take men to war and bring immigrants to Canada to start a new life.
Although we had just a day, we managed to see a lot as always! So, here are 10 fun things to do in Halifax that we enjoyed and recommend you visit.
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1. Halifax Seaport Farmers Market
As we were staying at the Westin Nova Scotian, our first stop in exploring Halifax was the Halifax Farmers Market, just a short walk from the hotel. There has been a farmer’s market in Halifax since 1750. The market moved to its current home in a large modern building on the Seaport in 2010, now housing 250 different vendors.
At one end of the hall were stalls with beautifully presented fresh fruit and veg and countless varieties of apples. There was also seasonal specialties like asparagus and rhubarb.
We wandered around we found stalls selling everything from pickles and wines to locally produced crafts, creams and jewellery. Mixed in were food vendors with a multicultural influence. This reflects the history of Halifax as a major sea port and the gateway for many immigrants to Canada from all over the world.
If we’d been hungry we could have chosen from African, Indian, Lebanese, Caribbean and Korean cuisine. We tried to figure out what Canadian food might be, if not this blend of multi-ethnic cuisine and fresh local produce.
The Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market is the place to get a feel for the local food specialties of Nova Scotia. Have lunch on the patio area upstairs with views over the water.
More Info | Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market Website
2. The Halifax Waterfront
At one end of the farmer’s market, we joined the Halifax boardwalk which stretches the length of the waterfront. It’s a favourite place for locals and visitors to walk, jog, cycle and enjoy the sea air and views of the harbour. Along the Halifax waterfront are shops and restaurants, places to sit and relax and of course plenty of boats to admire along the way.
We strolled past a beach volley court and were tempted to hire bikes at I heart bikes but we already had a plan to do the Harbour Hopper tour. See the highlight below for more about our tour.
After the Harbour Hopper we continued to the end of the boardwalk to the historic quarter. The Fort on citadel hill protected the 18th century port and you can still see the old buildings of the harbour that have been restored.
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The Last Steps memorial is a poignant reminder of all the Canadian soldiers who left Halifax from this point to fight in WWI and never returned. Their last view of home was from this spot.
At the far end of the waterfront by the Marriott Hotel we relaxed for a while on colourful wooden chairs. These are typical of this part of Canada, with an especially big one that’s just designed for selfies.
Stay at the Westin Nova Scotian located in the heart of Halifax
Restaurants on Halifax waterfront
Although we didn’t stop to eat on the waterfront, a few Halifax waterfront pubs and restaurants that looked fun were;
The Bicycle Thief – with a relaxed but stylish atmosphere and outside seating on the boardwalk
The Lower Deck – for beer and live music on the waterfront
2. The Harbour Hopper Halifax Tour
One of the most popular things to do in Halifax is the Harbour Hopper Tour. There’s a ticket booth on the boardwalk where you can buy or reserve your ticket.
The tour takes place in an amphibious vehicle that is half truck and half boat. This gives you a great view as you drive around town and a waterside perspective once you start the harbour tour part of the experience (watch out for the splash!).
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During the tour we passed many of the major sites in the downtown area. There’s the Victorian public park and Citadel Hill. The busy Spring Garden Road is where many shops and cafes are situated.
The guide gave us a fascinating commentary about all the things that we were seeing, including the story of the Halifax Explosion in 1917, a disaster that flattened much of the town following a collision and fire on board a ship carrying munitions.
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I’d highly recommend this tour to do at the beginning of your stay in Halifax. It’s a great way to get a feel for the main things to do in Halifax so that you can go back and explore in more depth later.
More info Harbour Hopper Tour website | Duration 55 minutes | Running every 15 minutes in high season |
3. Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
After we’d thoroughly explored the harbour area, we walked up to Citadel Hill, Here you can visit the star shaped fort that overlooks the city of Halifax.
The fort was established in 1749 to protect the strategic harbour and naval base. The star shaped design makes it easy to defend, although it never came under attack.
You’ll see the soldiers of the 78th highlanders in their scarlet coats and kilts. They can tell you stories of their regiment stationed there in the 18th century and listen out for the bagpipes playing on the battlements.
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Inside the fortress, walk around the ramparts to see the heavy cannons. Or, visit the military museums inside the buildings that were formerly the barracks and living quarters of the soldiers.
There are regular guided tours of the fort or you can wander around the different rooms that show how the soldiers lived. At noon each day the cannon is fired.
The fort also explores the life of soldiers in the two world wars with a system of trenches that you can walk through to experience the dugouts and medical stations of WW1.
Stay at the Westin Nova Scotian located in the heart of Halifax
On the grassy slope in front of the fort stands the Old Town Clock, a gift of the Duke of Kent in 1800. He was commander in chief at the time and made a gift of the clock, which has since become a Halifax landmark.
More information Halifax Citadel National Historic Site | Open daily throughout the year
4. Halifax Public Gardens
The fort was a short distance from the Halifax Public Gardens. We enjoyed the walk around this Victorian park, laid out in 1867 in the English style of the time.
The park includes a boating lake where you may spot a model of the Titanic floating. There are statues, floral borders and a Chinese style bandstand that is still used in the summer for public concerts.
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You can stop for coffee and cake in the cafe called Uncommon Grounds. It’s located in the pretty wooden former horticultural hall with tables set on the wooden veranda.
5. Halifax Central Library
Just a couple of blocks down Spring Garden Road we found the Halifax Central Library. This has become a more recent Halifax landmark, known for its modern design and as a community hub that has reinvented the library for a new generation.
The building is a striking stack of glass boxes, criss-crossed inside by stairways with a light open atrium and galleries around the side. This is clearly a building that is well used for reading, working, listening to music and for community and family activities.
As we made our way up to the top floor we could feel the atmosphere of calm but purposeful activity and decided to stop for lunch in the cafe at the top.
There’s a terraced rooftop area where you can sit with a view over the whole city. The green rooftop absorbs solar energy and harvests rainwater to add to the building’s green credentials.
6. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
Most of what I’ve described so far we visited in just one day. We would have loved to have spent more time exploring the museums of Halifax.
As we were running out of time by the afternoon, we decided to pick just one Halifax museum to visit. The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 which tells the story of immigration in Halifax and by extension in Canada.
The Museum is set in the waterfront at Pier 21. This is the location where the boats would dock and immigrants to Canada came ashore to begin their journey in becoming Canadian citizens.
We took a fascinating short tour from a volunteer guide who explained how immigrants were processed through the customs and legalities. Sometimes they were helped with medical and other needs before they boarded a train from the station next door to other parts of Canada.
Stay at the Westin Nova Scotian located in the heart of Halifax
Some were fleeing danger in their homeland, others looking for greater prosperity or coming as a war bride to marry the man of their dreams. We saw the hall where they would have waited apprehensively to be interviewed, the train carriages they would have travelled in and the suitcases that contained all their worldly goods to start a new life.
Canada has historically been one of the most welcoming nations for immigrants, which is reflected in the multi-cultural society of today. The Pier 21 museum brought to life this trend of immigration through the human stories of those who arrived in Canada.
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7. More museums in Halifax
There are several other great museums for family days out in Halifax and a couple that we’d have liked to visit were;
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic – Set on the harbourfront the museum covers Nova Scotia’s relationship with the sea. Stories are told about World War convoys, the Titanic and the Halifax explosion.
If you are fascinated by the Titanic story, this is the place to visit. Halifax was the closest port to the location where the ship went down in 1912 and is known for its collection of wooden artefacts from the Titanic.
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia – housing a collection of art that is unique to Nova Scotia including the collection of Maud Lewis, the Nova Scotia artist best known for her folk art.
8. Seafood in Halifax
One of the highlights of our visit to Halifax and Nova Scotia in general was the fantastic seafood that we tried. We were blown away by the top quality of the lobster, oysters, crab and scallops that are on almost every restaurant menu in Halifax.
This city is definitely heaven for foodies who enjoy seafood! There were a couple of restaurants in Halifax that we really enjoyed for their great food and stylish atmosphere;
5 Fishermen Restaurant in Halifax
This is well known upscale restaurant is set a few blocks back from the harbour front. The building itself has a fascinating history.
Built as a school in 1818 it subsequently became a funeral home and took in many of the dead from the Titanic disaster and the Halifax explosion. There are tales on the website about staff in the restaurant seeing ghosts. However, I thought the atmosphere when we visited was most warm and charming!
The ground floor is a bar offering wine and seafood. An upstairs restaurant features a menu that has the spotlight firmly on the seafood. We tried the oysters with a choice of different sauces, although my preference is au natural with just a squeeze of lemon.
To follow we ordered the lobster with vegetables and butter sauce. All simple but delicious with a glass of Nova 7 by Benjamin Bridge. Five Fishermen is highly recommended for a special dinner with great food and service that showcases local Nova Scotia produce and seafood.
Seaport Social at Westin Nova Scotian
We had another delightful meal during our visit to Halifax at Seaport Social (formerly Elements on Hollis.) This is the restaurant of the Westin Nova Scotian where we stayed in Halifax.
The concept behind the restaurant is of familiar dishes with a modern and international twist. Each of the dishes on the menu had a flag beside them to indicate the international cuisine that had inspired them.
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As we were most interested in trying out the local flavours of Nova Scotia, we ordered a selection of plates to try out the different seafood on offer. The creamy chowder soup proved to be a meal in itself, thick with salmon, haddock, mussels and scallops.
We also shared the north shore crab cake with a lime remoulade and slaw of pickled carrots and fennel. Also, the Scallop’s BLT with seared scallops, tomato, bacon and crispy croutons. Delicious and apparently inspired by the Victorian era.
Note: Prices on menus in Canada are generally quoted exclusive of local tax. A minimum 15% gratuity is expected, so you need to allow an additional 30% on menu prices in Nova Scotia.
9. Craft beer in Halifax
While we stuck to Nova Scotia wine with our seafood, there is a huge craft beer scene in Nova Scotia. After our visit to Pier 21 we popped into Garrison, a micro-brewery that makes one of the popular Halifax beers that you’ll see on sale in bars all over town.
You can take a brewery tour or just sit in the airy brick brewery, buy bottles from their shop and order some tasters of the different beers on tap.
Another popular stop for beer lovers is the Alexander Keith’s Nova Scotia Brewery where you can take a brewery tour with actors in costume who lead you through the oldest brewery in Nova Scotia, or you can just take a drink in the Stag’s Head Tavern to try the Alexander Keith ales.
Staying on the drink theme, the Halifax Distilling Company is on the Halifax Waterfront, using small-batch copper stills to make fine rum and spirits, which you can try at their tasting bar.
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10. Stay: Westin Nova Scotian – a historic Halifax hotel
While in Halifax we stayed at the Westin Nova Scotian, a historic hotel built by the Canadian National Railway group. Opened in the 1930s, elegant travellers would stay here before or after their cruise across the Atlantic in the days before air travel. Ocean liners would come into port in Halifax and connect their disembarking passengers through the railway station next to the hotel.
Now part of the Westin group, this is a still a busy and cosmopolitan hotel that is ideal for travellers who want to spend a few days in Halifax. The Westin Nova Scotian is well located close to the waterfront and an easy walk to all the sights of Halifax, although it also has parking if you are touring by car.
We loved our spacious, comfortable and elegant harbour view room, with a great view of the harbour and the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market. The hotel is an excellent place to stay while you visit Halifax.
Stay at the Westin Nova Scotian located in the heart of Halifax
Read next
If you enjoyed this article, you can also read about all the fun things we did on our Nova Scotia road trip.
Photos from this trip
Plan your visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia
For other things to see in Canada visit the Canada Tourism website.
If you need a travel guide for Nova Scotia, check out the Lonely Planet guide to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
Need a guide book for PEI? We recommend the Lonely Planet Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island guide
There are many great places to stay in Halifax – we can recommend the Westin Nova Scotian where we stayed or take a look at other hotels and apartments in Halifax.
Be sure to also read my other articles from this trip;
Our fantastic Nova Scotia Road Trip – 3 day itinerary
10 fun things to do in Charlottetown and Prince Edward Island
Discovering Acadian culture in Nova Scotia, Canada
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This article was sponsored* by Nova Scotia Tourism who hosted my stay in Halifax.
* More info on my policies page
This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com
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