Nova Scotia, in eastern Canada, has the well-deserved reputation of being one of the most welcoming and friendliest provinces. Its capital city, Halifax, serves as an excellent base for exploring the region, with popular day trips to iconic destinations like Peggy's Cove, with its famous lighthouse and Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its colorful houses and famous sailboat, the Bluenose. Halifax harbor has been regenerated recently and there is now a lovely new hotel, the Muir and wide boardwalks for strolling to cafes and other waterfront attractions. And this is a town that takes going out seriously, with excellent restaurants and an astonishing (for a city of only half a million) 450 bars.
What to See and Do
Located in the heart of Halifax’s historic waterfront, there’s no better place to immerse yourself in Nova Scotia’s rich maritime heritage than at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. From small craft boatbuilding to World War Convoys, the Days of Sail to the Age of Steam, the Titanic to the Halifax Explosion, the museum provides a fascinating deep dive in everything related to the sea. The extensive collection of sea-related memorabilia includes the world’s largest collection of artefacts from the Titanic. There’s a fully intact deck chair, an ornate wooden piece of the dining room wall and a pair of baby shoes that belonged to one of the youngest victims. Also part of the permanent collection is a foghorn you can try out for yourself, the original lens of the oldest still working lighthouse in North America and a Victoria Cross awarded to William Hall, the first black man to receive the British military’s highest honor for bravery. Connected to the museum is a brilliant initiative, a shipbuilding school for troubled youngsters, that’s currently expanding its capacity from 80 students to 800, with a brand new building on the waterfront.
Raise Your Spirits! tour at Halifax Citadel, a nineteenth-century British fort perched on the hill above the city, combines history and a spirits tasting, in a special after-hours tour, with a kilted 78th Highlander as your guide. The Citadel has its own brand spirits, created by the local Compass Distillers. Noon Gun Gin, Granite and Grain Whisky and Daily Ration is paired with delicious artisanal cheeses and charcuterie.
Halifax has a thriving art scene and if you like landscape or nature art, there are a number of downtown galleries to choose from. Since 2000, Argyle Fine Art has been offering the best of Nova Scotia art to local art lovers and visitors from all over the world. The recent exhibition was The Size of Life, a lovely series of bird paintings by Lunenburg-based artist Heidi Holloway. While the focus is on emerging artists, the gallery also represents well-known artists like Gordon Macdonald. The popular, annual Pre-Shrunk show every winter features around 400 petite works, all measuring four by five inches and selling for $175 each.
For one of the best panoramic views of the entire city, go to the top floor of the award winning Halifax Central Public Library, a joint venture between local firm Fowler Bauld and Mitchell and Schmidt Hammer Lassen of Denmark. There’s also a cute cafe and outdoor terrace at the top.
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Day Trips From Halifax
If you haven’t rented a car, a great option is a guided tour from Atlantis Limousine whose friendly drivers offer a wealth of information on Halifax and the surrounding area. Essential for any visit to Nova Scotia is Peggy’s Cove, a quaint working fishing village about an hour from Halifax by car, in a beautiful, dramatic seashore setting, with a boardwalk trail across. After you’ve enjoyed a stroll across the rocks to the lighthouse and visited the artists’ studios, you’ll find the best lobster rolls for lunch at Tom’s Lobster Shack or excellent seafood chowder at the Sou’ Wester. En route to Peggy’s Cove, stop by Acadian Maple for maple syrup and various maple products, including tasty maple flavored whisky.
Old Town Lunenburg, a Unesco world heritage site, is another great day trip close to Halifax. See the famous Bluenose schooner featured on Canada’s ten cent coin and the pretty colored houses. For lunch, the South Shore Fish Shack has excellent fish and chips.
Where to Stay
The newest hotel in Halifax is the chic Muir hotel, located in the Queen’s Marque district, a newly regenerated waterfront neighborhood. The five star Muir has 109 suites and guest rooms, many with waterfront views, a well equipped gym and spa, an excellent restaurant and a speakeasy accessed by a secret elevator. Rooms are from $600 in low season.
Another good choice on the waterfront is the four star Westin Nova Scotian in the Halifax Seaport District near the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.
Where to Eat and Drink
The waterfront Queen’s Marque area is packed with restaurants, making it a great dining destination. Drift, on the ground floor of the Muir, offers exceptional seafood that’s in full supply all year round. From halibut cheeks to snow crab, haddock, and P.E.I mussels, superior seafood is a menu mainstay for Chef Lawrence Deneau and his team.
Peaco*ck Wine Bar, with its impressive wine list and menu of seasonally inspired dishes, where vegetables and handmade pastas take starring roles, is a worthy new entry at number nine in Canada’s Top 100 Restaurants.
Nova Scotia has a fairly large French population so it’s no surprise that restaurants like Café Lunette offer a stellar range of French classics like Moules Frites Mariniere, Beouf Bourguignon and Seared Trout Amandine.
Daryâ has an Eastern Mediterranean sharing menu with tasty options like roasted cauliflower tagine, manti beef dumplings, spanakopita pie and a selection of kebabs and housemade dips.
Salt + Ash has a focus on live-fire cooking. Wood-fired pizzas, hearty meat and seafood and East Coast family-style favorites in a laid-back waterfront setting.
Bar Sofia is led by celebrated Chef Anthony Walsh, whose family’s Argentinian heritage has inspired the Latin-influenced menu with empanadas and colorful salads and hearty meat. Chef Walsh has also thoughtfully incorporated Atlantic Canadian ingredients such as Nova Scotia mackerel, lamb and salmon and Newfoundland tuna.
Seaport Social on waterfront in the Westin Hotel is a lively place for a drink and casual lunch or dinner from a maritime menu featurig fresh, seasonal, local fare. In warmer months, there’s also an outdoor patio.
Bird’s Nest Cafe, an excellent place for lunch, has a variety of sandwiches, panini, soups, salads and delicious cakes.
A Syrian refugee family based in Antingonish founded Peace By Chocolate and have a lovely shop in the Queen’s Marque area. The family were forced to leave to leave their family chocolate factory in Damascus, Syria in 2012 and rebuilt their chocolate company in Nova Scotia, opening in 2016. The delicious chocolate comes in a vast range of flavors and donates 3-5 percent of profits to the Peace On Earth Society, an organization registered in Nova Scotia that contributes funds to peace-building projects around the world.
Getting There
There are direct flights taking less than three hours on various airlines from Toronto, New York, Boston and Chicago as well as direct daily flights on Air Canada from London Heathrow.
