Halifax is the capital and most populated city in the province of Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada. Known for its maritime history, waterfront, and pub scene. This is a great stop if you’re interested in exploring the Eastern coast of Canada. It’s very easy to get around and there are some great day trips that you can do from Halifax as well. We were there for a little over two days and could easily have stayed a third, as our days were very full! There’s a ton of culture, history, and hills in Halfiax so bring your walking shoes and let’s spend a couple of days in Nova Scotia!
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Here is a sample itinerary based on our family trip with adult children in July:
DAY 0: TRAVEL DAY & CELTIC MUSIC
Flying in to Halifax from major cities is pretty easy to do…we were coming from Montreal so it was a quick and easy direct flight. We arrived in the afternoon, grabbed an Uber from the airport (there’s no need to rent a car here), and got checked in to our hotel, The Sutton Place. This hotel was beautiful and right downtown, in the perfect location for walking down to the waterfront. It had a great lobby bar (Chop) that we enjoyed each night too! Perched almost all the way to the top of the hill, our hotel room overlooked the Historic Citadel, that I’ll tell you more about on Day 1.
After checking in to our hotel, we were starving and were craving some pizza, so we walked about 10 minutes down the road to Trattoria Vesso, known for their Neapolitan pizzas and scratch-made pastas. This was one of the best meals we had in Halifax…espresso martinis, salads, pizzas, and dessert were all fantastic!
Halifax is known for its Celtic, Irish, and old Maritime music, so we had to find a venue to partake. Two of the top recommended places to hear Celtic music are the Old Triangle Irish Alehouse and the Split Crow Pub. We ended up going to the Split Crow Pub, which turned out to be a popular spot for the college crowd and it got really packed, but it we grabbed a spot in the basement and had a few local beers.
DAY 1: PEGGY’S COVE, LUNENBERG, TITANIC CEMETERY, AND THE CITADEL
When visiting this area of Nova Scotia, a day trip to Peggy’s Cove, historic Lunenberg, and the Titanic Cemetery are a must-do. We booked this tour through Viator and AlphaTravel & Tours. It was a small group tour that lasted about 7 hours, which was the perfect amount of time in my opinion. We were back at our hotel by 3PM which allowed us some time to explore more of Halifax before dinner.
After picking up everyone for the tour, we set out toward Peggy’s Cove which was about a 45-minute drive from Halifax. Our guide was super informative and shared a lot of local and historical information with us along the way. Peggy’s Cove is a really picturesque little fishing village, and is home to this iconic lighthouse. We had plenty of time to explore both the fishing village and the lighthouse, plus a little souvenir shopping too!
After Peggy’s Cove, we drove about an hour further down the coast to the UNESCO World Heritage seaside town of Lunenberg. An original British Colonial settlement, Lunenberg is known for its colorful 18th and 19th century buildings as well as its history in shipbuilding. We had a couple of hours to spend here, and there are quite a few options for things to do…museums, sail boat rides (the Bluenose II is here during the summer months), distilleries, galleries, and lots of good options for a seaside lunch!
Our guide had recommended that we check out Ironworks Distillery – they offer tours and tastings of their most popular products, including their Maple Rum which was really a treat. We took home some blueberry bitters and a bottle of the Maple Rum which is delicious all by itself. They were super friendly there and were happy to answer all of our questions and let us taste a lot of product!
Next we grabbed lunch on the patio at The Salt Shaker Deli. It sits high up on the hill (Lunenberg is hilly!) and the back deck overlooks the port. We had a beautiful summer day and the setting was perfection. We had a variety of food and drinks, but the highlights were a blueberry mule, the warm crab dip, and the lobster rolls! We loved these graphic signs outside the shops as well.
By the time we finished lunch there wasn’t a whole lot of time left, so we explored the shops and walked along the docks to check out the boats. Then it was time to make the 1.5 hour journey back to Halifax…
Once we reached Halifax, we made one last stop before the tour ended at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery. This cemetery is significant in that 121 people that perished in the Titanic disaster are buried here, as Halifax was the closest port to the site where the ship sank in 1912. There is a small memorial where the headstones are configured in the shape of the bow of a ship.
The tour got us back to our hotel with some time left to spare before dinner, so we walked to the Halifax Citadel which sits up on a hill overlooking the city, right behind our hotel. It is open 9AM-5PM daily, and at noon each day they fire a cannon! There are a number of different museums and displays to see there, plus the views from here are fantastic. While it is open in the winter months, parts of the property are closed seasonally so be sure to check the website before visiting.
For dinner the second night, I recommend the Wooden Monkey. Their menu has a ton of variety and the food was really good. Lots of local brews here as well.
DAY 2: FOOD TOUR, BOARDWALK, PUBLIC GARDENS, AND A BREWERY TOUR
Our second full day in Halifax happened to be my birthday, so I planned some of my favorite activities to celebrate…eating and drinking! We started the day with a late morning walking food tour with Emre from Halifax Daily Tours that we booked through Viator. This was a 2.5 hour experience through Downtown Halifax and then finishing up along the boardwalk. It included some of the best seafood chowder, lobster rolls, oysters, donair (a Nova Scotia specialty and so delicious!), and ice cream. Of course the tour included plenty of historical and cultural information about the city (which I love), and our guide Emre gave us lots of great recommendations for things to do and see during the remainder of our visit.
Following the food tour we had to walk off some of the calories we had just consumed, so we headed toward the Halifax Public Gardens. The city of Halifax is really walkable if you’re staying in the city, just prepare yourself for the hills! The gardens are free to enter, and it’s worth spending an hour or so checking out the beautiful landscape, fountains, and sculptures, especially in the spring and summer. The gardens are designed in the Victorian Gardenesque style established in the 1800’s. There’s a cafe, ice cream shop, and gift shop, as well as public restrooms available within in the park. They also offer a variety of free tours, bird tours, and even self-guided audio tours.
For my birthday dinner, we went to Tribute on the boardwalk. We had a great view of the harbor from here with a nice patio and the food was really good – more of a special occasion place. The highlight was this berry crumble for dessert!
Our final activity in Halifax was something that we booked sort of last-minute, but boy were we glad we did…this is a must-do in my opinion! Just a short walk from Tribute is the Alexander Keith Brewery and Tap Room. It’s set in the original building from 1822 and is really unique. You can stop there just to do a quick tasting or browse the building and merchandise, but I highly recommend doing the official tour. Check the calendar for times since the schedule varies by season, but on weekends in the summer they offer tours all day. Each tour includes four tastings, and the finale is a “Ceilidh” in the Stag’s Head pub where staff and local musicians perform live folk and maritime songs, including instruments. Our tour was the last one of the night and included some extra time in the pub. It was the perfect way to end my birthday and our visit to Nova Scotia.
