We were really impressed with Halifax. What a beautiful Canadian city! It has a bustling downtown, beautiful waterfront and lots of nature built-in to the urban environment. It’s also a nice, central location for seeing some surrounding Nova Scotia gems like Lunenburg.
Below you’ll find plenty of ideas for your own trip, including:
Things To Do
Nova Scotia is stunning and there is a lot to see and do around the Halifax area. Here are some of the highlights:
Lunenburg
One of our favourite outings of our 2-month trip was the day we spent in Lunenburg. The old town area is one of only two urban communities in North America designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. There is a great vibe to strolling the town streets and hanging out at the bustling harbour. We did a walking tour to learn more about the history. If you’d prefer not to walk the hilly streets, you could hitch a ride on a carriage tour. We also bought admission to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic and got the chance to tour an old sailboat.
Halifax Citadel
We’ve seen a few forts in our travels, but the Halifax Citadel was one of my favourites. High on a hill in the centre of the city, it has a great 360 degree view. It also has some neat old, dark passages to explore. The kids really enjoyed doing the Citadel Adventures mystery game as we toured the place. Check in advance for tours and programs like the Soldier for a Day experience.
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic was great! We especially enjoyed the exhibits covering the Halifax explosion of 1917, the Titanic artifacts and the multitude of shipwrecks off the Atlantic coast. The museum is free on certain holidays and we received a discount for going later in the day. Further down the harbourfront (about 15 min walk away) is the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, which came highly recommended to us. We did the Maritime museum, the harbourfront and dinner all in one late afternoon/early evening, so you don’t need a ton of time.
Downtown Harbourfront
Our kids constantly remind us on our travels of how you don’t need to spend a lot of money to make great memories. They don’t say this with words, of course, but it comes out in the places and things they talk most about afterward. In Halifax, it was no different. If you ask them what their favourite part was, they would answer the “giant wave” and the playground next to it. You’ll find these both on the harbourfront, just outside the back of the Maritime Museum. And of course, both are completely free.
Hatfield Farm
Across the street from the RV campground, we found Hatfield Farm. The kids liked the petting pen, watching the goats on the climbing structure and we treated them to a pony ride. It is a fun outing, especially for younger kids.
More Halifax Area Fun
With only a week in the area, we had to make choices on what we did. However, there were many other things on the shortlist that we’ll have to check out another time. You could consider visiting iconic Peggy’s Cove, seeing the animals at Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, transporting back in time to the 1940s at Memory Lane Heritage Village, rafting with Fundy Tidal Bore Adventures or discovering Acadian stories at Grand-Pré National Historic Site.
Places To Eat
The Savvy Sailor Cafe (Lunenburg)
We stumbled upon the Savvy Sailor Cafe when we arrived in Lunenburg and were thrilled when they took us through the small restaurant to sit on the back deck overlooking the harbour. We didn’t know there was a back deck! We were thrilled again when we realized we weren’t just overlooking any, old sailboat – it was the Bluenose II. The view was memorable and the food was good too!
Antojo Tacos
After our 2-month trip to Texas last year, our family can’t get enough of tacos! We found Antojo Tacos + Tequila in downtown Halifax, a short hike uphill from the harbourfront. The tacos were delicious and they had some interesting options – the kids tried the beef tongue tacos and really enjoyed them!
Dharma Sushi
There are many places to eat on Argyle Street in downtown Halifax and Dharma Sushi is just down the street from Antojo. We stopped here on a different night and the sushi was delicious. We also enjoyed the cozy, friendly atmosphere.
Where We Stayed
Woodhaven RV Park
Wildfires were raging in Nova Scotia during our time out east. We weren’t sure if we would get to stay at Woodhaven because their location was in an evacuation zone. Thankfully for residents, businesses (and lucky for us too) a week of solid rain helped bring the fires under control. Nevertheless, the damage we could see a couple short kilometres from Woodhaven was extensive and devastating. I’m sure the scars will be there for many years to come.
Woodhaven RV Park was great and the location worked well for country living with easy access to the city. Our back-up plan was Wayside Camping Park and they were very friendly and helpful in being ready to accommodate us should we have needed it.
