Things to do in Halifax?

[ToolJoe]

Mrs. TJ, myself and other family are taking a cruise next year that stops off in Halifax. I know it's a long way off but it can't hurt to start exploring. Any recommendations on things to see or good breweries to visit. Closer to downtown the better! 

[enki_ck]

Visit Def?

[pfrsantos]

Don't go ashore?

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Visit Def?

I doubt he is desperate enough to consider that to be a worthwhile activity, but I am happy to play tour guide if you need it! 

As for what to do, most of the typical tourist things are visiting the Citadel, some shopping downtown, ghost tours, and, if you are willing to get off the boat and onto a bus for an hour or so, see Peggy's Cove.

I assume you are only in for a day (as most cruises are- they want you back on the boat for supper so you spend your money in their restaurants instead of ours!) then there really isn't a lot of time to do anything super exciting.

I'd suggest, if you have time, get a tour on something called the Harbour Hopper if the weather is nice.  It's an old (WWII era) amphibious APC turned into a tour bus that drives around town, then right into the water to see both cities (Halifax and Dartmouth) from a completely different angle.  I haven't done it myself, but I am in traffic often enough behind the darned things that I feel intimately connected to them!   

Halifax is a pretty old city and you'll get to see some cool old buildings near where the cruise lines come in- the further north you get, the less there are because in 1917 two boats decided to collide (in my neighborhood actually) and, as one was carrying many tonnes of explosives, blew that half of the city away with the world's largest and made, non nuclear explosion.

There's no specific site to see there now (it is an industrial Pier now) but as you move around the city you see odd things like machine guns or giant anchors- these are preserved where they landed after the Halifax Explosion, and it's pretty cool (and scary!) To see how far from Ground Zero these giant, mukti tonne items flew.

Not far from where that happened is a graveyard, where many of the Titanic passengers are buried- most of the recovered bodies came here.

Your boat will likely dock at Pier 21, which is Canada's version of Ellis Island, and the main port of entry for most European immigrants to Canada.  Up until COVID it was kind of a mall/event space that catered (obviously) to tourists, but they announced a couple of weeks ago that it was closing due to a lack of funding from two years of no tourists.  I'm sure someone will put it back into operation of some sort by next year though.

Once you come out of Pier 21 there is a small brewery/restaurant called Garrison, and pretty well everything else in the immediate area is industrial.  A couple of blocks north is one of my favorite outdoors shops, called Mountain Equipment Co Op or MEC for short.  I spell it out (Emm Ee See) but most folks just call it Meck, which to me sounds unworthy of the place.  Be prepared, as Canada prices on things are significantly higher than US prices, even factoring in a conversion rate.

There will also be tours to the various islands in the Harbour, such as George's Island (small battery fort there) and McNab's Island, which has all kinds of cool history to it, including (at one point) a circus.  Now it's mostly a place where kids go to tell spooky stories and drink.  Megan thinks quite highly of it, so it might be worth checking out.  I won't bore you with my experiences.

Upon entering the Harbour you will pass Devil's Island, which has literally nothing on it but a lighthouse, and then you will pass Lawlor's Island, where many pirates were hanged, tarred and feathered to serve as a warning to vessels coming into Halifax.

We have a rich history of pirates here, which you can read about in this page from the Maritime Museum, which you may also want to visit when you are here.

https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/collections/pirates

It's just another block or two past MEC- all in all a bit of a hike (10-15 minute walk) from Pier 21, but doable if you are actually interested.

Lastly, not far from Pier 21 is the Henry House (across the road from Pier 21 is the Westin Hotel, and across the courtyard from the Westin is Henry House) is another great restaurant.  I'd suggest that over the Garrison as Garrison is usually overstuffed with students.  Henry House can be as well, but overall it is a nice atmosphere.  Go in and get a Peculiar, one of their in house beers.

That's it off the top of my head, but feel free to ask if you have any questions.  I actually work often at the various piers around Halifax (cargo speSmurfpillst) and I can meet you at the bottom of the gangway if you are at all worried about finding your own way around!

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Oh, and no visit to Halifax would be complete without at least a walk through Alexander Keith's Brewery, which is less than a 5 minute walk from Pier 21.

Alexander Keith was a mayor of Halifax (among other things) who also ran a Brewery called Keith's and is famous for their India Pale Ale. 

I think the Keith's Brewery and the Citadel are both mandatory, at least in a strict, legal sense, for all visitors, but take a cab or bus to the Citadel.   Halifax is built on a very steep hill, and the Citadel is right at the freaking top.  Think climbing 20-30 story building and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Def

[Alan K.]

You can always just lounge around and catch a tan.

[Grant Lamontagne]

For some reason  the cruise ships aren't that common when it's snowing out!

Def

[Alan K.]

I can't imagine why?

[Grant Lamontagne]

I don't know.... we have some good ski hills!

Halifax is an interesting city to visit- it is a city built on a Peninsula in a province that is a peninsula, and we are almost completely surrounded by water.  And, the part that connects NS to the mainland is mostly swamp (or "salt marsh") with one road that has to be constantly rebuilt to keep us from becoming an island.

The city of Halifax is right on the ocean and so we have a lot of salt in the air.  It's rare to see a car more than ten years old around here as they rust super fast. 

That salt has other effects though- we don't actually get a lot of snow normally in Halifax, and the snow we do get tends to melt quickly thanks to the salt, but then re-freezes every night so our snow generally has a crust over it.  That makes it difficult to walk on the snow as some parts you can stand on and two steps later you break through and go down 8-10 inches.  The crust is also enough to cut your flesh if your pant leg rolls up while your foot goes down.   

This ice also makes winter very dangerous here, as I said, the city is built on a very steep hill.  Cover everything in a half inch of ice and you can imagine how unpleasant it can be- and if you can't imagine, remember that I have two screws in my right ankle from merely trying to walk around my house in January.   

Halifax can be a fun place, even in winter, but it can also be a brutal, dangerous place too.

Def

[Dutch_Tooler]

A bit late to this party, but here goes.

Years ago I had read a book containing a riveting account of a mixed Royal Navy Reserve and Merchant Navy crew drafted to man a Flower Class corvette during WWII. Imagine being ordered to escort merchant ships across the North Atlantic, in freezing winter cold, battling waves reaching 30 ft in height in a ship just over 200 ft long, trying to fend off German U-boats which - due to imperfect detection technology - were extremely difficult to track and then if you found them, you'd stand on the open bridge, the captain would order "Full Ahead" and the ship would reach all of theoretically 16 knots minus the drag generated by head-on waves, proceed to do some hit-and-largely-miss depth charging to keep the U-boats at bay - i.e. normally to distract them in order to allow the convoy to zoom past at 5 knots ("fast" convoys were at 8 knots), if you were very very lucky damaging or even sinking one - after which you'd need whatever the two reciprocating steam engines produced to - hopefully - catch up with the convoy (hopefully minus not too many torpedoed merchants).

Then one day in 2016 a cruise ship brought me and my wife on a beautiful autumn trip, which included Halifax as a port of call. Strolling along the waterfront docks, as part of the Maritime Museum, I discovered what turned out to be the last extant representative of the Flower Class of corvettes, in the form of HMCS Sackville. Seeing that little tub (especially compared to the bulk of today's cruise ships) really brought home what I'd read. Pic below.

If you get the chance, go aboard and have a look. Then imagine sharing the space not only with a hot and extremely noisy steam engine or two plus attendant boilers, but also with at least 85 (in wartime, I read, many more) of the ship's complement, whilst being tossed around by a cruel sea (this, The Cruel Sea, is the title of the book, by the way - there is a film too, from 1955, but I have never seen it).

[Grant Lamontagne]

I see that boat a lot.  I believe last week it was actually part of a parade of ships through Halifax Harbour.

And no, I can't imagine those conditions.  The conditions on boats nowadays is a lot better, and I still only venture on them when they are securely connected to a land mass.

Years ago I spent the night on a bulk carrier, not much bigger than the ship you are talking about, and, even though it was secured to the Pier, the movement was enough to keep me awake for a long time, and wake me up again almost constantly.

And I have slept through hurricanes.... 

Def

[Dutch_Tooler]

Funny that... I normally sleep very well on ships or boats. Of course my sample is limited - either massive cruise ships in moderate to occasionally lively seas, or small boats in placid waters. Not corvettes in the North Atlantic winter 

We were lucky with the weather in Halifax as you can see in the pic, despite it being 7 October. Some terraces on the waterfront were still open - time to hydrate before taking a walk up to the Citadel - I remember being a tad out of breath when we arrived at the top. Nice view.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Just a tad?

I'm out of breath just thinking of going up Citadel Hill!   

Oddly enough, although I have spent more than half my life in Halifax, I have only ever been on Citadel Hill once, and that was to pick up Megan from a function she attended.  I didn't even get out of the car. 

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Oh, and a word of warning to anyone coming to Halifax.  If you visit Peggy's Cove, stay off the goddamned rocks.

There are much better ways to kill yourself that don't waste emergency worker time.

Def