Sights and landmarks in Halifax

Sights and landmarks in Halifax

1. See

   Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

   The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is moderate in size but does a fine job of highlighting the works of famous local artists such as Maud Lewis (folk) and Alex Colville (hyperrealist), in addition to Mik'maq (Aboriginal) art. Check the website for travelling exhibitions.

   Tue Wed Fri Sat 10AM-5PM, Thu 10AM-9PM, Sun noon-5PM·$12 adults, $10 seniors 60+, $7 students, $5 youth 6-17, $25 families (2 adults and 3 youth), children 5 and under free. Free for everyone Th after 5PM

2. See

   Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum

   Approximately two dozen aircraft on display, including a V-1 flying bomb. A flight simulator (Boeing 737NG) is available for use.

   Mid-May to Aug: daily 9AM-5PM; Sep to mid-May: Wed-Sat 10AM-4PM·Admission by donation ($10 recommended)

3. See

   Discovery Centre

   Halifax science centre covers several aspects of science in a playful way, thanks to its hands-on exhibitions. There are sections dedicated to space, flight, ocean, and energy. It is mainly conceived as a museum for children, but adults as well will find interesting things to do. Most of the exhibits are hands-on and use some sort of technological support.

   Daily 10AM-5PM·$12 adults; $10 children & seniors

4. See

   Halifax Central Library

   After decades of planning, the new Central Library finally opened in December 2014. The striking architecture, said to resemble a stack of books, garnered international attention. The building is unique in Halifax for its bold modernity, standing in attractive contrast to the stately School of Architecture and Planning building next door. Visitors can enjoy a bite at the cafes housed within, peruse the local history section, and enjoy views of Citadel Hill and Halifax Harbour from the freely accessible rooftop patio.

   Mon-Thu 9AM-9PM; Fri Sat 9AM-6PM; Sun noon-6PM·Free

5. See

   Halifax Common

   A large public space open to everyone. In the summer, you can find residents and visitors playing sports, picnicking, and exercising. A permanent skating oval has been installed for public use.

6. See

   Halifax Public Gardens

   A beautiful Victorian-era garden occupying a large city block. There are ponds, flowers, ducks, geese, and sometimes music in the gazebo.

   Free

7. See

   Old Burying Ground

   The graveyard was in use from 1749 to 1843 and there are moderately informative plaques and signs throughout.

8. See

   Pier 21

   Canadian Museum of Immigration

   Canada's equivalent of New York's Ellis Island, this historic waterfront building processed over a million immigrants. It has been converted into a modern museum with extensive exhibits related to Canadian immigration. Typical visit 90 minutes including 30-minute film and 30-minute free guided tour.

   May-Oct: 9:30AM-5:30PM daily; Nov: 9:30AM-5PM daily; Dec-Mar: Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM; Apr: Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM·$10 adults, $8.75 seniors (60+), $7 students (w/ ID), $5.75 children (6-16), free for children under 5. Family rate $25 (two adults, three children, additional children $3 each)

9. See

   Point Pleasant Park

   A large peaceful park that serves as a vantage point to see the mouth of the harbour and into the Atlantic Ocean. It used to be a dense wood, but was left with patches of devastation and clear-cut from Hurricane Juan in 2003. It remains a popular place to walk dogs and stroll. The park contains some preserved historic military fortifications such as the 18th-century Martello tower, and ruins of several other fortifications.

   Dawn to dusk·Free

10. See

    Province House

    Home to Canada's oldest provincial legislature and of Britain's first overseas self-government. A fine example of Georgian architecture, the building was opened in 1842. Visitors can learn about the history of the site and the current Legislative Assembly through guided tours, displays and an audio-visual presentation. Province House is open year-round.

    Jul-Aug: Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM, Sat Sun and holidays 10AM-4PM; rest of year Mon-Fri 9AM-4PM·Free

11. See

    St. Paul's Anglican Church

    Historic St. Paul's on the Grand Parade

    St. Paul's is the old­est build­ing in Hal­i­fax and the old­est exist­ing Protes­tant place of wor­ship in Canada. Founded by procla­ma­tion of King George II in 1749, the build­ing was erected in the sum­mer of 1750. On Sep­tem­ber 2, 1750 the Rev­erend William Tutty held the first ser­vice inside what was, accord­ing to Mr. Tutty, "not com­pletely fit­ted up". The archi­tec­tural plans were based on St. Peter's Church, Vere Street, Lon­don which was designed in 1722 by James Gibbs, a pupil of Sir Christo­pher Wren. The resem­blance between the two churches is remark­able despite the addi­tion of St. Paul's vestibule and steeple, 1812, the side wings, 1868, and the chan­cel, 1872. The tim­bers of St. Paul's were cut in Saco, Maine and shipped to Hal­i­fax. Most of the mate­ri­als includ­ing the bricks to line the walls were made locally. Over 2½ cen­turies later, the orig­i­nal wooden struc­ture remains as sound as the day it was built. Charles Inglis, first over­seas Bishop of the Church of Eng­land, arrived in 1787 mak­ing St. Paul's his cathe­dral. Until the con­struc­tion of a gar­ri­son chapel in 1844, St. Paul's was also the first gar­ri­son church in Hal­i­fax.

    open to the pub­lic for self-directed vis­its from 9AM-4:30PM·Free

12. See

    The Halifax Citadel

    An old fort on a hill overlooking the city and the harbour. The citadel is a national historic site and home to a museum and a small ceremonial garrison. A must-see, especially during Canada Day (1 July) celebrations. The museum is open only May-Oct, but the grounds are open all year around (for free in this case). The famous 'Noon-Gun' fires at noon every day of the year (except Christmas) as it has since the 1830s. Visitors are welcome to watch the firings at any point through the year.

    Adult $11.70, senior $10, youth $5.80. Fees are about one-third lower in May and mid-September to the end of October

13. See

    The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

    The collection includes exhibits and artifacts related to the sinking of the RMS Titanic and the devastating 1917 Halifax explosion. The CSS Acadia, a hydrographic survey ship built in 1913, is an ongoing conservation project. The Acadia is moored a few meters from the museum building; tours are available during the summer. Also, behind the museum is the HMCS Sackville, the last remaining Flower Class escort Corvettes from the convoys of World War II (also open for guided and non-guided tours).

14. See

    York Redoubt

    A sprawling complex of forts from 1790s to 1940s. Plan to spend hours exploring tunnels, caves, cliffs, cannons, bunkers, trails, and views of the harbour. 1-hour bus ride from downtown.

    Parking and washrooms: June 25-Sep 4 (Labour Day): daily 8AM-8PM. Pedestrians may continue to access the site throughout the remainder of the year when the fortification will be closed to vehicles. Parking is available outside the gate·Free

15. See Not mapped

    Fairview Lawn Cemetery

    It was developed as a non-denominational cemetery from 1893, on what had been farm smallholdings, when the Camp Hill Cemetery was running out of room. It was privately run until 1944 when the city took it over. So it holds a large collection of the city's residents, with a Greek and a Chinese section, but is best known as the burial place of 121 of the victims of RMS Titanic. Their graves are in three lines with simple low grey-granite markers: the lines follow the contour so they resemble the curving structure of a ship. Those unidentified have just a number and date. Several were later identified, notably the "Unknown Child", now known to be the 19 month old Sidney Leslie Goodwin of Wiltshire in England. The rest of his family were not found: they were emigrating to Niagara Falls where the hydroelectric power plant needed labour. After the 1997 film Titanic, there was a flurry of tourist visits to the grave of J Dawson: "Jack Dawson" was the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio. The grave actually holds Joe Dawson, an Irish coal-trimmer, so he had one of the worst jobs on Titanic even in normal conditions. These 73 fellows laboured mightily during the sinking to feed coal to the boilers to maintain the ship's power, pumps and lighting; only 20 of them survived.

    Mon-Fri 8AM-4PM·Free

16. See

    Museum of Natural History

    Home of Gus, the oldest known gopher tortoise.

    9:30AM-4:30PM·C$6.25

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Halifax (CC BY-SA 4.0).