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What to do in Halifax, Canada for the day??


Kiwi_cruiser
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We are going to Halifax on the Queen Mary 2 on her Westbound Transatlantic Crossing, and we have never been there before.

 

I know Halifax is quite a big city.

 

I was wondering what is their not to miss in Halifax?? & what would you recommend doing here for the day??

 

Does the cruise ships dock near the city? or do we dock a long way from it?

 

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome :)

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The ships dock right in town just a few short blocks from shops, restaurants and the main drag.

 

Plenty to do in Halifax. Just a short stroll along the Harbor Walk from the cruise pier is the very interesting Maritime Museum, with Titanic exhibit.

 

Just across from the museum are several classic old ships that can boarded and explored.

 

Halifax Public Gardens are beautiful and about a fifteen minute walk from the cruise pier.

 

Halifax Seaport Farmers Market - just adjacent to the cruise pier has tons of food stalls, souvenir stands, wines; lovely place to stroll have a snack and enjoy.

 

Citadel Fort - located high atop Halifax with great view of the city and harbor. You can tour the fort, speak with costumed actors about its history. Best to get a cab up here and walk back. The hills in Halifax are quite steep, think San Francisco.

 

Food Tour - We enjoyed this food tour that started at the Seaport Farmers Market and walked about six blocks nearby and back.

 

Delicious local foods, residential Halifax neighborhoods and friendly guide.

 

http://localtastingtours.com/somo-food-tour/

 

Jonathan

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  • 2 weeks later...

As a Haligonian (yes, that's what they call us) I can recommend the Harbourwalk which begins almost as soon as you emerge from the cruise pier. You will see the sign as you pass the statue of Samuel Cunard of Cunard line fame, another Haligonian. It is about 3 km. long and you will pass 2 museums, the Immigration museum at Pier 21 (the Canadian equivalent of Ellis Island) and the Maritime Museum, with Titanic and Halifax Explosion (google it if you don't know it) exhibits as highlights. The new Discovery Centre is nearby the dock as well and is a science centre especially attractive to kids. There are many shops, restaurants, bars along the way not to mention lots of ships of course. There are boats that will take you to Peggy's Cove as an alternative to the cruise shore excursion buses and also harbour cruise boats. Depending on when you arrive you may hit a summer festival such as Jazz, Buskers or the Tall Ships, the latter drawing huge crowds for 4 days. Be warned that there is a large construction project just starting about halfway along the Harbourwalk. A shortcut is being built to avoid this and hopefully will be finished before you arrive. Otherwise, you need to detour a bit around it. The harbourwalk ends at the Halifax Casino next to the dockyard housing Canada's East Coast navy. The Halifax Citadel is a short climb up the hill from the harbour and is free this summer as part of Canada 150. http://www.novascotia.com/explore/top-25/halifax-waterfront

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Agree with all the walking ideas. Also, if you want to get out of town, right at the terminal there will be cabs all lined up. We took a cab (van) and he toured us out to Peggy's cove and a bunch of other neat places. IIRC it was under $150 for up to 6ppl and 3-4hour tour. We could stay as long as we wanted in each place. Pretty reasonable for what we got, was like renting a car but we had a local giving us some 'color' as we explored.

 

 

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There is a little road train service to take you around the construction on the waterfront. You have been given great advice above. This link may give you more: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g154976-i327-k9826510-Arriving_by_cruise_to_Halifax_please_help-Halifax_Halifax_Region_Nova_Scotia.html

 

https://www.halifaxfoodtours.com/

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Agree with all the walking ideas. Also, if you want to get out of town, right at the terminal there will be cabs all lined up. We took a cab (van) and he toured us out to Peggy's cove and a bunch of other neat places. IIRC it was under $150 for up to 6ppl and 3-4hour tour. We could stay as long as we wanted in each place. Pretty reasonable for what we got, was like renting a car but we had a local giving us some 'color' as we explored.

 

 

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Thank you so much for this information. We are sailing to NE/Canada on the Anthem next month. I tried to reserve a private tour but it is sold out. DH uses a scooter so I need a vehicle with a trunk for the scooter. A cab will work out just right. Do they take American dollars?

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They will probably take US dollars with higher exchange than you want, just like everyone else. Best to carry Cdn dollars. One USD is worth over 1.30 Canadian these days so keep that in mind. Why does everyone want to get out of town? Peggy's Cove is the "brochure" destination. The reality is that the areas in walking distance of the ship are far more bang for your buck and more interesting unless a fishing village and lighthouse are on your bucket list. The Maritime Museum for example maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca (around $7 US) or the Citadel which is free all this year.

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I've been to Halifax three times. I would really recommend the Hop-on-Hop-Off bus. The Citadel is within walking distance of the pier. It's a great place to stop. Peggy's Cove to me is way to much of a tourist trap if you've been to other lighthouses. The Maritime Museum which is within walking distance is also very good. If it's raining the Hop-on-Hop-Off bus is a really good idea. There's also a coffee shop on the way to the Citadel, if it gets cold.

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I'm also trying to decide what to do in Halifax. Thinking of maybe renting a car?? We're not able to walk long distances & I don't enjoy huge bus tours. Difficult decisions.

 

 

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If you are from NYC, you will find downtown Halifax very small. The majority of places mentioned above are within 1.5 miles of the pier. A car will be no good on the harbourwalk for obvious reasons and construction is rampant these days in the downtown area. Then you have to find parking. You will end up walking just as much anyway, car or not if you are talking about downtown. A car would be a choice if you wanted to get to outer areas such as Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg . Depending on your interests you may want to visit the 2 museums, Pier 21 and the Maritime Museum which are a very short walk from the ship. Pier 21, the immigration museum is next to the cruise port. One warning though. Once you leave the harbourwalk, the walking is uphill through the downtown streets culminating with the Citadel. There is a liitle train car that you can ride for free that goes up and down part of the harbourwalk.

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I tried to book our tour with with Halifax Titanic Historical Tours but am disappointed that they are sold out on August 10 ... There are three ships in that day so my bad for waiting too long -- but we did book late. Anyway -- we would like to do what we can to get away from the crowds so walking around the pier is not appealing to us for this reason. Can anyone suggest any other vendors that can do something reasonable for us? Thank you!

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As a Haligonian (yes, that's what they call us) I can recommend the Harbourwalk which begins almost as soon as you emerge from the cruise pier. You will see the sign as you pass the statue of Samuel Cunard of Cunard line fame, another Haligonian. It is about 3 km. long and you will pass 2 museums, the Immigration museum at Pier 21 (the Canadian equivalent of Ellis Island) and the Maritime Museum, with Titanic and Halifax Explosion (google it if you don't know it) exhibits as highlights. The new Discovery Centre is nearby the dock as well and is a science centre especially attractive to kids. There are many shops, restaurants, bars along the way not to mention lots of ships of course. There are boats that will take you to Peggy's Cove as an alternative to the cruise shore excursion buses and also harbour cruise boats. Depending on when you arrive you may hit a summer festival such as Jazz, Buskers or the Tall Ships, the latter drawing huge crowds for 4 days. Be warned that there is a large construction project just starting about halfway along the Harbourwalk. A shortcut is being built to avoid this and hopefully will be finished before you arrive. Otherwise, you need to detour a bit around it. The harbourwalk ends at the Halifax Casino next to the dockyard housing Canada's East Coast navy. The Halifax Citadel is a short climb up the hill from the harbour and is free this summer as part of Canada 150. http://www.novascotia.com/explore/top-25/halifax-waterfront

 

 

 

We decided to rent a car. There are three ships in on our port day so we would ideally try to get away from the bulk of crowds. We have 8:30-3:30 or so -- what would you recommend and in what order to avoid the most people. Our ship gets in at 8 and the other two get in at 9 and 10 so we will get to get a jump.

 

We are most interested in natural beauty and the picturesque look of the towns.

 

Traveling with my husband & grown kids (16 & 25) and one is wearing a knee brace.

 

Thanks!

 

 

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I answered you today on Trip Advisor but I'll post here for others;

 

The usual places cruise visitors visit by car are Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg. You would get the jump on the other ships' passengers so this would be reasonable. https://goo.gl/maps/ov6p8GZzxsH2

Or after Peggy's Cove you could take this route which is not so well known but quite scenic: https://goo.gl/maps/vN1Ytw5Tg612

These posts may give you some ideas:

http://halifaxbloggers.ca/thelocaltraveler/2014/05/10-day-trips-within-two-hours-of-halifax/

http://thechronicleherald.ca/travel/1271822-day-tripper-a-trip-to-the-harbour%E2%80%99s-dark-side-wins-over-this-haligonian

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