What's there to do in Halifax?
January 17, 2007 8:56 AM Subscribe
How can I kill a few hours in Halifax?
I have 3 or 4 hours to kill on Friday morning, and I'll be staying at the Lord Nelson Hotel on the corner of Spring Garden Rd and South Park Street. Is there anything interesting in that area? Is it too cold to walk around? I keep hearing about the Citadel and Google Maps tells me it's fairly close--is that worth seeing? Thanks!
I have 3 or 4 hours to kill on Friday morning, and I'll be staying at the Lord Nelson Hotel on the corner of Spring Garden Rd and South Park Street. Is there anything interesting in that area? Is it too cold to walk around? I keep hearing about the Citadel and Google Maps tells me it's fairly close--is that worth seeing? Thanks!
To answer your question about the Citadel, it's interesting if you like historic sites, but to my recollection you don't get to see very much.
posted by sueinnyc at 9:29 AM on January 17, 2007
posted by sueinnyc at 9:29 AM on January 17, 2007
Friday: possibility of snow or rain; high of 4C.
The Citadel is interesting in a military history sort of way, but it looks like its museum is closed from November to April. You could also walk to the Museum of Natural History, or the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (it's a mile or two from your hotel, but there is pretty regular bus service in that area) - intriguing naval and Titanic displays. You will be in a good shopping area by your hotel, and there is a touristy shopping zone (Historic Properties) close to the latter museum. Also a few miles away is Pier 21, "From the twenties to the seventies, Pier 21 was Canada's 'front door' to over a million immigrants, wartime evacuees, refugees, troops, war brides and their children." The site says it's open Tuesday-Saturday; 10:00am - 5:00pm.
posted by fish tick at 9:34 AM on January 17, 2007
The Citadel is interesting in a military history sort of way, but it looks like its museum is closed from November to April. You could also walk to the Museum of Natural History, or the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (it's a mile or two from your hotel, but there is pretty regular bus service in that area) - intriguing naval and Titanic displays. You will be in a good shopping area by your hotel, and there is a touristy shopping zone (Historic Properties) close to the latter museum. Also a few miles away is Pier 21, "From the twenties to the seventies, Pier 21 was Canada's 'front door' to over a million immigrants, wartime evacuees, refugees, troops, war brides and their children." The site says it's open Tuesday-Saturday; 10:00am - 5:00pm.
posted by fish tick at 9:34 AM on January 17, 2007
However, I would also suggest that if one is looking for used books that aren't priced like new ones, one might visit Back Pages Used Books halfway down Spring Garden Road or Schooner Books, or even Dustjacket, at the foot of Spring Garden Road.
posted by fish tick at 9:46 AM on January 17, 2007
posted by fish tick at 9:46 AM on January 17, 2007
You could ride the ferry across Halifax Harbour (an inexpensive harbour tour!) to Dartmouth, and explore the Dartmouth Heritage museum, located in Evergreen, the former home of Dr. Helen Creighton, noted folklorist.
posted by fish tick at 10:25 AM on January 17, 2007
posted by fish tick at 10:25 AM on January 17, 2007
Go to the Economy Shoe Shoppe and have the lobster flambe, and a pint of Propeller.
(Propellerhead?)
TRUST ME.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:35 AM on January 17, 2007
(Propellerhead?)
TRUST ME.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:35 AM on January 17, 2007
There's more than one Halifax in the world (the question seemed to assume not), and if you're ever in the UK, pay Eureka a visit!
posted by dance at 12:59 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by dance at 12:59 PM on January 17, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks for the great answers everyone! I hope it's not too cold when I'm there. Also, apologies for my Canadian-centric view of the world--it actually completely didn't occur to me that there was more than one Halifax in the world :-p Oops.
posted by reformedjerk at 9:03 AM on January 18, 2007
posted by reformedjerk at 9:03 AM on January 18, 2007
Sorry that there was wild weather in Halifax when you arrived, rj - hope you found something interesting to do.
posted by fish tick at 5:18 AM on January 22, 2007
posted by fish tick at 5:18 AM on January 22, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
Some ideas:
There are a lot of really interesting shops on Spring Garden Road, if you walk toward the Harbour (and thus also the Citadel).
I really enjoyed the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which has some Titanic memorabilia. If you are interested in the history of the Titanic, there is also Fairview Cemetery, which has the graves of 121 people who died in the Titanic (including one J. Dawson, whose grave got a lot of visitors in the wake of the movie). The nearby Historic Properties are quite interesting too.
There is a casino, too.
JWD bookstore is worth a visit. Seriously.
Point Pleasant Park is a bit of a walk from the Lord Nelson, but it's a beautiful wooded park on the Atlantic Ocean.
One of the great things about Halifax is the culture -- live music, theatre and more -- but I don't know how much you'll catch on a Friday morning. Check out The Coast for listings.
Enjoy Halifax! It's a wonderful place.
posted by sueinnyc at 9:28 AM on January 17, 2007