Halifax: Third Time's the Charm!
- Kim Martinez
- Jun 13
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 29
Sometimes the best adventures are worth the wait – and the multiple attempts.
We wanted to get the most out of our single day in Halifax, and after three tries, we finally made it happen! Our first attempt in 2019 was thwarted by Hurricane Dorian, which caused significant damage to the boardwalk. In 2023, extreme flooding kept us away again. So yes, we were a bit skeptical heading into round three – but sometimes persistence pays off!
Perfect Day, Perfect Timing
The weather couldn't have been better – sunny, 72°F with pleasant breezes, and surprisingly light crowds. Armed with my usual "over-ambitious" itinerary (some things never change!), we set out to explore .
Transportation Options:
Before diving into our adventure, here are the transportation options we discovered:
• Hop-on, Hop-off Bus: 90-minute full loop tour of downtown and waterfront highlights
• Harbour Hopper: A unique green bus/boat combo for land and sea touring
• Walking: Our choice – and boy, did we walk!
Our Halifax Adventure Unfolds:
Parking at Purdy Wharf
Walk the historical shops
Art Museum & Gallery
Halifax Citadel
Halifax Public Gardens
Maritim Museum
Harbor front Walk
Bicycle Thief Restaurant for lunch
Point Pleasant Park for hiking
Dartmouth Ferry .....If time
Parking Drama at Purdy Wharf
Our day started with a minor adventure – our Raptor barely squeezed into the parking garage, with the roof brushing the hanging signs! After some creative maneuvering and moving poles and chains, we found a safe spot.
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Provincial Shops turned out to be typical cruise ship tourist traps, so we quickly moved on to the Art Gallery. Housed in a beautiful 1868 building modeled after Italian Renaissance palazzos, it was worth the visit – especially the Maud Lewis exhibit.
Maude Lewis Exhibit some of my favorites & Maude Lewis, Herself
Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
After The Art museum we turned and headed up the Big Hill!
The uphill walk was steep but rewarding! We grabbed our annual Canadian Parks pass (perfect for our upcoming Newfoundland adventures) and explored the historic fortress.
Timing tip: We arrived just in time for the noon cannon firing – a 200-year-old Halifax tradition performed by costumed reenactors from the 3rd Brigade, Royal Regiment of Artillery.
Halifax Public Gardens: A Floral Paradise
Next stop was all downhill and only a few blocks from the Citadel, we entered the Halifax Public Gardens! These beautiful, serene gardens were absolutely stunning! Azaleas, iris, and rhododendrons were in full bloom, with new plantings just beginning to show their colors. We could have spent hours here just wandering and soaking in nature's beauty.
Maritime Museum: Unexpected Discoveries
While we came for the Titanic exhibit, what truly captivated us was learning about the 1917 Halifax Explosion. This catastrophic event from December 6, 1917, involved two ships colliding in Halifax Harbour, resulting in thousands of deaths, destroyed buildings, and a 60-foot tidal wave.
Waterfront Wandering & Lunch
After the Maritime Museum, pondering all the things the Halifax waterfront has been through, we enjoyed the Halifax Waterfront boardwalk with new eyes. The Halifax waterfront is incredibly welcoming – chairs and even hammocks are scattered along the boardwalk for visitors to enjoy the harbor views. We loved watching the boats and browsing the shops in the sunshine.
Bicycle Thief Restaurant
We were getting hungry and decided on a late lunch at a well reviewed Waterfront Restaurant, The Bicyle Thief, https://bicyclethief.ca
Without reservations, we lucked into patio seating overlooking the water. We shared crab ravioli and a lobster roll sandwich with green salad and string fries – excellent food at reasonable prices with outstanding service.
After Excellent meal, we were rested and refueled and were ready for the longest walk of the day - to Point Pleasant Park.
Point Pleasant Park: 186 Acres of Natural Beauty
The walk to Point Pleasant Park took us through working wharfs and industrial areas before cutting up into charming residential neighborhoods. The park itself offers well-maintained trails, bicycle paths, and waterfront access across 186 acres.
The Walk Home
Our return route through residential areas revealed a delightful mix of quaint cottages and Victorian homes, each with blooming gardens. After those long, bleak winters, spring and summer flowers seem to be a Halifax necessity!
Cows Ice Cream
After we got back to the Waterfront, we looked at our daily distance on our phones and saw 9.2 miles! That called for an ice cream and we read Cow Ice cream was the "Best Ice Cream in Canada". So, of course I indulged in a generous scoop of some strangely named vanilla ice cream with carmel, swirls of fudge and chunks of chocolate on a fresh waffle cone and Manny got something equally as interesting....the verdict? Excellent of course, we may be forced, for adequate testing sake, to try other ice cream shops in Canada to compare.
Wrap up - How to spend a really great day in Halifax
We absolutely loved our day in Halifax – third time truly was the charm! The combination of history, natural beauty, great food, and perfect weather made this a memorable stop on our RV adventure. And hey, having More time at Point Pleasant Park & taking the Dartmouth ferry is still on our list and gives us a perfect excuse to return!
How to Spend one day in Halifax and see and experience much of what Halifax has to offer
Review my list of things to do and doublecheck it with things you may want to see I missed
Be realistic about how much you can reasonably see and enjoy - Quality over quantity
Choose the best form of transportation to get around. Parking isn't the easiest so I don't recommend trying to drive from place to place but later I realized we could have walked back to the parking garage and ddrove to Point Pleasant Park and then conserved engergy and time to do more hiking and exploring there.
Walking allowed us to "take in" small things that make the area even more interesting. You get a much better feel for the people there when you walk by them, the buildings architecture is more interesting and the appreciation for the quaint houses and gardens is much stronger when you are walking by them.
If you are really enjoying one of the "stops" spend more time.
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