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Bucketlist Bri

Bucketlist Bri

Adventurous Slomad Travel

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Top Things to Do in Downtown Halifax

Last Updated: November 23, 2022 · Canada, Nova Scotia

Halifax is Nova Scotia’s diverse and colorful capital on the Atlantic coast. But I like to call it “Hipster Halifax” for its young and trendy vibe, sprinkled with old Celtic and maritime charm! 

There are many things to do in Halifax both in and around the city and downtown. But the highlight of our trip to Halifax was by far its hip downtown scene, where we spent most of our time.

Halifax deserves its place on your bucket list. As you’ll see, this city has so many fun finds!

Table of Contents show
Top Things To Do in Downtown Halifax
1. Visit the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market on Weekends
2. Stroll Down the Historic Halifax Waterfront and Boardwalk
3. Halifax Central Library (and Cozy Up with a Book!)
4. Tour the Star-Shaped Halifax Citadel – Classed a National Historic Site
5. Get Lost Along the Winding Trails at Point Pleasant Park
Final Thoughts: Discovering Downtown Halifax

Top Things To Do in Downtown Halifax

Also Read — 20 Bucket List-Worthy Things to Do in Nova Scotia

If you only have one or two days in Halifax, here are my personal favorite top sights and activities to do and see.

You don’t need a big budget or lots of time to visit each of these places in Halifax.

1. Visit the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market on Weekends

5 Most Popular Things To Do in Downtown Halifax // BUCKETLIST BRI www.bucketlistbri.com #halifax #canada #travelcanada #traveldestination
Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market | Bucketlist Bri

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that may earn me a small commission should you decide to click through and make a valid purchase (at no extra cost to you). Thanks so much for your support!

Spending a weekend trip in Halifax? Then don’t miss out on the Seaport Farmer’s Market.

With locally-sourced organic produce, cheese and meats, beauty products, and artisanal treasures, it’s easy to see why the market attracts all sorts of travelers (especially hipsters).

The Seaport Farmer’s Market is more than just a market though. You can easily spend your morning on the eco-friendly roof-top overlooking Saint George’s Island and the iconic lighthouse there.

There are lots of stalls set up on two floors inside the market, in addition to Halifax’s very first fresh farm-to-table restaurant: Norbert’s Good Food. Beware: The line gets extremely long on weekends and you’ll be lucky to grab a table without waiting.

Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market also boasts a scenic pathway to the Halifax Waterfront and also to Pier 21 which houses the Canadian Museum of Immigration.

So whether it’s to stock up on fresh produce, get scenic views of St. George’s Island, pick up some sunflowers, or to try your first Nova Scotian lobster roll sandwich, the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market is the place to go.

5 Most Popular Things To Do in Downtown Halifax // BUCKETLIST BRI www.bucketlistbri.com #halifax #canada #travelcanada #traveldestination
View from atop the farmer’s market | Bucketlist Bri

Fun Fact: The Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market is actually the oldest continuously operating farmers’ market in North America!

2. Stroll Down the Historic Halifax Waterfront and Boardwalk

5 Most Popular Things To Do in Downtown Halifax // BUCKETLIST BRI www.bucketlistbri.com #halifax #canada #travelcanada #traveldestination
The waterfront boardwalk is a lively place to go in downtown Halifax | Bucketlist Bri

Speaking of Pier 21, you should start your scenic boardwalk stroll from here to get the full effect of this very long stretch of the natural boardwalk which spans this historic port city.

The boardwalk becomes a lively hub of activity from dawn to dusk. Especially after dark, local musicians and dancers entertain the folks enjoying a hearty meal from cozy, waterfront restaurants lining the harbor.

Make sure to explore every inch of Halifax’s Waterfront! There are many events you don’t want to miss here. (Like the Mac ‘N Cheese Festival we passed by during our evening stroll).

Keep walking the length of the boardwalk until you reach Privateer’s Wharf. If you’re lucky, the pub will be lively with folk and Celtic music or there will be musicians outdoors in the fairy-lit courtyard among the galleries and shops!

3. Halifax Central Library (and Cozy Up with a Book!)

5 Most Popular Things To Do in Downtown Halifax // BUCKETLIST BRI www.bucketlistbri.com #halifax #canada #travelcanada #traveldestination
The Halifax Public Library has won significant architecture awards for its unique design | Bucketlist Bri

The Halifax Central Library is truly a must-see thing to do in Halifax (whether or not you are a bookworm!).

Once you visit its unique nooks and corners and climb the zig-zagged stairs, you will quickly take note of its architectural design and use of space. It’s no wonder the library was ranked as one of the top 10 most beautiful libraries in the world and was awarded the Governor General’s Medal of Architectural Merit.

Entrance is free, so it’s a great place to work on your laptop for free – unless you rent a book or buy a snack or coffee at one of the integrated coffee shops on the ground and top floor.

The library also boasts a wonderful rooftop view of Downtown Halifax which doubles as the perfect place to catch a saturated sunset.

Because of its architectural design, the library is becoming one of the top Instagram locations in Halifax!

5 Most Popular Things To Do in Downtown Halifax // BUCKETLIST BRI www.bucketlistbri.com #halifax #canada #travelcanada #traveldestination
The best place to go in downtown Halifax for some peace and quiet | Bucketlist Bri

4.  Tour the Star-Shaped Halifax Citadel – Classed a National Historic Site

If you’re exploring Downtown Halifax, chances are you won’t miss the curious hilltop monument that overlooks the historic harbor.

The Halifax Citadel is an iconic, must-do activity in Halifax. Because of its fame and rigor for being Halifax’s stronghold and chosen fort to protect the city since 1749, it remains one of the top sights to see in the downtown Halifax area.

Though you can’t see it at eye-level, the Halifax Citadel is shaped like a star on top of the hill. The star-shape is reminiscent of 19th-century British military infrastructure.

The fort kept intruders at bay – quite literally – protecting the city of Halifax from every angle.

More than its star-shape, the Halifax Citadel is most recognized by the Old Town Clock which still keeps time today for urban Halifax and Haligolians – even though its two hundred years old!

5. Get Lost Along the Winding Trails at Point Pleasant Park

5 Most Popular Things To Do in Downtown Halifax // BUCKETLIST BRI www.bucketlistbri.com #halifax #canada #travelcanada #traveldestination
Making friends with the many red squirrels at Point Pleasant Park | Bucketlist Bri

To reach Point Pleasant Park you’ll have to hike or drive from Pier 21 toward the southern tip of the peninsula.

Keep traveling beyond the shipyard. Soon you’ll come upon the popular Point Pleasant Park.

It’s here, amid this 75-hectare forested park, that you can get lost on the winding trails, chat up some cute red squirrels, discover crumbling artillery batteries and the historic Prince of Wales Tower, or kick-back and relax on a nearby bench and watch the sailboats go by.

The trails and woods offer scenic views of the harbor opening up to the Atlantic.

Escaping the hustle and bustle of downtown Halifax and retreating to Point Pleasant Park was one of the highlights of our travels in and around Halifax.

Final Thoughts: Discovering Downtown Halifax

5 Most Popular Things To Do in Halifax // BUCKETLIST BRI www.bucketlistbri.com #halifax #canada #travelcanada #traveldestination
The Pier 21, brewery, and Queen Mary 2 ship at the port where we slept in our van for a couple of nights | Bucketlist Bri

Halifax is a diverse city with many things to do. (Way beyond just these top things to do in downtown Halifax as I mention here). So make sure to take your time in Halifax. I could’ve easily spent weeks here!

I personally loved the diversity of the people, the rainbow-painted crosswalks, and the cultural clash of Korean BBQ restaurants, Scottish and Irish pubs, and the lively historic port harbor with downtown’s urban center.

Halifax, overall, invigorates the senses! I hope this travel guide to Halifax helped plan your trip! Drop me your comments below or share this article with a friend!

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By: Bri · In: Canada, Nova Scotia

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I’m Bri, an adventurous digital nomad living abroad full-time since 2015. It is my hope to inspire you to live a life of adventure, seek out meaningful experiences, and travel slowly and mindfully!

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Folks are always surprised when I tell them I’ve Folks are always surprised when I tell them I’ve been living abroad and traveling for the last 8+ years! 

Fun and rewarding travel doesn’t have to be expensive. 

Here’s how you can make mindful nomadic travel more affordable ⬇️ 

1. For finding free house/petsitting opportunities in cool places, I use @trustedhousesitters . There is a yearly membership to join but it’s worth it because you can sit in so many places around the world for ✨ FREEEEE ✨ and we’d never get to stay in cool (erm... expensive) places as we have — our previous sits have been in Vancouver, British Columbia / Bend, Oregon / Asheville, North Carolina! The other day I found one in Koh Samui, Thailand for 1.5 months and I was honestly this 🤏 close to applying on a whim. 

2. Local, slow travel (traveling in one place for longer periods of time 6 months > 6 days) is how we’ve afforded to live abroad for years on end. We live well below our means and try to match the local rent as best we can. We often find local apartments for rent on destination FB groups. I have tons of slow travel / digital nomad guides on my blog if you need extra help for getting started! ✨ 

3. Work/cultural exchanges and (responsible) volunteer programs can be a great way to integrate into a host destination and community mindfully while on a budget. Check out programs like @workawayinfo or @worldpackers 

Let me know if you’d like more tips like these or if you have any questions! 🫶 

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Our last road trip? 🥲 Is anyone keen to buy o Our last road trip? 🥲 

Is anyone keen to buy our vintage 1990 Dodge Ram Roadtrek with only 110k original miles?? 

Our van story ⬇️ ✨🚐

In 2019, we were living in Mexico when I (Bri) had the tug to buy a vintage van and road trip North America in it. We found the perfect one, drove it 4 days back to Tennessee to change the plates, and then geared up for our cross-Canada road trip. We drove over 10,000 miles in six months, from Nayarit, Mexico all the way to Newfoundland & Labrador then back across Canada to Vancouver, where we stored it for the winter. 
As you can imagine, our plans to pick up our road trip again in May 2020 weren’t possible. In fact, Canada didn’t open its borders for another TWO YEARS. During that time, our van sat parked outside in a little U-haul parking lot with just a tarp for protection (that ripped and had to be replaced). 
When we finally got back to it in May of 2022—to our surprise—our van started on the 5th try (3x Paul, then 2x me), and only had one flat tire. From there, we drove it across BC and Alberta, crossed the Rockies, and then journeyed on down around the Olympic Peninsula in WA and then explored Oregon for the first time. Since winter in the van (in the PNW) isn’t so pleasant, we had to store it again. So at the end of October 2022, we stored it and flew back to a new state in Mexico to wait out winter. In May 2023 (are you seeing a pattern here), we picked Van Rouge up again and dusted her off, again, and this time she started on the 2nd try. We started road-tripping around WA, then crossed over into Idaho, and then...? And then, nearly abruptly, we decided it was time to stop. 🛑 

For the first time since owning the van, we felt like we were moving forward but in no direction. Chasing a dream of our former selves. 

Letting go, or at least making that decision, made me want to hold on to our beasty Van Rouge even more so that I never forget that feeling of freedom or all those epic memories we made. 

But this sunset-soaked drive reminded me that, letting go, doesn’t mean I will. 

This van and I, we had something special. I found her, and she took me to places that helped find me.🥹

#vanlife #roadtrip #overlanding
Things to do in Taipei ⬇️ [save this to your Things to do in Taipei ⬇️ 

[save this to your Taiwan folder!]

· Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
· Taipei 101 Observatory for awesome city views (NT$ 420)
· Eat at Din Tai Fung! 🥟 
· Street food at NIGHT MARKETS! Shilin Night Market, Raohe Street Night Market*
>> * The one we went to and got a foot massage at hehe 🦶 
· Explore iconic temples: Longshan Temple, Baoan Temple
· Wander through historical streets like Dadaocheng and Dihua Street
· Ximending district for shopping/entertainment/food
· Head to the “Barcade” for a retro gaming-themed night out 💃 

We needed a few more days to hang out in Taipei, it’s SUCH a cool city!! Have you been?

#taiwantravel #exploretaiwan #exploretaipei #nomadtravel #taiwan
The last one lol 😳 — if I kept track well, my The last one lol 😳 — if I kept track well, my grand total for 10 days solo in Japan (Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo) including all transport, accommodation, food, tours, miscellaneous, came to:

… *Stephen Colbert calculator noises* …

✨ $2,158.36 ✨

Or about $215 / day 😬 

I was NOT on a budget, by the way! I pretty much did and ate whatever my heart desired, which was incredibly freeing and I’m so grateful to be able to have given this experience to myself. No regrets 💯 (especially on the Nintendo / Zelda splurge) 😂 

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Thank goodness for a little thing called the inter Thank goodness for a little thing called the internet — and family group chats — because otherwise… living this slow travel nomadic life would be sooo hard! 

Already, by choosing to live abroad I’ve had to miss a lot of core life moments over the last decade like milestone birthdays, deaths, graduations, anniversaries, pregnancies, etc. But it’s also the daily/weekly moments I miss out on most (and miss the most) — nights in watching movies, nights out for dinner, weekends away, and every laugh and tear in between. 🥺

Of course, I miss my family and I love seeing them when I go home (or when they come visit me!). But moving abroad and being the “far away daughter” is honestly the best decision/act I’ve ever made for my life (sorry + love u momma 🥰). 

It was something I felt pulled to do early on in life and it’s shaped me immensely and I’m eternally grateful to this world, this life, and to the family that supports me — the home I get to “go home” to. 

Have you ever lived abroad or do you now? 

#livingabroad #digitalnomadgirl #fulltimetravel #slowtravel #nomadic #lifeabroad #farfromhome
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