Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland and when you visit you can see the Scottish influence and the similarities with the rugged coastline. Nova Scotia is one of Canada’s three maritime provinces on the Atlantic Coast and is one of the first places light touches on a new day in North America. It’s home to quaint fishing villages, the busy city of Halifax, historic links to the Titanic, beautiful lighthouses and great food light lobster! We visited Halifax and Peggy’s Cove by cruise in 2026 so here are details from our time in Nova Scotia!
Getting to Nova Scotia and Transportation
Nova Scotia is well connected to destinations in North America and Europe. Halifax Standfield International Airport is the international gateway with flights to different cities in the US, Canada and a few to Europe. It’s a smaller airport, so it’s not quite as connected as larger areas like Toronto or Montreal. You can drive into Nova Scotia through the province of New Brunswick on the Trans-Canada Highway. You can use Canadian Rail (Via Rail) and take the Ocean Train from Montreal to Halifax. A unique way is by fast ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine to Halifax in around 3.5 hours. The way we visited is by cruise ship from New York City on an East Coast itinerary.
As for transportation if you are staying in Halifax, it has an public bus service and public ferries around the harbour. Getting to more rural areas by public transportation would be much more difficult. Booking guided tours or renting/hiring a car is the best option for exploring outside of Halifax. We booked guided tours and walked Halifax on our own.
Halifax
Halifax is the capital and largest city in the province of Nova Scotia and the other maritime provinces with a population of a bit under 500,000 people in the metro area. It has a wonderful harbour that has been sought after by nations like France and Britain in history. In history it has ties to the Titanic as it was the launching point of recovery efforts and is the final resting place of 150 of those lost in the disaster. In 1917, it was the place of an explosion so large due to a ship carrying weapons for World War I catching fire after a collision that it was the world’s largest until the atomic age. Today the city is a modern one with one of the longest boardwalks along the harbour that is lined with shops, restaurants and museums. It’s a wonderful city to visit and has much more to do than we had the time to see!
The National Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
Halifax and the sea go hand in hand so it’s fitting that Halifax is home to a wonderful Maritime Museum that chronicles the sailing history of the region. This excellent Museum covers the shipping history from the First Nations peoples to the age of sail and then more modern shipping and cruising. In the warehouse you can learn about the age of sail and ship building period. You can learn how local Nova Scotian Cunard built a great shipping company that competed with White Star Lines (Titanic) and is still in service today. They also chronicle the fateful voyage of the Titanic and how Halifax sent cable laying ships with their hearty sailors to recover what they could from the wreck and brought 209 bodies recovered from the wreck with 150 ending up being buried in Halifax. They have one-of-a-kind artifacts such as a piece of the Grand Staircase and First-Class Lounge and more that was recovered by the cable ships. There is a large section on the 1917 massive explosion of the SS Mont-Blanc carrying munitions after colliding with the SS Imo. Its destroyed a huge portion of the area in the largest manmade explosion until the atomic age. There are multiple sailing ships to see and at the nearby piers an oceanographic ship the CSS Acadia and the Canadian Corvette Warship HMCS Sackville you can tour (they were closed when we visited). There is a charge of around $11 for adults and we spent over an hour visiting the museum that is right on the waterfront boardwalk.
Canadian Immigration Museum at Pier 21
Most people from “The States” know about Ellis Island and the thousands of immigrants who landed there in the late 1800s to Early 1900s. Canada has pier 21 at the port of Halifax that was the largest ocean immigration port in Canada during the same time period making it Canada’s Ellis Island. Many European immigrants came through this site into Canada. Today it’s a Canadian National Historic Site and is home to the Canadian Immigration Museum that’s located on the second floor of the pier. The Cruise ship dock we came in on was Pier 22 right next to the museum so it’s easy to visit when coming off a cruise. The museum chronicles immigration into Canada and does a great job showcasing the good and the bad with at times discriminatory laws and practices but how Canada improved over the years. Ive found like any other country in the world no one is perfect, but Canada works to own up to its history and issues and try to make it right. It’s a good lesson for the rest of the world! The museum shows the lives of immigrants and has you join in with interactive displays. They also showcase how immigrants arrived with a replica ship with cabins, a train car and more. It costs $19 Canadian Dollars for an Adult and will take an hour or more to tour in detail. It’s a great spot to visit in Halifax!
Halifax Boardwalk
In Halifax it has one of the longest oceanfront boardwalks in the world at over 4 km or around 2.5 miles long. The boardwalk is full of things to see and do. On one end you have Pier 21 with the Canadian Immigration Museum. In the center is the Maritime Museum and at the far other end is the Casino Nova Scotia. In between there are many shops and restaurants. There are also many great art installations, historic displays and memorials throughout the boardwalk that share Halifax and Canadian history. We passed by areas of shipping containers made into nice shops and much more as we walked from Pier 21 to the Maritime Museum. It’s well worth it, especially on a good day, to walk the boardwalk in Halifax!
Fairview Lawn Cemetery
The well-kept Fairview Lawn Cemetery is one of Canada’s most historic and tragic in many ways. It’s the final resting place of 150 of those recovered from the Titanic disaster. Many of the Graves are unmarked as we will most likely never know who they were. Each gravestone is numbered and corresponds to the order they were recovered. These are mostly third class and crew burials. There are a few notable burials like the once unknown child and others. The stones are arranged in the shape of a ship. The cemetery is also the final resting place of victims of the huge 1917 explosion in Halifax. It’s a nice place to visit especially if you are interested in Titanic history.
Other Things to do in Halifax
There are many other great places to see in Halifax that we saw from the outside but didn’t have time to visit.
Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
Located on the highest point of the city is the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site that is an 1800s fortress that protected the vitality important Halifax harbour. Today you can tour the Historic buildings and learn about the harbour protections and British military life. At noon a cannon fires daily as has been tradition for years. We drove past the fortress but ran out of time to visit inside.
George's Island National Site
Located on a small island across from the Halifax Waterfront is another fortress called Fort Charlotte that also helped protect the harbour. It also has a small lighthouse and the light keeper’s house. It also was a prison before the 1860s fortress was built for the French Acadians who were expelled and imprisoned there. The site was not open when we visited but we could see it from our ship.
Other Museums and Sites
There are multiple other museums to see like the Discovery Center that details science, the Africville Museum that has building from the African Community that was once there, Art Museums and Navy and Aviation museums. You can also see the historic town clock that’s a symbol of the city and multiple parks you can see and hike in.
Peggy's Cove
After a 45-minute drive out of Halifax through the wooded landscapes dotted with quaint and beautiful fishing villages you’ll find yourself in the small fishing village of Peggy’s Cove. It’s one of the most famous and gorgeous places in Nova Scotia. It only has a population of 40 people but it’s not a tourist park but a real working fishing village. The focal point is Peggy’s Point Lighthouse that overlooks the glacier made of granite rocks with waves crashing from the Atlantic. There are signs throughout the area warning about death and injury if you get too close to the water as the current and drop off is extreme and people have been carried out to sea and never seen again. We stuck to the Lighthouse. There are also great small family-owned shops and amazing small restaurants that serve Nova Scotian lobster! We got a delicious lobster roll from a purple-colored building. It’s a must-see town while in Nova Scotia and a taste of the fishing culture in Nova Scotia.
Swiss Air 111
On September 2nd, 1998, Swiss Air 111 from New York JFK to Geneva, Switzerland had a midair fire onboard. They declared an emergency and were dumping fuel before trying to make an emergency landing at Halifax Standfield International Airport. The pilots lost control of the plane, and it crashed into Atlantic Ocean Not Far from Peggy’s Cove. The fishermen of the nearby villages rushed out to try to look for survivors but there unfortunately were none. 229 passengers and crew tragically died in the crash. Afterwards family and the media were welcomed and stayed with families in the area. Canadians are incredibly friendly and welcoming people. Nova Scotia has dealt with its share of tragedy over the years. There is a memorial on a bluff overlooking where the crash occurred.
Conclusion
Nova Scotia is not a large province, but there is a lot more to see and do than we did in our short time there. There are countless fishing villages and other sites to explore. The famous “Bluenose” Schooner that is on the Canadian Dime is based out of Nova Scotia. Taking a sailboat ride would be amazing in Nova Scotia. Being on the Atlantic be prepared for rain or stormy weather. Hurricanes going up the East Coast can and have hit Nova Scotia in the past. Also, in the winter be prepared for cold weather.
The Maritime Provinces are very different from the other areas of Canada that is heavily reliant of fishing and has a different character than other regions. The commonality they have with the rest of Canada is the warmth and kindness of their people and an abundance of natural beauty and attractions! Head to Nova Scotia as it’s an amazing place to visit in one of our favorite countries to visit!
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