Halifax

INTRO
Halifax is a modern port city also known as the first British town in Canada. This "City of trees" may offer its visitors many great places like tiny fishing villages that look like they have been brought back from 1748 and didn't change or charming farming fields with miles of green land. And if you get tired of the rural nature, you can always enjoy the fast nightlife in the center - skyscrapers, nightclubs, restaurants offering great seafood - all this is waiting for you in Halifax.

City Profile
City: Halifax
Country: Canada
Area: 5,490.90 km2
Population: 340,000
Districts: 200
Mayor: Peter Kelly
Language: English, French

LOCATION
Halifax is the capital of the province Nova Scotia and also the largest city in Atlantic Canada. Originally the city occupied a small area at the foot of Citadel Hill but later it grew and stretched on the west and merged with several other communities from the Halifax county. Presently its location is in the middle of the Halifax Peninsula.

TIME TO VISIT
Generally Halifax's climate is a little bit wetter and cooler that the one in the center of Canada. That is due to the streams passing by the coats. The temperature varies from -15 to 35 degrees, but at the coast it can be slightly different - with cooler winters and warmer summers. You can visit the city any time of the year but if you prefer warmer climate you may want to skip the winter. There are some festivals with which you coordinate your vacation.

POPULATION
The numbers from 2006 show that the population of The Halifax Regional Municipality is around 373,000, as the majority of them ( 45%) are protestants. It is curious that 11% of the people are 65 years old or more and around 18% are under the age of 14. 44% of the population is Canadians, 30% - English.

COMMUNITIES
The Halifax Regional Municipality is generally divided into Halifax Peninsula and Halifax Mainland. However the whole municipality is composed of 200 communities and neighbourhoods.

Bedford is a very big community in Nova Scotia and a part of HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) and lies on the northwestern tip of Bedford Basin, which is also a part of the Halifax Harbour.
Dartmouth - the largest one in HRM. In 1996 it became a separate community and gained a little bit of autonomy.
Richmond- an urban neighborhood which during the 19th C was amalgamated into the City of Halifax. Later in 1917it was devastated by a big explosion. Nowadays most of the city is made from hydrostone building material used for its reconstruction during the 1920s-1940s.
Armdale - an urban community amalgamated in 1960 along with Spryfield, Fairview and Rockingham and became a part of the westward expansion of the peninsula

There are other many communities in Halifax as well as a great number of outlying suburbs and rural communities.

SIGHTS & ATTRACTIONS

Neptune Theatre - a very famous and large theatre on which stage has been played some of the most fantastic and famous production - Cats, Chicago etc. http://www.neptunetheatre.com/
Discovery Centre - that science center can really make you believe that science is the funniest thing ever. Personally I hated it in school but in that building you can spin on a rotating chair, giggle in a bubble room, play with telescopes and magnets and even make a discovery - all that changed my mind about science. And that is the whole idea of that place - to make the hard stuff easy and enjoyable for all ages. http://www.discoverycentre.ns.ca/
Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum - a very unique place combining a farm and a museum - isn't that weird? Actually, no, the building is actually very cozy and welcoming where you can see some farm animals, different tools, buy some souvenirs or drink a cup of delicious tea with local herbs. No fee but it is preferable if you leave a donation of 2$. http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/farmmuseum/
Hydrostone - it is a whole district containing 325 houses, who was built after the big Halifax Explosion. All the building there are made of this hydrostone concrete we mentioned above. That area is believed to be the finest place to live in Halifax. It is also famous with its unique shops that resemble European-style market. http://www.hydrostonemarket.ca/
Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Brewery- Who would believe one brewery will become such a landmark? But this one is one of the oldest still breweries working from 1863. You can learn about the process of making the beer, buy some souvenirs from the gift-shop and of course taste it!! But don't count on learning the secret ingredients because you won't, there is a reason to call them secret. http://www.keiths.ca/
Bedford Institute of Oceanography - it is Canada's largest research center of this kind. You will need at least one hour to visit all of its small aquariums and see everything that swim in its tanks. You can enjoy some audio-video presentations and you can visit it alone or in a group. Free admission and works from May to August every workday. http://www.bio.gc.ca/

AIRPORT
The Halifax International Airport is located just 30 minutes from the center of Halifax and it is really easy to get there. You can get a taxi, limousine, rent a car and there are regular buses. The price vary from 12$ for a bus to 40-45$ for a taxi or limousine service. The airport operates many domestic and international flights so getting there shouldn't be a difficulty. Airport's official site: http://www.hiaa.com/

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
Public transport is relatively limited outside the area of the downtown. So it will be more convenient to rent a car.

Car rental: They are very popular due to the quantity of rental agency. Normally they cost from 50 to 100$ for a day but it depends on the car you want. Have in mind that in Canada the pedestrian is king, they can cross the road where they want and cars stop immediately. Also all U-turns are illegal so sometimes you will have to wander around till you get the right direction.
Buses: They are very cheap and useful. Usually the ticket costs 2$ and can be used for 2hours and also work at the ferries.
By taxi - not very reliable cause usually they are hard to find especially at the evenings. You can always book one from the hotel.

HISTORY
The history of Halifax isn't very old and one of the most unforgotten events in it is the Halifax explosion, which date is 1917, 6th December .A French cargo shop carrying monitions collided with "Imo", an unloaded Norwegian ship. The French one caught fire ten minutes after the crush and exploded 25 minutes later. In the records this is the one of the world's biggest and largest artificial non-nuclear explosions. All buildings within a 2 km were demolished, the pressure wave in the air snapped trees, bent iron rails and carried fragments of the French ship for kilometers. The near neighbor communities of Dartmouth and Richmond were also affected.

CITY LINKS

Official site of HRM http://www.halifax.ca/
Halifax explosion: http://www.halifaxexplosion.org/
Halifax travel guides: http://www.halifaxkiosk.com/
Halifax maps: http://www.halifaxinfo.com/maps.php
Halifax's hospitals: http://foundlocally.com/Halifax/Health/HospitalsTips.htm

UNIVERSITY LINKS

DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY http://www.dal.ca/
Saint Mary's University http://www.smu.ca/
Mount Saint Vincent University http://www.msvu.ca/
Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine http://www.medicine.dal.ca/