Neat Facts about Halifax, Nova Scotia

4 years ago

I dare you to say that title 10x fast! I can get through about 4 “Neat Facts About Halifax”s before complete gibberish stumbles off my tongue.

Fun Fact about Halifax, Nova Scotia - Alexander Keith's beer started here! It even greets you at the airport.

Recently I visited Halifax, Nova Scotia for a friend’s bachelorette. Side tangent: I never understood why engaged folk are considered “single” and thus have a bachelor or bachelorette to celebrate their “last night as a singleton”. Anyone? Where does this idea come from? Do you consider engaged couples to be “single”?

Table of Contents show

A New Way to Travel

Back to the trip. I (very willingly) tacked on a few days to explore on my own after everyone went home. Adding on a few extra days to shorter trips has become a new “normal” this year, especially when flights are part of the equation. Why not, eh? (I realize not everyone has the flexibility to do this. However, if you do, I highly recommend it!)

Branching away from my usual bad habit of not researching much before visiting a new place, I got down to business preparing for Halifax.

Bright and Colourful Halifax Summer Seats

Giveaway Time!

Looking to spice things up on the old IG, I ran a giveaway on Instagram for a free travel consultation. Forever a puzzle lover, I organized a competition to guess the destination. Not one for easy clues, I phoned city hall and the mayor’s office to begin (both were very entertaining phone calls). Looking for facts that would stoke people’s curiosity and present them with tidbits outside the standard superlative-laden blah found when researching a place proved exciting. In particular, I was on a quest for information about Halifax that only locals would know – the quirky gems. Next, I combed the internet and then contacted a couple of locals for ideas.

Neat Facts about Halifax & Contest Clues

Here are the contest clues. I’d love to hear in the comments below if you already knew any of them!

I have been there before, but not in the past 5 years.
- The last time I visited East Coast Canada I was about 12. I was pretty pumped to return as an adult (which seems to be an unintended theme in this year’s travel destinations).
It’s a coastal city…that isn’t really a city!
- The Regional Municipality of Halifax is made up of 9 regions, including Downtown Halifax, Dartmouth / Cole Harbour, Bedford / Sackville, and so on. There’s a great map on the official Halifax website here, if you’re like me and love visuals.
This “city” has one heck of a lease…with the Brits.
- Halifax has a 999 year lease with the British government for Point Pleasant Park. This 77 hectare paradise comes with a rental cost of $0.10 per year. What a steal!
This “city” is run by a Savage but the ‘gons who live here have been called some of the friendliest by Condé Nast.
- Mike Savage (what a great name!) is Halifax’s mayor and residents are called Haligonians. I was going to do a play on words about goonies, but (clearly) didn’t. Last, according to Condé Nast, Halifax ranks as the 3rd friendliest city in Canada and 12th in the world.
Oh, and did I mention that there are a gazillion pubs there? No, really! There are more pubs here per capita than anywhere else in the country.
- Cheers!
I’m going somewhere in Canada.
- Oh Canada, you are so beautiful and so vast. I wish I could explore this amazing country of mine all the time!

It was so much fun to see people’s guesses and responses to the clues. People really got into playing! I may or may not have had just as much fun deciding on clues and creating the game as those who were guessing… Giveaway Round #2 may or may not be in the works.