Halifax, is the largest city on the eastern seaboard of Canada. Located in the province of Nova Scotia, the city is the main commercial hub for the Atlantic provinces. http://www.halifaxinfo.com/coming-to-visit.php

Halifax is small compared to Montreal, but due to its compact size, visiting the city itself proves to be easy. One can easily walk from one end of the peninsula that the city sits on, to the other in about 2 hours. One pleasant stroll is to walk along Brunswick street, which contains architecture from The Old Dutch Church (built in 1755) to modern day structures. A great way to see Halifax's changing history in its buildings.

Halifax is home to several institutions of higher learning--Dalhousie University, St. Mary's University, Mount St. Vincent University, Atlantic School of Theology, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. This influx of young people keeps the city alive and vibrant, with a thriving arts scene. Of course, university students means bar scene as well. The bar strip is along Argyle street, with the Economy Shoe Shop, the Seahorse Tavern, The Dome and several others.

Halifax has a wonderful waterfront boardwalk. Begin at Historic Properties, the first restoration of its kind in Canada http://www.historicproperties.ca/ and has several of the city's oldest buildings. You can dine, shop or just stroll though this area, as well as visit Nova Scotia Crystal, http://www.novascotiancrystal.com/the-glassworks/the-history-of-novascotian-crystal, as well as the International Busker's Festival (August), Theodore Tugboat (for the little ones), and proceed along to Pier 21, Canada's Ellis Island http://www.pier21.ca/.

Stop to visit the Brewery Market, home to Canada's oldest continuous farmer's market, http://www.halifaxfarmersmarket.com/, as well as Alexander Keith's brewery, where you can take a tour.

Halifax is home to the first responsible government in the British Empire, and the legislature is housed in a stately building on Hollis Street. The building itself provides a wonderful tour of a fine Georgian building. http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/

Visit the Halifax Citadel, the Town Clock, and the Round Church to connect with Halifax's pre-Victorian past.

Approximately three days would be required to see Halifax, and the destinations near by, such as Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay, the surfing destination of Lawerencetown Beach (wet suit required--it is the North Atlantic after all!), or to canoe down the Shubie Canal system.

Settled for centuries by the First Nations people, the M'i'kmaq http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/106631 along what they called Chebucto, or Biggest Bay, the city of Halifax was first inhabited by Europeans when French Acadians settled there. Due to the Treaty of Utrect, French "Acadia" was given to the English. The first English settlement was created in 1749 by Sir Edward Cornwallis, who named the city after the second Earl of Halifax, George Montagu.http://www.halifaxkiosk.com/history.php

The settlement proved to be vital in the Seven Years War, and there has always been a strong military presence in the city. http://www.trailcanada.com/nova_scotia/halifax/history/ Currently, the largest military base in Canada is located in Halifax, and is the home port the the Atlantic fleet. http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/marlant/3/3-e_eng.asp As such, the city has always played a vital role during any military conflict, but especially during World Wars I & II.

During WWI, one of the defining moments of the city's history happened--the Halifax Explosion. http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/ Two ships, the Mont Blanc and the Imo were in the harbour, the Mont Blanc was a munitions ship, laden with picric acid, TNT, guncotton and benzoil. Neither ship would give way to the other while they were in the Narrows (the neck of the harbour) and collided. Sparks flew and the Mont Blanc caught on fire. Being war time, no one knew what the Mont Blanc's hold contained, and at 9:04 in the morning, the ship exploded, sending a cloud 20,000 feet into the air, more than 1500 people were killed outright, the city caught on fire, 9,000 people, some of whom had been "gawking" at the ship while it burned, were injured by flying glass, shards of twisted steel, collapsing buildings. The blast produced a tsunami more than 18 meters high. http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/he2_ruins/he2_ruins_explosion.html The next day, one of the worst snow storms the city had seen further added to the chaos of the rescue effort. The state of Massachusetts sent over $750,000 USD in aid (an astronomical sum at the time), and helped to build the first new homes in the North End of the city, now called the Hydrostone. http://www.hydrostonemarket.ca/MainPages/History.html The city still sends a Christmas tree to Boston as a thank you.

Due to urban renewal projects, the city's African Canadian community, Africaville, was destroyed to make way for a new bridge to link Halifax to her sister city, Dartmouth. http://www.africville.ca/ Many of the residents were forced into social housing, and this destruction of the community has long been a contentious issue.

During the 1990's, Halifax amalgamated with several other suburbs to become the Halifax Regional Municipality.