Downtown Halifax, Halifax, NS, Canada Real Estate Listings and Information

Downtown Halifax

Downtown Halifax is the city center of Halifax and is home to the entertainment, business and tourism district of Halifax. This area is filled with lively pubs, sidewalk cafes, exciting live theater and much more. Downtown Halifax is home to large and small businesses alike including financial companies, telecommunications, law offices, retail, hotels and so much more.

Downtown Halifax draws thousands of tourists each year eager to explore its history, architecture, museums and countless other attractions. Tourists and locals alike flock to attractions like the Public Gardens, a true English garden filled with delights for all. The Spring Garden Rd district attracts people looking for a unique shopping experience, great dining, street-level patios and roof-top decks, parades, jazz festivals and other great events.

Citadel Hill, a historic fort at the north end of the downtown area dates back to the founding of Halifax in 1749 and is home to the iconic Town Clock.

Halifax has the dubious distinction of having more bars per capita than any other city in Canada and many of those bars are located in Downtown Halifax.  There is something for everyone whether you are looking for a casual dining experience with the family, an upscale dinner or a place to dance the night away – Downtown Halifax has it all.

Housing in Downtown Halifax consists primarily of apartments and condos built over the past 20+ years with more development proposed and in the works.  All of the development plans both approved and pending approval will change the landscape of Downtown Halifax and build up the population density needed to make the area grow and prosper.

The first subdivision in Canada dating back to 1830 is located just minutes away from Spring Garden Rd and is truly a unique area of the city. Schmidtville, an area bounded by Clyde, Morris and Queen Streets, south of Spring Garden Rd has houses dating back at least as far as 1814. The story is that a woman by the name of Elizabeth Schmidt subdivided what was then know as Pedley's Field into small building lots and this new suburb became known as Schmidtville. Today, many of the houses in this area have been preserved and restored while some have been turned into housing for students and young professionals.

At the far eastern boundary of Downtown Halifax is the Halifax Waterfront. Halifax Harbour is one of the largest ice-free harbours in the world and is home to ships of all type and size. On any given day, one might see a Canadian or visiting naval ship, a huge Container ship, lots of Tug boats and pilot boats, pleasure boats and cruise ships. And on some days in the Summer, you might see all of these! The Halifax Waterfront is home to shops, condos, tourist attractions, site seeing tours, museums and parks and lots of people taking in the sites.

 At one end of the Halifax Harbour Walk is the Halifax Seaport home to the  National Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. It is through this port that 1.5 million immigrants and Canadian military personnell made their way into Canada. The museum is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the stories of these people. The Cunard Centre at Pier 23 is a popular venue for events of all kinds including dinners, concerts and trade shows.  

The Halifax Seaport is also home to the cruise ship terminal through which thousands of people visit the city each year, NSCAD University and Garrison Brewery. In the Fall of 2010 the Seaport Farmers market opened and is a vibrant community open to the public 6 days a week.

Things to do

There is an abundance of things to do in downtown Halifax, with approximately 200 restaurants and bars, and 60 sidewalk cafes, the choices are endless. Downtown Halifax is also home to many small local shops and vendors. Many boutiques are located on Spring Garden Road with a number of malls nearby including Scotia Square, Park Lane Mall, and Barrington Place Shops. Argyle St. is known to be the Halifax entertainment district with a countless number of bars, pubs, and nightclubs to visit like The Argyle, Alehouse, Seahorse, Durty Neely’s and The Shoe Shop just to name a few.

In Downtown Halifax you can visit the Public Gardens, take in the sights on Spring Garden Rd, stroll up Citadel Hill and take in the history of the founding of Halifax, visit Pier 21 and the Seaport Farmers Market, visit Keith’s Brewery on Lower Water St and the Historic Farmer’s Market. As you head down the Waterfront, take in one of the many Halifax Harbour sight-seeing tours – choose from an amphibious craft, a tall ship, tug boat or paddle-wheeler; there is something for everyone. You can also visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, home of an extensive Titanic exhibit and visit the CSS Acadia, the only ship to survive WW1, WW2 and the Halifax Explosion. There are also lots of shops, restaurants, pubs and patios to occupy the day as you watch the busy waterfront “highway” that is Halifax Harbour.