I’ve
visited Halifax, Nova Scotia four or five times and it has become one of my
favourite places in Canada. Perhaps it’s partly that it’s on the ocean. All
three of my favourite cites have water – ocean or river.
All of these
cities are fairly small – both Victoria and Halifax in the neighbourhood of
400,000 and Saskatoon around 260,000. All of them have good urban walks and
neigbourhoods that are convenient to downtown. They have history, museums and
art galleries, older buildings, and great parks.
Point
Pleasant Park in Halifax is at the south end of a peninsula, 75 forested
hectares with walking paths. There are also various histories ruins. The city
rents the land from the British government for 1 shilling a year (about 10
cents) with a 999 year lease.
The Martello Tower, also known as
the Prince of Wales Tower, is located in Point Pleasant Park. It was the first
and thus differs somewhat from later designs. It was meant to back up the
batteries in Point Pleasant Park. It was completed in 1799. Later more of these
towers were built in Halifax and other parts of Canada, as well as in England. There they were intended to defend the coast against an
invasion by Napoleon.
The Halifax
citadel is located on top of a hill overlooking the harbour, originally built in 1749 to protect the city. It was rebuilt
three times but has never been attacked. One of the most exciting events here,
is the firing of the noon cannon, a tradition since 1857.
There are
also wonderful places to visit not far from Halifax, including Fisherman’s Wharf
at Dartmouth, as well as other sites around Nova Scotia., such as Peggy’s Cove,
and many beaches.
Universities,
a great Farmers Market, good restaurants, and many wonderful walks are all reasons
why I could live in Halifax.
