Page 53 - DreamScapes Magazine | Spring/Summer 2023

CITY SPOTLIGHT
Halifax 2.0
IT’S THE LUXE REVAMP + YOU’RE INVITED BY FIONA TAPP
Just a few years ago, Halifax’s Waterfront was looking tired. As one of Nova Scotia’s popular attractions, tourists still came in the summer to stroll the boardwalk, stopping for lobster rolls or ice cream, but it certainly wasn’t a glamorous spot.
However, after an almost $200 million private investment, the maritime city has suddenly become achingly cool with a new upscale ’hood. Billed as the Queen’s Marque district, this waterside neighbour- hood sparkles with trendy restaurants, a residential building, and has a collection of public art to rival many galleries, including the big glam showstopper: The Muir.
STAY IN LUXURY
The five-star Muir hotel provides guests with more than luxury surrounds and posh amenities. An enormous gym features a chic spa pool, icy plunge bath and a halotherapy salt room. But it’s the design touches like the gentle curve of the walls in your suite mim- icking the waves outside your floor-to-ceiling windows that create a sense of place. The har- bour is invited in with a muted colour palette complemented by custom-made tartans laid carefully at the foot of each bed. Borrow a bike and cycle the boardwalk to the historic Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market or play skipper on the hotel’s very own yacht or motorboat.
WHY GO NOW?
This seaside gem is shining; there’s no better time to visit.
WHAT TO EAT?
The investment in this new district has welcomed a collection of innova- tive restaurants, cafés and gourmet food stores, from the elegant French bistro Café Lunette, and Peruvian fusion bites at the playful Bar Sofia, to the inventive cocktails on offer inside Muir’s speakeasy, BKS (short for best kept secret.) For amazing waterfront views while you eat, dine at Daryâ, serving eastern Mediterranean dishes like jumbo shrimp kebabs and fat- toush. Pick up a souvenir at Peace By Chocolate where the Hadhad family rebuilt their lives after the war forced them to leave their chocolate factory in Damascus, Syria. DS
THE BOARDWALK’S CALLING
See how closely art imitates life by climbing the steps to admire Tidal Beacon, an installation that responds to
the tides sending shafts of coloured
lights up the structure. Stroll to the Queen’s Landing, the only place on the boardwalk where you can touch the water. Peer through the transparent wire
and mesh sculpture Sail by Italian sculptor, Edoardo Tresoldi for different harbour perspectives. It resembles a ghost ship with seafaring tales to tell.
Outside the Muir hotel, there’s the Light Chocks, which use columns of Fresnel lenses like those in light- houses. By day the glasswork catches the sun and at night, illuminated, they guide visitors home like a beacon.
TRAVEL PLANNER
For Halifax trip planning see discoverhalifax.ca
SPRING/SUMMER 2023 DREAMSCAPES 53
i
PHOTOS: RIAZ OOZEER/DISCOVER HALIFAX | ACORN ART & PHOTOGRAPHY | MUIR HOTEL | JESSICA EMIN