The new weekly ASL Airlines France (formerly Europe Airpost) flight from Dublin direct to Halifax in Nova Scotia opens up an interesting and historic destination in this beautiful Canadian coastal province.
The flight leaves Dublin at 14.25 every Thursday and arrives in Halifax at 16.45, while the return sector departs on Friday at 10.15 and arrives in Dublin at 20.05. There is a two-class configuration with Economy and Economy Plus.
Economy Plus passengers have the middle seat blocked for extra comfort, an excellent offering of food and French wines, and an iPad provided for inflight entertainment.
ITTN and other travel media were invited to have dinner in Halifax in less than 24 hours and to view some of the main visitor attractions, many of which are a 15-minute walk from the centre. The group stayed at the Delta Barrington Hotel, Barrington Street, where the Sales Manager is Cathriona Fitzgerald.
Halifax, Nova Scotia’s capital city, was founded in 1749 and is full of history and museums and historic sites abound, but it is very much a modern city with thriving art, theatre, a range of great restaurants and other hospitality outlets such as Durty Nelly’s, The Old Triangle and Celtic Corner, to name but a few.
Our tour guide in Halifax was Richard Arnold, a local incoming tour operator who describes himself as the Director of Fun at Atlantic Tours. He is a veritable font of knowledge on the destination.
The sinking of the Titanic is remembered here as many of the those who died are buried here in the Fairview Lawn cemetery, which has now become a visitor attraction.
Halifax is a very compact city and most of the visitor attractions, such as St Paul’s Anglican Church built in 1750, City Park, and a must-see, Canada’s newest national museum the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, are within easy reach of each other.
Probably the most famous restaurant in town is the The Five Fishermen Restaurant and Grill. Originally built as a schoolhouse in 1817, it changed owners many times, one being a lady named Anna Leonowens who set up the Halifax Victorian School of Art.
Anna was the former governess of the King of Siam (Thailand), and she later wrote a book about her experiences, which was translated into a Broadway musical and an academy award-winning movie ‘The King and I’ starring the late Yul Byrnner.
It was at The Five Fishermen that the Irish media group had dinner and it was worth the trip just to dine there.
The airport in Halifax is Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), which is spacious and passenger friendly. The duty-free shop here, ‘The Loop’, is managed by Aer Rianta International.
With more than 650 festivals annually, Nova Scotia is a place of great natural beauty and thriving culture and it really was worth spending even a short time there, so do recommend that your clients visit Halifax.
More information at :
www.novascotiatourismagency.ca
www.deltahotels.com/Hotels/Delta-Barrington
www.atts.ie (GSA for ASL Airlines France)
