Located on a peninsula that juts into the North Atlantic, Halifax is the largest population centre east of Montreal and the provincial capital of Nova Scotia. It was Halifax's natural harbour - the second largest in the world after Sydney, Australia's - that first drew the British here in 1749, and today most major sites are conveniently located either along it or on the Citadel-crowned hill that overlooks the harbour. The old city of Halifax is small and friendly, its neighbourhoods all within walking distance (albeit a long but manageable walk) or a short bus ride's distance of each other.

Halifax Citadel has been commemorated as a nationally significant symbol of Halifax's role as a principal naval station in the British Empire and of the city's importance to Canada's development and evolution from colony to nation. The Halifax Citadel was formally recognised as a significant symbol of Canadian nationhood when it was designated as a National Historic Site in 1951. Pier 21 uses a variety of exhibits to present the stories of departing and arriving Canadian troops, war brides, displaced children, and the more than one million immigrants who arrived in Canada through its doors between 1928 and 1971.