My Favorite Airbnb: The Historic Halifax Home That Won Over My Entire Friend Group

As a Canadian living in New York City, I’m always looking for another reason to visit my home and native land in the Great White North. So when my college besties started talking about taking a summer trip to Halifax to visit one friend and her fiancé, I was scrolling through Airbnb quicker than you can say “McGill” (our alma mater).I’d visited Halifax once pre-COVID, and had been itching to go back. The pretty waterfront city is the capital of Nova Scotia, the second-smallest province in Canada. With a bustling boardwalk, well-preserved maritime history, booming local breweries, and seafood shops around every corner, the city is just big enough to feel like a vibrant hub, but small enough to feel cute and cozy—like Nantucket, if you removed the pretentiousness and added a healthy dose of Canadian kindness (and trust me, East Coast Canadians are next-level nice).Thrilled to get the gang back together in such a gorgeous locale, we wanted to secure accommodations that would not only sleep six of us, but put us in the best possible position to explore all the city has to offer in just a long weekend. But as I did my due diligence on the Airbnb platform (as a travel editor, it is not only my duty, but my honor), I found that the majority of homes in Halifax’s downtown core are smaller one- and two-bedroom apartments. Refusing to give up hope, I kept searching for something that would fit us all comfortably, and finally found my diamond in the rough with a listing titled “Downtown Halifax Heritage Home.” Just two blocks from the water with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths, she was perfect. And soon she was ours.Our crew rolled into town the second week in July, admiring the “City of Halifax Registered Heritage Property” plaque beside our front door (indicating that the 1862 home once belonged to William Fraser, a prominent local flour merchant) before spilling in and exploring the three levels. The setup is unique: The front and back doors open onto the bottom floor, which has the living room, a small game room, a half bath, and an office. The middle floor is where you’ll find a full kitchen and dining room, plus a queen bedroom with a large closet and a full bath. The final two bedrooms are on the top floor—one with a queen, the other with two singles—along with the final bathroom and a washer/dryer, which, as a New Yorker, I took full advantage of. There was more than enough room for us to spread out, and we oohed and ahhed over the simple decor, personal touches (like the blown-glass figurines lit up in the front hall), and historic architecture.A beautiful blue-sky day on the Halifax Harbour Hannah ChubbWaiting for our wine to arrive at Water Polo, an eatery right on the water Hannah ChubbOver the next four days, we bopped in and out of the home with ease, stopping by between languid lunches on the water (we’ll be back for seconds, Bicycle Thief and Water Polo), pints at Alexander Keith’s Brewery, boat excursions around the Halifax Harbour, and shopping trips across town. There was nowhere we wanted to go that we couldn’t walk to from our home away from home, and we were just five minutes from the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk, which is a two-and-a-half-mile stretch of restaurants, food stands, museum exhibits, ice cream (go to Cows Creamery!), and fun. Everyone we met told us we couldn’t be in a better location in town, and we couldn’t agree more.The author's friend Meghan, posing in front of the Airbnb Hannah ChubbOne of many sailboats parked along the boardwalk Hannah ChubbThough the Airbnb was central, the street we were on couldn’t have been quieter—ideal considering the historic home does not have air conditioning, so we slept with the windows open every night. Now, I’m the first person to lose my mind over a lack of AC, especially in the summer, but I’m happy to report that I more than survived, even in the July heat, thanks to a cross-breeze and a plethora of fans in every room. If you’re hoping to visit in the winter, never fear: there’s central heating.The property’s only other minor flaw is the layout—specifically the fact that the kitchen and living room are separated by a long staircase. It would have been more convenient if they were located on the same floor (for drink and snack purposes), but we got our steps in, and you can’t blame a 19th-century home for being built the way it was. That said, I would not recommend the home to those with mobility issues. The bedrooms are all above ground level, and the staircases are steep. But for us 30-somethings fueled by the nostalgia of our college days, there was little complaining.One of the two bedrooms on the top floor Courtesy of AirbnbGather 'round the fireplace in the living room Courtesy of AirbnbAll in all, I would recommend this Airbnb to anyone visiting Halifax with a small group. The location was better than I could have ever dreamed of, the beds were incredibly comfy, there were plenty of bathrooms, the common areas were clean and clutter-free, and the kitchen had everything we needed to cook a few meals chez nous. The historic charm also certainly didn't hurt.But of course, a vacation rental is only as good as the people you fill it with, and lucky for me, I had 10s across the board. There's something so special about traveling with the people that have been in your corner through it all—trading beer bottles for baby bottles and dorm rooms for first homes. So let this be a sign to text your group chat and plan your next little getaway, no matter how far apart you live from each other or how busy your schedules are. If you're smart, you'll book a trip to Halifax. The East Coast Canadians are waiting to welcome you.