Nova Scotia did not lift its ban on year-round Sunday shopping until 2006, and several shops even in Halifax still keep shorter hours on the day of rest as a result. Although Halifax’s Seaport Farmers Market recently moved to a new Marginal Road location, it remains North America’s oldest running farmers’ market. Buskers perform both outside and inside the market as visitors browse the original artwork, clothing, and homemade food vendors sell seven days per week. The smaller Brewery Farmers’ Market is open only on Saturday mornings.
Most of Halifax’s unique shops are situated within Spring Garden Road’s historic buildings or Quinpool Road which contain more than 200 retail shops, most of which are independently owned. The Historic Nova Scotia Properties along Halifax’s waterfront are filled with boutique souvenir stores and other recommended shopping districts include the European-influenced Hydrostone Market, the upscale Bishop’s Landing, and the up-and-coming Barrington Street.
Nova Scotia’s South Shore and the Cabot Trail contain the province’s greatest percentage of unique shops outside of Halifax. Visitors can order custom made kilts at the family-owned MacIsaac Kiltmakers in the small Cape Breton village of St Peter’s. Much of the handmade pottery and jewelry sold at the Green Crow Gift Shop was created from the ancient minerals and rocks found along the Bay of Fundy’s Joggins Fossil Cliffs.