For starters, stop by the visitor center or the front desk of your hotel and ask for a copy of Where Halifax, a comprehensive monthly guide to the city's entertainment. Among the city's premier venues for shows are the downtown Halifax Metro Centre, 5248 Duke St. (tel. 902/451-1202 for recorded information), which hosts sporting events and concerts by a wide variety of artists.

Performing Arts -- Shakespeare by the Sea (tel. 888/759-1516 or 902/422-0295) stages a whole line of Bardic and non-Bardic productions July through August at several alfresco venues around the city. Most are held at Point Pleasant Park, where the ruins of old forts and buildings are used as the stage settings for delightful performances, with the audience sprawled on the grass, many enjoying picnic dinners. Most shows ask for a suggested donation of C$10 (US$7). The more elaborate productions (past shows have included King Lear at the Citadel and Titus Andronicus at the park's Martello Tower) have limited seating, with tickets ranging up to C$30 (US$21).

The Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle St. (tel. 902/429-7070), benefited from a C$13.5 million (US$9.6 million) renovation and now also includes an intimate 200-seat studio theater. Top-notch dramatic productions are offered throughout the year. (The main season runs Oct-May, with a summer season filling in the gap with eclectic performances.) Main-stage tickets range from C$15 to C$35 (US$11-US$25).

For a more informal dramatic night out, there's the Grafton Street Dinner Theater, 1741 Grafton St. (tel. 902/425-1961), which typically offers light musicals and mysteries with a three-course dinner (choice of prime rib, salmon, or chicken).

Club & Bar Scene -- The young and restless tend to congregate in pubs, in nightclubs, and at street corners along two axes that converge at the public library: Grafton Street and Spring Garden Road. If you're thirsty, wander the neighborhoods around here, and you're likely to find a spot that could serve as a temporary home for the evening.

In the evening, there's usually lively Maritime music and good beer at the Lower Deck (tel. 902/425-1501), one of the popular restaurants in the Historic Properties compound on the waterfront. There's music nightly at 9:30, and late afternoons on Saturdays. Among the clubs offering local rock, ska, and the like are The Marquee Club, 2037 Gottingen St. (tel. 902/429-3020), and The Attic, 1741 Grafton St. (tel. 902/423-0909). One of the most popular bars in town is Maxwell's Plum at 1600 Grafton St. (tel. 902/423-5090), a free-for-all pub where peanut shells litter the floor and there are dozens upon dozens of selections of import and Canadian draft and bottled beers. Happy-hour specials run just C$2.50 (US$1.65) a bottle for a selected import each night.

Check The Coast, Halifax's free weekly newspaper (widely available), for listings of upcoming performances.