Canada · Newfoundland
St John's
North America's easternmost city, where icebergs drift past Signal Hill and the pubs play fiddle till late.
Newfoundland's capital is one of the oldest European-founded ports in North America, a steep harbour town of brightly painted terraced houses tucked inside a narrow gap in the sea cliffs. Signal Hill and its Cabot Tower guard the harbour mouth, Cape Spear marks the continent's easternmost point just down the coast, and in season icebergs, humpbacks and puffins pass close to shore. Downtown packs pubs, trad music and a proudly distinct island culture into a few walkable streets.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
English, French
Currency
CAD
Timezone
UTC-2:30
Why you'll love St John's
Signal Hill the headland above the harbour mouth, crowned by Cabot Tower, where Marconi caught the first transatlantic wireless signal and cliff trails look straight out to open Atlantic.
The harbour town steep lanes of colourful clapboard row houses, nicknamed Jellybean Row, tumble down to a working harbour hemmed in by cliffs.
Icebergs and whales in season bergs drift down Iceberg Alley and humpbacks feed off the coast, often visible from shore.
The culture trad sessions, a dialect all its own and a famously warm welcome make downtown one of Canada's liveliest small-city nights out.
Best time to visit
Jun-Sep
18-22° days
47.565° N, 52.707° W
UTC-2:30 · America/St Johns
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Weather & when to go to St John's
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Jun-Sep
Hiking prime Jun-Sep
Activity seasons none fair good prime
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid St John's
December to March is cold, stormy and snowbound, and many coastal trails and boat trips shut down. Spring is often foggy and raw, though late spring into early summer is when icebergs drift past. Fog and wind can roll in any month, so pack layers even in high summer.
Top things to do in St John's
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Signal Hill and Cabot Tower - the harbour headland
history scenic 👍 PopularWalk or drive up to the stone tower built for the 400th anniversary of Cabot's voyage, where Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901. The views take in the Narrows, the city and the open ocean, and the Johnson Geo Centre sits on the slope below.
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North Head Trail - cliffs above the Narrows
hiking scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedA short but rugged section of the East Coast Trail from the Battery around the seaward face of Signal Hill, with chains on the steep bits and sheer drops to the harbour mouth. Whales and icebergs are sometimes spotted from the path.
-
Cape Spear - the easternmost point of North America
scenic history 👍 PopularA windswept headland just south of the city with a restored 1830s lighthouse, Second World War gun emplacements and a boardwalk to the continent's eastern tip. A classic spot for sunrise, and for watching whales and icebergs offshore.
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George Street and trad music - the island's night out
nightlife music culture arts 👍 PopularA short pedestrian strip crammed with pubs, plus the bars along Water Street and Duckworth Street, where Newfoundland trad sessions of fiddle, accordion and bodhran run late. Visitors can be 'screeched in', a mock ceremony involving a shot of Screech rum and kissing a cod.
-
Jellybean Row and downtown - the painted harbour town
culture arts historyWander the steep streets between Water Street, Duckworth Street and Gower Street, lined with row houses painted in bold blues, reds and yellows. The Anglican Cathedral and the Basilica of St John the Baptist stand on the hill above.
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The Rooms - museum, gallery and archives
culture arts historyThe province's museum, art gallery and archives share one big building on the hill, shaped after the fishing rooms where cod was processed. Exhibits cover Indigenous history, the fishery and Newfoundland's part in the First World War, and the windows frame the harbour.
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Quidi Vidi - the village inside the city
culture arts scenicA tiny fishing village of sheds and stages around a narrow gut, a short walk or drive from downtown, with a craft brewery on the wharf and artisan studios. Quidi Vidi Lake next door hosts the Royal St John's Regatta, one of North America's oldest sporting events.
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Iceberg and whale boat tours - Iceberg Alley
nature wildlife scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedBoat tours leave from the harbour and nearby coves to get close to icebergs calved from Greenland's glaciers, then to humpback and minke whales feeding on capelin in summer. What you see depends entirely on the year's ice and the fish.
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Newfoundland food - cod, toutons and partridgeberries
foodTry fish and chips with dressing and gravy, fried cod tongues, toutons (fried bread dough with molasses), a Sunday jiggs dinner of salt beef and boiled vegetables, fish and brewis, and anything made with local partridgeberries or bakeapples.
Best areas to stay in St John's
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Downtown
First-time visitors $$Harbour-front pubs, shops and painted terraces
Explore hotels in Downtown →
Georgestown
Couples and quiet $$Quiet heritage streets above downtown
Explore hotels in Georgestown →
Quidi Vidi
Walkers and village feel $$Fishing village with lake and brewery
Explore hotels in Quidi Vidi →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on St John's
Getting to & around St John's
Getting there
Fly into YYT on the city's northern edge, or cross from Nova Scotia by ferry and drive the Trans-Canada Highway east.
Flight
St. John's International (YYT)
On the northern edge of the city, about 15-20 min by taxi to downtown. Taxis wait outside arrivals and car hire desks are in the terminal.
Ferry
Argentia
Seasonal overnight ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia, landing about 1.5 hr drive from the city
Ferry
Port aux Basques
Year-round ferry from North Sydney to the island's southwest corner, then a long full day's drive across Newfoundland
Cruise
St John's Harbour
Cruise ships berth in the harbour right beside downtown
Getting around
Walking
Downtown is compact and walkable, but the streets are very steep and can be icy in winter
Free
Metrobus
City buses link downtown with the university, the malls and the suburbs; service is thin in the evenings and on Sundays
TBC
Taxi
Easy to call or find downtown, and the simplest way home from George Street late at night
TBC
Hire car
Close to essential for Cape Spear, the Irish Loop and the outports; driving is on the right
TBC
Day trips from St John's
Cape Spear
Half dayEasternmost headland
The lighthouse on the continent's eastern tip, with wartime gun batteries, cliff boardwalks and a good chance of whales or icebergs offshore in season. Go early for sunrise over the Atlantic.
Getting there
car | tour
About 20-30 min by car
Petty Harbour
Half dayFishing village
A postcard outport of fishing stages and boats in a steep cove, with a small touch-tank aquarium and a zipline across the valley. Easily combined with Cape Spear on the same loop.
Getting there
car
About 25 min by car
Witless Bay Ecological Reserve
Half daySeabird and whale tours
Boat tours circle offshore islands that hold North America's largest Atlantic puffin colony, alongside murres and kittiwakes, with humpbacks feeding close by in summer and icebergs some years.
Getting there
car | tour
About 30-40 min by car to Bay Bulls or Witless Bay, then a boat tour
Ferryland and the Irish Loop
Full dayColonial dig and coast
The Colony of Avalon, a 1620s settlement founded by Lord Baltimore, is under active excavation at Ferryland, with a lighthouse on the head beyond. The drive passes Irish-settled outports and coves where icebergs often ground.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1-1.5 hr by car south along the coast
Cape St. Mary's
Full dayGannet colony
A short cliff-top walk ends metres from Bird Rock, a sea stack covered in thousands of nesting northern gannets. Often fogbound, which only adds to the drama.
Getting there
car
About 2.5 hr by car each way
A little history of St John's
European fishing fleets were using St John's sheltered harbour within years of John Cabot's 1497 voyage, drawn by the vast cod stocks of the Grand Banks, and Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for England here in 1583. For centuries it was a fishing station more than a town, fought over by England and France until the Battle of Signal Hill in 1762 ended the last French occupation. Great fires repeatedly levelled the wooden town, the worst in 1892, which is why so much of downtown dates from the rebuild.
In 1901 Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal on Signal Hill, and in 1919 Alcock and Brown took off from the city on the first nonstop transatlantic flight. Newfoundland was a separate dominion until 1949, when it joined Canada after two referendums. The 1992 cod moratorium ended the fishery that had built the city, and offshore oil later became the new economic base.
John Cabot reaches Newfoundland, opening the Grand Banks cod fishery to European fleets
Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland for England in St John's harbour
The Battle of Signal Hill ends the last French occupation of St John's
The Great Fire destroys much of the town
Marconi receives the first transatlantic wireless signal on Signal Hill
Alcock and Brown take off from St John's on the first nonstop transatlantic flight
Newfoundland joins Canada, with St John's as provincial capital
The northern cod moratorium closes the fishery that built the city
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Everywhere
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type A / B
120 V, 60 Hz
Dialing
+1
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
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FAQs about St John's
▸ When is the best time to visit St John's?
June to September is the warm, settled window, when the coastal trails and boat tours are all running. Late spring into early summer is iceberg season, though it can be foggy and cool, and humpback whales and puffins are at their best in midsummer. December to March is cold, snowy and stormy.
▸ When can you see icebergs in St John's?
Icebergs drift south along Iceberg Alley mainly in late spring and early summer, and numbers vary enormously from year to year. Signal Hill, Cape Spear, Quidi Vidi and boat tours from the harbour and Bay Bulls are the usual places to look.
▸ How many days do you need in St John's?
Two or three days covers downtown, Signal Hill, Cape Spear and a night on George Street. Add a day or two for a Witless Bay boat tour, the Irish Loop or longer stretches of the East Coast Trail.
▸ Do you need a car in St John's?
Not for downtown, which is walkable if steep. For Cape Spear, Petty Harbour, Witless Bay and the Irish Loop a hire car makes things far easier, as buses do not reach them and tours are the only alternative.
▸ What time zone is St John's in?
Newfoundland runs on its own time zone, half an hour ahead of Atlantic time, so it catches out many visitors arriving from mainland Canada.
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