Try searching for
Atlantic Canada · Newfoundland and Labrador
North America's oldest city, painted in jellybean colours.
A portrait of St. John's
St. John's clings to the hills above one of the world's most protected natural harbours — a 500-year-old fishing port turned music town, where Signal Hill catches the first sunrise in North America and George Street has the highest pub-per-capita ratio on the continent.
Field notes
On the cliffs
The East Coast Trail runs 336 km of headlands and fishing-village paths south from St. John's. Walk the Spout for a hidden geyser, La Manche for a suspension bridge across a hidden cove, and you'll see icebergs offshore from May into July.
After dark
George Street invented the kitchen party. Eat fish-and-brewis, kiss the cod, take a shot of dark rum, recite the line — and you're an honorary Newfoundlander. The fiddle and bodhrán will go until last call somewhere around 3 a.m.
On the water
From May to early September, 22 whale species pass through these waters. Humpbacks feed on capelin in the bays around Bay Bulls; in June and July, 10,000-year-old icebergs drift down Iceberg Alley from Greenland.
On the map
A tour through the icons and the under-the-radar corners — laid out the way a local would walk you through.
Signal Hill
Cabot Tower, the spot where Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal.
Jellybean Row
Hillside streets of saturated-colour rowhouses — the city's calling card.
George Street
Two pedestrian blocks with more pubs per metre than anywhere in North America.
Cape Spear
The easternmost point in North America — and the oldest surviving lighthouse in NL.
Quidi Vidi Village
A tiny fishing harbour-within-the-city, home to Quidi Vidi Brewing's Iceberg Beer.
Witless Bay Reserve
260,000 puffins and the world's largest Atlantic puffin colony, 30 min south.
Year-round
Spring
Iceberg season begins; the city's first festivals warm up George Street.
Summer
Capelin roll, puffins nest, regatta on Quidi Vidi Lake (oldest in North America).
Autumn
Berry-picking on the East Coast Trail; long Atlantic light.
Winter
Mummering season — costumed door-to-door visits straight out of 1800.
Insider tips
Order toutons (fried bread dough) with molasses for breakfast at Mallard Cottage.
Drive 90 minutes south to Ferryland for a cliff-edge picnic at the Lighthouse Picnics.
Time your visit for the Royal St. John's Regatta — the city's unofficial holiday, dating to 1818.
More Canadian cities
Alberta
A mountain town carved into the heart of the Rockies.
British Columbia
Two mountains, one village, an endless season.
Quebec
A walled European capital on the edge of the wild north.
British Columbia
Where the rainforest meets the Pacific — and the skyline meets the sea.
Ontario
Canada's largest city — and one of the world's most diverse.
Quebec
A French-speaking island city with European bones and a North American pulse.
Alberta
A modern prairie city with the Rockies on the horizon.
Nova Scotia
An Atlantic port city where every street ends at the sea.
Ontario
Canada's capital — gothic spires, a frozen canal, and small-town charm.
British Columbia
Garden-laced capital on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
Alberta
Alberta's festival capital above a 48 km river valley.
Manitoba
Where the rivers meet — and the polar bears wait.
Saskatchewan
The Paris of the Prairies — bridges, bistros, big sky.
Prince Edward Island
The birthplace of Canada, on an island of red roads and oysters.