Things to do in St Johns

Steeped in history, St Johns is the oldest city in North America. The majority of the tourist attractions here are of a historical nature, with everything from historic houses to museums and historic parks. The green open spaces and wilderness provide great outdoors country, ideal for getting up close to nature and enjoying the wonderful Canadian countryside.

Signal Hill National Historic Park

Situated near the sea and the town of St Johns, this was the reception point of the first transatlantic wireless signal received by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901. Previous to this, a battle between the English and French was fought here in 1762, which was the final North American battle of the Seven Years War. The military finally withdrew from the area in 1870. The area hosted the citys harbour defences from the 18th century until WWII.

The lookout trail offers an insight into the rich history of Signal Hill, St Johns and Newfoundland and Cabot Tower offers a spectacular panorama from its viewing platform. From early July to the middle of August, the Signal Hill Tattoo, wearing the uniform of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, perform historic military exercises here. The regiment was stationed at St Johns over 200 years ago.

The Johnson GEO Centre

Next to Signal Hill National Historic Park on a seven hectare site is the GEO Centre, which shows the amazing life story of Earth through the remarkable geology of Newfoundland and Labrador. Mainly housed underground, the centres solid rock walls reveal the secrets behind the creation of lands, seas, mountains and rivers. There is also an exhibition at the centre that tells the story of how the Titanic sank, 350 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

The centre is heated by the Earth itself, through holes drilled over 500 feet deep into the rock, using heat pumps to circulate fluids that heat or cool the building.

Historic buildings

In and around St Johns are several historic buildings of note. Made with granite and sandstone, the impressive neo-Romanesque Court House from the Victorian era was where the provinces last public hanging took place in 1835.

The Georgian-style Commissariat House in Kings Bridge Road was temporarily used as the home and office of the assistant commissary general. It has been restored to resemble its heyday during the 1830s, including furnishings of the period.

The Colonial Building opened in the 1850s, almost two decades after Newfoundland obtained self-government in 1832. Constructed of white limestone brought from Cork, Ireland, the neo-Classical building housed Newfoundland's legislature until 1959, a decade after union with Canada. Much of the province's most important political history occurred in and around this building.

Fort Amherst, the first lighthouse in Newfoundland, is located at the base of the Southside Hills, at the entrance to St Johns Harbour Narrows, opposite Signal Hill. It was built by the British Military Garrison in 1810. Meanwhile, Government House on Military Road is one of the few buildings in North America with a moat surrounding it.

Bowring Park

In 1911, Edgar Bowring presented the citizens of Newfoundland with a gift of US$50,000 as part of the 100th anniversary of the Bowring enterprise. This was used to buy land to establish a park on the banks of the Waterford River, in the western part of the city.

Bowring was also responsible for one of the major statues in the park. Bowrings stepson, John Shannon Munn, and his grand-daughter, four-year-old Betty Munn perished onboard when the Florizel sank. In his grand-daughters memory, Bowring commissioned British sculptor Sir George Frampton to duplicate a copy of his statue of Peter Pan that stands in Kensington Gardens, London. The replica in Bowring Park, unveiled on the 29th August, 1925, bears the dedication: In memory of a little girl who loved the park. The other large statue in the park, The Caribou, was a gift from Bowrings cousin, William Howe Green.

Later to be knighted twice by the British Empire for his contributions to Newfoundland and Britain, the park represents a lasting legacy of Bowrings generosity to Newfoundland.

Cape Spear

At Canadas easternmost point, you will find Cape Spear, Newfoundlands oldest surviving lighthouse. Restored to its mid-19th century appearance, it shows visitors how a lighthouse keeper and his family may have lived during those times. It is the first location in Canada to see the sun rise in the morning. Exhibits on the history of lighthouses and the tradition of lighthouse keeping are on display at the Visitor Centre. The site is surrounded by spectacular scenery and wildlife such as whales, seabirds and icebergs according to the season.

Witless Bay Ecological Reserve

Three eco-tour operators in St Johns, ferry passengers to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, a group of offshore islands that in summer, are host to 2.5 million mating seabirds including about 500,000 puffins. Whales also appear in the bay during their summer migration and if the currents are right, you might see an iceberg or two floating in from Greenland.