Travel: In St. John’s, a different side of Canada

By Dennis Lennox, CP Contributor Sunday, October 18, 2026

St. John’s is hardly off the map.

Still, the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador (population 110,525) may be best discovered in fall and winter, when the absence of cruise ships means the crowd is more local.

I stayed at the Alt Hotel, part of a Canadian chain that seems oriented toward hipsters. Think communal lobby space and contemporary decor. The real attraction, however, is outside the window. Some rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the harbor, which very much remains a working port.

The location is equally useful. Just about everything you’ll want to do and see is within walking distance, including the arena where the Newfoundland Regiment hockey team plays.

Just be sure to pack comfortable shoes, as walkable doesn’t mean flat. In fact, the cityscape reminded me of San Francisco.

Streets lined with colorful houses ascend and descend hills at steep inclines. Many of the homes date from around the turn of the last century and recall San Francisco’s famous Painted Ladies. The comparison extends beyond paint and topography. Both cities were extensively rebuilt after catastrophic fires. In St. John’s, the defining disaster was the Great Fire of 1892.

Water Street, the main street in all but name since the 16th century, has mostly brick buildings with a slightly gritty patina that gives the downtown character and a sense of place.

Two cathedrals rival each other for prominence.

The Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, designed by famed architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, is one of North America’s finest examples of what A.W.N. Pugin called “true Gothic” architecture — the pointed arches are more than decorative.

After the 1892 fire devastated the cathedral, Scott’s son oversaw its remarkable reconstruction according to his father’s design. Had the fire come half a century later, a hideous postwar replacement would have been erected.

The Roman Catholic Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is a massive limestone and granite edifice measuring 260 feet long and featuring twin 150-foot towers. Built by and for the Irish diaspora and completed in 1855, it was the largest church in North America at the time.

Interestingly, the Roman Catholics ended up with the more visible of the two. The basilica’s commanding position above downtown gives its towers a prominence that even Scott’s architecture cannot match.

Of course, the city’s history goes back much further.

St. John’s is among North America’s oldest European settlements. The legendary explorer John Cabot sailed into the harbor on June 24, 1497, the feast of St. John the Baptist — hence the city’s name. Fishermen soon followed, drawn by abundant cod stocks on Newfoundland’s famous Grand Banks.

All this history makes Newfoundland feel different, not least because it remained a British colony until joining Canada in 1949.

You hear the differences, too. Local speech carries the influence of England’s West Country and Ireland. The result is a distinct culture and identity that, at least to me, has more in common with the British Isles than with the Canadian mainland. Even the clock is different. The province is a full hour and a half ahead of Eastern time.

I learned more at The Rooms, part provincial art museum, part provincial history museum and part provincial archives. Wandering its collection, which includes exhibits on how and why Newfoundland opted to become part of Canada, is a good way to spend a day when inclement weather makes the streets less inviting. It also features some of the best views of St. John’s and its harbor.

If you go

Getting here will require flying unless you take the ferry from Nova Scotia. From many U.S. airports, St. John’s is reachable with just one or two connections — probably in Toronto or Montreal. That changes next year, when United will operate a daily nonstop between St. John’s and Newark. Unfortunately, the new flight is only for the summer months.

Skip the rental car. You won’t need a car unless you are making day trips outside the capital.

For restaurants, consider Oliver’s Restaurant, Grotto and Blue on the Water. Always order the fresh catch of the day.

Other hotel options include vanilla chain hotels from DoubleTree by Hilton and Marriott’s Delta, Courtyard and Sheraton brands.

Trip planning resources are available through Destination St. John’s and Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism.

Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.