Spending a great weekend in Saint John’s, Newfoundland.

Saint Johns is the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’s most Eastern province. Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, making it the newest province in the country, however, it is one of the oldest parts of North America with European contact. Newfoundland has its own identity, with deep roots and unique culture.

Saint john’s was established as a fishing ground in 1497, and became a permanent town in the 1630’s.

We were visiting the city for a weekend and were keen to fit in as much as we could. The forecast mix of fog and freezing rain would make it a challenge, but we were ready to explore the city and do as much as we could in the short time we were there. Starting with breakfast…

Day 1: starting with Breakfast at the bagel cafe

Looking for a good spot to start the day we took to Google and found that there seemed to one very obvious choice going by reviews and pictures, The Bagel Cafe on Duckworth Street. This was a cozy spot that was the prefect place to grab a hearty bite on a rainy morning. They have a huge menu with a lot of home made favourites and great breakfast food. The thing that caught our attention were the Tutons which is a classic Newfoundland snack. They’re essentially fried pastry, kind of like a crispy pancake or fried Yorkshire pudding? Hard to describe, but absolutely delicious. The Bagel Cafe served a variety of them, we both went for the salted cod fishcakes with homemade beans and molasses on the side – it was comforting, filling and absolutely delicious! We washed them down with some coffee and headed out to our first sightseeing stop.

The basilica of saint john the baptist

We staggered up a couple of hills from Duckworth Street and the Bagel Cafe to the impressive Basilica of Saint John the Baptist. It’s easy to find as it’s one of the largest things on the St John’s skyline.

The basilica was built between 1839 – 1855 and is the second largest church in Canada. It has a very interesting history and its construction is linked to the era of Catholic emancipation of Ireland and Newfoundland of the 19th century. It is an incredible building which makes its presence known over the city, and was declared a national historic site in 1983. It is free to visit and there is plenty to see as you look around. A large amount of the stone used. to construct the building was shipped to St John’s from Ireland and it’s filed with impressive stained glass, artwork and historic statues.

It is a truly impressive building to visit, and is a reminder of the strong Irish heritage in the city.

The Rooms

After spending some time at the Basilica we took the short walk to the next most prominent building on the St John’s skyline; The Rooms. The Rooms are a museum, library, gallery, and cultural centre showcasing the unique history, culture and heritage of Newfoundland. The design and the name of this space is a subtle nod to Fishing Rooms – the simple structures that used to line the waterfront of the city. The facility opened in 2005 and has been showcasing many interesting things about the province ever since. We were really excited to take a look around the Rooms and take in some of the history on display.

We started by looking at some of the historic reconstructions of 19th century St Johns with old storefronts housing artefacts from the time. There was some interesting information on the Titanic and the role that St John’s played in coming to the assistance of survivors, there is an authentic life jacket from the Titanic as well as some photographs of survivors. We found reading about life in the province through the 19th and 20th centuries particularly interesting as Newfoundland has a pretty unique history with its relationship with Canada.

After reading about the history of the province we went on to see some exhibits on the wildlife and marine life around the province, here we were able to see preserved whale bones, animals that live in and around NL and a perfectly preserved giant squid! After the rooms we headed to perhaps the most iconic part of St John’s…

Jellybean Row

If you look on Google Images for a picture of Saint John’s, chances are the first thing you see is a picture of Jellybean Row. These multicoloured houses are a cherished icon of the city, and Atlantic Canada. So, what is Jellybean Row? Well – it refers to the houses of downtown Saint John’s which are painted with bright and vibrant colours, it’s not a specific street or area of the town, but a way of describing the stunning row houses themselves.

It’s a tradition that takes inspiration from the brightly painted fishermen’s houses of yesteryear. Homes of fishermen used to be painted in bright and vibrant colours so that they would be easily visible on foggy days. The ‘tradition’ of downtown St John’s Jellybean Rowhouse’s is a little less old time and actually stems from the 1970’s with a drive to brighten up the downtown area. This striking look has made the houses of downtown St John’s an icon and has inspired many paintings, sculptures, designs and more. Some of these inspired designs can be seen with the Jellybean Row gallery who create beautiful images of these iconic buildings. It’s great to wander the streets downtown to look at all of the colour, make sure to start your walk in Gower Street which can claim the first of the 1970s Jellybean houses!

After walking around downtown and taking some great pictures of the Jellybean houses we knew that our day was coming to a close, we had one more sight to check out that day and then just wanted to find. a spot for dinner. Our final site to look at for the day was one of the oldest administrative parts of the city.

commissariat house

The last stop after a busy day exploring the city on foot was Commissariat House, one of the oldest buildings in Saint John’s and a former centre of administrative life in the city. It’s one of the oldest buildings in the city and was constructed between 1818 – 1820. The main house is a faithful reconstruction of what the house looked like during the 1800s with every room filled with antique furniture as well as staff in period costume who are happy to explain the history of each room and share the story of the house.

Next to the house there is a small museum that is filled with interesting exhibits about the historical significance of the house and the city. As some of the signs say, this place is no antiques roadshow, instead it’s a living breathing example of the fiercely proud, independent, and sometimes rebellious story of Newfoundland. There are some fascinating stories included in the exhibit, some of them powerful examples of hard fought freedoms, and some funny, like the story of Newfoundland merchants who refused to deliver the governor’s mail in an attempt to block an import tax proposed from London.

It’s a living breathing example of the fiercely proud, independent, and sometimes rebellious story of Newfoundland

Find the Commissariat House at 11 – 13 King’s Bridge Road.

Dinner and a beer downtown

It was getting to the end of a pretty exhausting day, as we’d been on foot for the whole time we were ready to get some food and to put our feet up. We did some searching online for highly recommended spots and found it hard to decide between two; the Gypsy Tearoom and Yellowbelly Brewing. We ended up going with the Gypsy tearoom for some great food which was served in a fun relaxed dining room, then so that we didn’t feel like we were missing out we headed to Yellowbelly for a beer! It was the perfect way to wind down a hectic day.

Day 2: Starting with Breakfast and a walk downtown

Day 1 was full on with a lot of walking around to explore the city, we decided that a slightly slower pace would be more fun for us on day 2, starting with a quick bite at Rocket Bakery on Water Street, this cozy spot was a great place to grab some food and a great coffee. Feeling suitably charged yup for the day we took a short walk around downtown and then called a taxi to take us up to the iconic Signal Hill.

Signal Hill

Our taxi arrived about 30 seconds after we’d called and our driver Julie asked where to, we explained that we wanted to check out Signal Hill so she could just drop us there. “It’s very windy and it’s closed, I’ll run you up there but I’ll wait… You’ll only be 10 minutes.” We assured Juile that we wanted to spend a little while at Signal Hill which majestically overlooks the city, and that there was no need. for her to wait, “we’ll see” was her reply, and we headed off to Cabot Tower which sits atop the hill. It’s a historically significant site as in 1762 it saw the final battle of the Seven Years War, and in 1901 was the location of the first ever transatlantic wireless transmission. There were stunning views from just by the tower of Saint John’s, from our vantage point we could clearly see The Rooms, The Basilica of Saint John the Baptist and the famous Jellybean Rowhouses. Jule was right, however, and the wind was unbearable!

We managed to stay by the Cabot Tower for about ten minutes, but felt like we were going to be blown off if we went anywhere near the edge of the hill! We headed back to the parking lot where we planned to call a cab again and were pleasantly surprised. to see Julie! “I told ya!” she said, and proceeded to offer us a short tour around the city which we gladly took her up on!

Julie’s Tour: Quidi Vidi and Government House

Julie drove us around the city for just under an hour and had a great time talking about her life in the city, she told us about her families history in the province and told us that four generations of her family have lived in Newfoundland. It was a great mini tour, and we got to see some of the sights we’d ruled out previously because we thought it would take too long to get to.

Quidi Vidi was a beautiful highlight of the trip, it is a quiet neighbourhood in St John’s that is focused around Quidi Vidi lake. It is absolutely beautiful and we were really taken with the small houses and fishing sheds clinging onto the rocks by the water. We did not have time on this occasion, but one day plan to come back and visit the famous Mallard Cottage and spend a little more time taking in the neighbourhood.

After Quidi Vidi and some more great conversation with Julie we were dropped off at Government House which is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor, it’s a striking building with some impressive gardens to stroll through. It is possible to get a guided tour through the house, but they were not running that day. Julie did encourage us to just knock on the door and ask to be shown around, but we decided against it. We paid Julie and waved goodbye as we started to look around the gardens of Government House.

We didn’t have much time left before our return flight, so headed to grab a little lunch before our flight.

Bannerman Brewing

Our final stop on our weekend. in St John’s was a quick bite to eat at the excellent Bannerman Brewing on Duckworth Street. This cool and cozy spot was offering a great selection of locally brewed beer and some seriously tasty bar bites. It was a great way to wind down the weekend, after filling up on some tasty snacks and enjoying a refreshing beer we headed to the airport.

48 hours in Saint John’s felt like just enough time. to get a taste of the city and to figure out some good spots to check out next time we are able to get over there! It was a great visit to a seriously vibrant little city and we can’t wait to get back.