25 Best Things to Do in St. John’s, Newfoundland

Disclaimer: Information is accurate as of March 24, 2026

Just about every visitor to Newfoundland and Labrador will spend some time in St. John’s, and they should. The most eastern city in North America has a lot to offer. It’s both urban and rural with hiking trails only minutes drive from downtown. There are intellectual cultural offerings next to historic sites around the corner from the shenanigans of George Street. Some of the world’s finest dining and also some of the best greasy spoons. There’s something for everyone in this city on the Avalon peninsula.

So what do I think are the best things to do in and around St. John’s? Take it from a local.

Things to Do in St. John’s, Newfoundland

How Much Time To Spend in St. John’s, Newfoundland

Honestly? More than you think you need. St. John’s has a way of swallowing your itinerary whole – you pop into a café for a quick coffee and emerge two hours later having made three new friends and learned the entire history of the cod moratorium. Plan for at least three days, and ideally four or five if you want to actually breathe.

Three days will get you the highlights: Signal Hill, a wander down Water Street, the jellybean rows of Jellybean Row, a poke around George Street, and – crucially – enough evenings to get a proper feel for the bar scene (which, if you haven’t heard, punches well above its weight for a city this size). Four or five days lets you slow down and do St. John’s the way it deserves: day trips out to Cape St. Mary’s or the Cape Shore, a hike or two along the East Coast Trail, and time to just sit somewhere with a view and a local brew and appreciate that you’re on the oldest street in North America. No rush. The fog will keep you humble anyway.

How to Get to St. John’s, Newfoundland

St. John’s is surprisingly easy to get to – or at least, easier than its remote, end-of-the-continent reputation might suggest. Flying is your most practical option, and St. John’s International Airport (YYT) is well-connected to major Canadian hubs like Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL), and Halifax (YHZ), with Air Canada and WestJet covering most of the routes. If you’re coming from the US, you’ll almost always connect through one of those cities rather than flying direct – a minor extra step, but nothing to stress about.

If you’re the road trip type (respect), you can drive but at some point, you’re getting on a ferry. Marine Atlantic runs the crossing between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Channel-Port aux Basques on the island’s west coast. From there, it’s about a nine-to-ten hour drive across the Trans-Canada to St. John’s (900km), so add that to your crossing time and pack snacks accordingly. There’s also a seasonal ferry from North Sydney to Argentia, which is much closer to St. John’s – only about an hour and a half away – but it only runs in summer and the crossing itself takes around 16 hours. Worth it for the experience, honestly.

Where to Stay in St. John’s, Newfoundland

As Newfoundland’s capital city, there are plenty of accommodation options in St. John’s to fit every budget. All of my suggestions below are in great locations, making it easy to walk or transit to St. John’s top sites.

• Top-Rated Luxury Hotel in St. John’s: A boutique inn tucked into the charming fishing village of Quidi Vidi, Mallard Inn offers four beautifully designed king suites that make it very clear you’ve landed somewhere special. The setting does a lot of the heavy lifting: step outside and you’ve got the Quidi Vidi Brewery, hiking trails, and local artisan studios practically on your doorstep. It’s the kind of place where you book a night and start mentally rearranging your itinerary to stay longer.
• Top-Rated Mid-Range Hotel in St. John’s: A sleek, music-forward hotel right in the heart of downtown, JAG is St. John’s most vibrant place to stay – bold design, seriously comfortable rooms, and enough food, drink, and live music on-site that you could genuinely never leave. The Revival Wellness Centre (lap pool, sauna, spa) is there when you need to balance out the George Street energy, and with JAG Soundhouse next door pulling in major acts, there’s a good chance your hotel stay comes with a concert.
• Top-Rated Budget Hotel in St. John’s: If you’d rather spend your budget on cod tongues and craft beer than a downtown hotel premium, Crossroads Inn & Suites is your place. Tucked between St. John’s, Mount Pearl, and Paradise – you’ll need a car, but you were probably renting one anyway – it offers spacious, well-appointed rooms with kitchenettes, private balconies or exterior drive-up entrances, and the kind of clean, comfortable, no-fuss experience that makes it genuinely good value. Four stars from Canada Select, zero pretension.
• Click here to check out prices on all hotels in St. John’s.

Best Time to Visit St. John’s

Ask a local and they’ll tell you: mid-July to early August is the sweet spot. This is when St. John’s finally stops pretending it might snow and commits, however briefly, to actually being summer. The days are long, the patios are packed, and for a few golden weeks, the city is running at full tilt.

The timing lines up beautifully with two of St. John’s biggest events – the Royal St. John’s Regatta (the first Wednesday in August, weather permitting, and the oldest annual sporting event in North America) and the George Street Festival (a multi-day outdoor music party on the most bar-dense street in North America). If you can overlap with both, you’re winning at travel.

It’s also your best window for wildlife. Whale watching trips run all season, but mid-summer gives you warm-ish weather and calmer seas to enjoy the experience rather than just survive it. Puffins are reliably around through early August as well.

A word on June: don’t. I mean, you can, but June in Newfoundland is less “early summer” and more “weather crapshoot.” Icebergs are cool (literally and figuratively), and if that’s your thing, late May to June is prime iceberg season along the northeast coast. But if you’re hoping for patio weather and sunshine? Aim later.

Is St. John’s Worth It?

Yes – genuinely, enthusiastically, without hesitation. St. John’s is one of those cities that gets under your skin in the best possible way: it’s small enough to feel intimate but has the culture, food, music, and personality of somewhere much bigger. The people are legendarily warm (Newfoundland hospitality is not a myth – it’s almost inconvenient how friendly strangers are), the scenery is dramatic and wild, and there’s something about being on the edge of the continent, in a city that’s been here since before Canada was a country, that gives the whole place a particular weight and character you don’t find everywhere. Visitors almost always leave saying some version of “I had no idea” – and as someone who lives here, I never get tired of hearing it.

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