Get out in St. John's

Known affectionately as “The City of Legends”, St. John’s is a cosmopolitan city with small town warmth and safety.

Centered around a perfectly-sheltered harbour carved from granite, the downtown core is defined by quaint side streets boasting a thousand colours, and individuals and enterprises as unique as our location.

Nestled within picturesque scenery and bound by the Atlantic Ocean, more than 250,000 people call St. John’s and its surrounding area home.

Shopping

St. John's has shopping centres and districts to suit every taste.

From eclectic downtown t-shirt stores to big box stores, you can find anything you need in the local shopping scene.

Restaurants

Burgers and fries are all well and good. But beyond the basic fast food places frequented by many students, St. John's has numerous restaurants across the city.

Got a craving for something local? Fish and chips is a great St. John's favourite.

Want a more international taste? You can find sushi, Indian, Greek, Afghan, and countless other national flavours in restaurants around town.

For a large (but still not complete) listing of places to eat, check the City of St. John's website.

Heritage and history

If you're looking to study in a place where old world charm meets new world modernity, then this is the spot.

In St. John's alone you'll find enough history to keep you busy for years.

Go back in time by visiting these city historic sites:

Fort Amherst
Signal Hill
Fort Townsend/The Rooms
The Basilica
Water Street
The Colonial Building

Discover more about our past by taking a walking tour of some of our haunted sites, or take a moment now and explore our heritage.

Weather

It can be windy, rainy or foggy in St. John's on any given day - but that can change quickly to blue skies and sunshine by lunch time.

We have what's known as a temperate climate. Winters here are generally mild with an average temperature of 0 degrees Celsius.

During the summer months, the temperature can go from cool to hot with an average of 20 - 23 degrees Celsius. Even on the hottest day, there's always an ocean breeze to keep you comfortable.

For more information, visit the St. John's City Weather office.

Arts and entertainment

Live music, live theatre, live readings...

St John's is filled with cultural diversity and many unique experiences that make life in this city like no other.

Find out more about what's happening at our theatres, galleries, and music venues.

Sports and outdoor activities

When you want to get outside, St. John's offers lots of options for outdoor activity.

The city is home to a variety of parks, both large and small, and a series of walking trails that snake from one end to the other.

The campus itself is a green oasis in the middle of the city. You can get out and...

Explore Pippy Park, a 3400-acre land reserve that borders our campus right in the heart of the city.
Trek along the trails that run around Long Pond on the north side of the St. John's campus.
Eat your lunch in the Rose Garden that's nestled between the Music and Science buildings.
Feed the ducks at Burton's Pond.
Learn about flora and fauna at Memorial's Botanical Garden.