St. John`s is a walker`s paradise. Whether it`s a stroll on a cultivated walking trail through the heart of the city, or a hike along the world`s most magnificent coastline. The East Coast Trail is a coastal walking and hiking experience that takes you to the outermost reaches of North America, along the scenic shores of the Avalon Peninsula. It takes you past towering cliffs, high headlands, sea stacks, deep fjords, and even a natural wave driven geyser called the Spout. More than 220 km of the Trail from Fort Amherst in historic St. John`s to Cappahayden on the beautiful southern shore have been hardened to world class walking standards.

Yet although the city`s centre of gravity has begun to move west, the waterfront remains the social centre, home of lively bars that feature the pick of Newfoundland folk music – the best single reason for visiting. Almost all of the older buildings were destroyed by fire in the nineteenth century or demolished in the twentieth, so although St John`s looks splendid from the water, with tier upon tier of pastel-painted houses rising from the harbour. Providing an excellent introduction to the history of the island and its people is the Newfoundland Museum. Elsewhere, Signal Hill National Historic Site, where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless signal in 1901, overlooking The Narrows, has great views back over the city and out across the Atlantic, while the drive out to the rugged shoreline of Cape Spear, the continent`s most easterly point, makes for a pleasant excursion, as does the trip to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve.

At the top is Cabot Tower, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Newfoundland. Stroll along Water Street, the oldest in North America, today lined with stores, restaurants featuring traditional and international cuisine, and pubs offering musical entertainment that ranges from traditional Irish to contemporary.

There is no other city like it in North America - The people are special, they are the unique element which captures the hearts whether they come for work or play. It is true that there is nobody quite like a Newfoundlander. A new arrival in this great old seaport can expect to be greeted with affection, laughed at without scorn, treated with respect, and even insulted with humour and gentility...the special quality that makes an unforgettable holiday last forever.