Usually, smaller cities have smaller museums. St John's is the exception. The Rooms is a very large…read moremuseum with more than four floors of space. My friend and I visited on a rainy day when they stayed open until 9 p.m. Here's our experience. 1) Admission: Adult regular tickets cost a little over 10 Canadian dollars with parking five per vehicle. (Pay at the kiosk in the museum lobby on your way out.) It's worth the price. 2) Experience: We started at the top floor with their art gallery and exhibits about the history of Newfoundland. In the museum section is a staircase that takes you to more items. On the top floor are a few items from the Titanic. (It's here where the first distress signals were picked up, and they helped with the relief efforts.) The bottom floors have more art and exhibits about Newfoundland's history to present. 3) Space: The architecture and views are both standout features. The space has plenty of restrooms, a cost check, and gift shop.

Beautiful view of St. John's and Signal Hill. Amazing cafe…read morethat also includes the amazing view. Very interesting exhibits. The room with the animals was our favourite. Personally didn't care much for the art exhibit though, and also loses half a point for having the thinnest ply toilet paper ever in their bathroom.

This is the first stop (optionally) on the trek up to the top of Signal Hill. Plenty of parking and…read moresome amenities inside like a cafe/chocolate store, restrooms, and exhibit. The views here are gorgeous and there are plenty of trails to wander as you take in the natural beauty and bird's eye views of St. John's.

Since my last visit to Signal Hill two years ago, the clean drive up the hill has been replaced…read morewith a weird roundabout dealie that forces cars and pedestrians alike over to the Signal Hill Visitor's Centre. It's a small, uninspiring building from the outside that holds a museum with a military-communications slant and a very wee café slinging the necessities: hydration for the hikers, light lunches for those waiting for the hikers. A bottle of water and a Gatorade was $5 flat. From what I could see inside, the exhibits themselves looked pretty bare bones but I did hear the staff person mentioning a twenty minute film that loops pretty frequently. Not exactly sure what it's about but I'd say any movie is a tough sell when you could just pop up to the top of Signal Hill and soak in the view.

Picturesque Quidi Vidi ("Kiddy Vidi") Village is practically a suburb of St. John's and it's only a…read morerelatively short walk form Downtown and it's just past the nearest residential neighborhood Erin's Pub has a 24-hour camera near the Quidi Vidi Brewery, so the night we were there, we could see all the "action" in the Harbour. Besides the BrewPub action, there's the Plantation artist shops, the Mallard cottage, and other small businesses. I found nearby Petty Harbour more interesting and not that much further away by car. Quidi Vidi's harbour is known as "The Gut". Located in Quidi Vidi is the Quidi Vidi Battery Provincial Historic Site. The latter honors some French and British military history, while the Mallard Cottage and harbour references sporta a deep fishing outport history.

The plantation is not really a plantation, but a building located at the closed end of the harbor…read morewhich is used for special events on the main floor. It contains artisanal craft studios and shops upstairs. It's a good place to look for things to bring back from your trip to St. John's and also good place for gifts.

We went to Manuels River as a last-minute activity before boarding a plane back to Toronto. We…read morethought it would help tire the kids out. But as we rushed off to the airport 3 hours later, we were wishing we had more time to spend at this beautiful place, and talking about all the things we'd like to do there the next time we visit. We started our morning with a tour of the truly excellent Interpretation Centre, which is the perfect size to get a great overview without being overwhelmed. The information is presented in a very accessible way, and there are plenty of things to touch and buttons to push to keep children engaged. We were also provided with some additional information by a Manuels River facilitator, Madison, who was very knowledgeable and great with our kids. She also provided us with a map and directions to set us up for our hike. The trails are well marked and well groomed and perfect for families - we even brought our stroller along. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. But the highlight for me was searching for trilobite fossils in the shale beds - and actually finding (a small) one! Very unique experience, and my dinosaur-obsessed kids loved every moment.

Excellent festival…read more Multiple stages featuring youth, francophone, dance and spoken word performances, in addition to a talent filled main stage. Hours and hours of entertainment. Well attended and run, primarily by volunteers. Some big name sponsors must make the job a lot easier these days as it is difficult to continue to run these type of large festivals, year after year after year. Love the set up and have few complaints as the ticket pricing is extremely reasonable. Just wish there were a few more food options, like a coffee truck. Arts vendors have beautiful products. Something for everyone. Look forward to seeing these each years showcasing local talent and products. I learned about the traditional methods of dying using lichens and plants from one artist's display. Weekend pass is divided into a total of 5 sessions, which makes attending and seeing the acts you want to see easy. Very enjoyable weekend.

This is a very nice gallery just across the street from the Doubletree. It features various…read morepaintings from local artists and a nice selection of indigenous soapstone sculptures. I thought that the pricing was fair and transparent, even down to whether tax was included or not. I left the shop with a nice set of watercolor cards and a book featuring gorgeous Newfoundland scenery. Like the previous reviewer, I was impressed with the engaging artist/owner (?) who explained the various works of art in an welcoming and friendly manner. I also learned a lot about Newfoundland itself and how to better approach Gayle and my visit. In the end, she was right. Our memories of Newfoundland were the landscape, the people, and the charming towns - as opposed to specific attractions.

This local gallery (on Duckworth Street closer to the Courtyard by Marriott and Sheraton) features…read more15-20 local artists. They have the requisite St. John's street scene paintings, along with a nice variety of still-life painting, soapstone sculpture, bronzes, etc. I was impressed with the art and even more impressed with the engaging and helpful artist who was on hand to answer questions. She told me about the gallery and also made suggestions of other galleries to see in town.

This is a nice sized souvenir shop in the heart of downtown. They have a good selection of tshirts,…read moresweaters, & all the standard souvenir stuff. Prices were the same as all the other souvenir stores. They were friendly at this store. I ended up buying some tshirts for people back home.

My favourite little touristy shop in Downtown St. John's. The staff are friendly, very welcoming…read moreof kids, and they never hassle you to hurry up and buy something. They have everything from all sorts of trinkets to clothing plus the usual postcards/magnets/lapel pins!

When Gayle and I are travelling in a "foreign land", I try to find the regional crafts co-op…read more These shops offer a nice variety of high quality items from local artists, and at a fair price. In St. John's (in their current location on Water Street), I found the Newfoundland Crafts Council store and had the pleasure of visiting it a couple times during our stay here. The selection did not disappoint, as I came away with a nice forged letter opener from the Green Family Forge (Trinity) and a nice St. John's house magnet from Northeastern Folk Art. I could have easily done more "damage", but it was early in our trip and I needed to pace myself.

Love this place. It is more than just a craft shop, or gift store. It's a house filled to the…read morebrim with art. A heritage home. Judge your time well and give yourself opportunity to check out all that there is on the various floors. It is very easy to get stuck in an area of the house which contains all manner of wonderous things - and then you lose all sense of time and before you know it you've spent an hour looking at the rug hooking kits and have less time elsewhere. True story! Happened to a, uhm, friend of mine.... Perfect place to get a gift for someone away. Or for someone local. Or for yourself. Follow them on Facebook. They have a wonderful page which introduces you to not only the art, but the staff and artisans who create this amazing space. http://www.facebook.com/craft.council.5?sk=wall