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.

A very informative museum with lots of samples and a fairly large gift shop. We didn't take the…read moretime to read everything, so we were probably only in there about 45 minutes. Cheap entrance fee & plenty of parking.

I actually thought this museum was great. I found the displays interesting. There were fossil…read moredisplays, replicas of human skulls from Neanderthals comparing to modern day humans & short movies about how the earth was formed etc. I didn't pay much attention to the oil related displays so maybe that's why I enjoyed it. Nice to see actor Gordon Pinset doing one of the informative movies.

We stopped here from the hop on hop off bus. This museum is quite small & is mostly made up of…read morephotos & information plaques. But it was nice to see the history of the railways & harbours in St. John's. Saw the pictures of 7 ft of snow being cleared from tracks in the 40s & man that's high! Not much else to see here. The gift shop is okay but nothing really caught my eye. We could have skipped this stop I think.

If you're in St. John's, this is a place to visit. Learn about the history of St. John's from its…read morerailway to imports to schooling and beyond. There is a very interesting set up of railway cars depicting the various roles that made up the staff on the railroad. Many of the exhibits were generously donated by the local community too which gives it an extra appeal because of how many people were involved in preserving the history of St. John's. There is also a huge train display and a gift shop to see within the many railway displays. It would be nice to have some music playing while visitors are looking at the display otherwise, all you can hear at the museum are the staff having personal conversations at the front door. The sound carries throughout the building so it was quite annoying listening to the staff talk about the wages they make while reading about the history of St. John's on the other side of the museum. Overall, a great experience and I learned a lot!

My family is from California, we went up to visit our family in Newfoundland and wanted to do the…read moretouristy thing of getting screeched in. this was the only place that wasn't packed to the gills. The bartender (bobby) was aggressive and creepy towards the girls in our group. he kept making disgusting inappropriate jokes and desperately wanted to show us videos of him falling down a hill on a motorcycle. We left pretty soon, and it's been a story for the last year and a half that we tell amongst our friends and family. after reading these reviews I am so fucking thankful that my partner and my cousin and my friend are male because I don't think we would have made it out safely.

This bars is a dive!!!…read more Got schreeched there. That was fun. Kissing the cods and the story coming with it was the best part. Bathroom are beyond dirty. If you want to get screeched, i suggest you go to a different bar.

Went here while we were on our vacation. Beautiful place. We went exactly during the firing time,…read morewhich was nice. There is a noon day cannon firing, so just look for the timings online. You can even fire the gun by paying some money and registering online beforehand. They will provide you with a uniform and badge before doing this activity. Signal Hill historic site has amazing ocean and St. John's views from the top. If you are lucky, you can see whales too. There is a popular hike too if you have time. It does have a gift shop and museum inside the building. Parking on the top is limited. If you are not lucky, there is overflow parking below too; you just have to walk a little to the top, that's all. Definitely recommend this place to get the beautiful views!

Standing atop Signal Hill is a magical experience where history meets raw natural beauty. Looking…read moredown at the Narrows and the vast ocean from 167 meters up is absolutely breathtaking. Best of all, it's just a quick 2.5 km trip from the heart of downtown. This site holds immense global significance; it is the exact spot where Guglielmo Marconi received the first-ever transatlantic wireless signal in 1901, changing global communication forever. Another major highlight is the Noon Day Gun ceremony at 12 PM sharp. Hearing the cannon boom and learning how it served as a crucial time signal for mid-19th-century ships navigating across time zones is fascinating. Entry was free in Summer 2026 thanks to Canada Strong pass. Parking is always free. The top lot fills up fast, so get there early. In case it is already full, you may need to park below the hill in the overflow parking and walk 20 minutes to the summit. There are no toilets at the summit tower, but the small gift shop and the historical museum make it well worth a couple of hours of exploration!

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.

What a unique experience! For 20 Canadian dollars per adult, you get a tour of the little mining…read moremuseum by a local. Bernie was our guide. She grew up on the island and had many stories to tell. She was also great with children! After the museum, Dave, who is hilarious, took us to the mine for 45-60 minutes. We learned how the miners worked and got to experience pure darkness too. By the museum are restrooms, a gift shop, and a cafe.

We had a fabulous time. We had the pleasure of being led by Sandra on her first day guiding. She…read morewas fun, informative, and knowledgeable...it was like touring with a friend. The artifacts and mines were very cool to experience; definitely a very unique and enjoyable tour. If you drive a car over be sure to drive around the island, gorgeous views and landscapes.

We really enjoyed the outdoor tour of the archeological dig at the Colony of Avalon. There were…read morealso displays in the visitor centre and we were able to see the archeologist's lab on the 2nd floor prior to the outdoor tour. The tour ended on a high note at the reproduction old kitchen.