St. John's Travel Guide

Introduction

St. John's (always abbreviated, never spelled out) is a world apart from the rest of Newfoundland. The island's small fishing villages and long empty roads through spruce and bog are imbued with loneliness, quietude, and wildness. St. John's, on the other hand, is surprisingly vibrant, cultured, and bustling. Coming into this port city of more than 100,000 after traveling the hinterlands is like stepping from Kansas into Oz -- the picture suddenly seems to burst with color and life.

Like Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Saint John, New Brunswick, St. John's also serves as a magnet for youth culture throughout the entire province, and the clubs and restaurants tend to have a more cosmopolitan feel and sharper edge than you might expect from such a provincial, conservative island. The presence of Memorial University -- the province's premier institution of higher learning, less than 2 miles west of the harbor -- gives the city yet another shot in the cultural arm.

St. John's harbor...