Explore The First City

OVERVIEW

Take in the considerable highlights in and around St. John’s, a city founded in the late 16th century at the eastern edge of North America. A brief drive will take you to Signal Hill, where signal flags were once flown to announce the names of approaching ships. It was also here that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901. Then, it’s on to downtown St. John’s, North America’s oldest and most easterly city. As you drive through the narrow crisscrossing streets, you will pass the Government House, which was constructed of red sandstone quarried from Signal Hill in 1831. Other landmarks include rows of colorful wooden Victorian homes and several churches on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Nearby Cape Spear is also a National Historic Site, as you will discover during an enlightening visit. The cape is noted for being the easternmost point in North America and the site of the province’s oldest surviving lighthouse.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Take in the sweeping views from atop Signal Hill and discover the origin of its name.
• Drive past St. John’s architectural treasures, many of which are National Historic Sites.
• Explore the province’s oldest lighthouse and a gun battery manned during World War II.
• Drive through the fishing village of Petty Harbour on the return to St. John’s.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing/ hats/ sunscreen.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.