City of St. John's - North American's oldest city. Dominated by the Roman Catholic Basilica at the top of the Harbour and characterized by ancient row housing and lots of hills in the downtown area, St. John's has character, entertainment, night life (George Street has more pubs and entertainment per square foot than any other street in North America), and and easy access to bird watching, iceberg watching, and whale watching. It's a safe city. Here are a few must sees in and around St. John's:
Bird Watching / Whale Watching / Icebergs - The two best known tours are O'Brien's and Gatherall's. I can't recommend either not having done either. Those who have done these tours find them remarkable.
See our trips suggestions to see our recommendations for thing you can do in and around St. John's during an extended stay.
Town of Pasadena - Our home town. Pasadena is a bedroom/retirement community about 30 km East of the City of Corner Brook, Newfoundland. It is a clean, modern community. It's very safe, not as young as it used to be, but with still enough children to support a high school and a primary/elementary school. Located on Deer Lake, in the Humber Valley, Pasadena provides easy access to everything the West Coast of Newfoundland has to offer. The best ski hill in Eastern Canada is just a 15 minute drive down the twinned highway. There are golf courses in Corner Brook (West) and Deer Lake (East), a pitch and putt in Pasadena itself, and a new 18 hole course across the Lake at the new Humber Valley Resort. Gros Morne National Park is only a forty minute drive. The Humber River is one of the best salmon rivers in North America. With new senior's cottages just being opened, Pasadena is becoming more of retirement community. It's a lovely spot for retirement. The community if pretty flat, and traffic is light. Housing and taxes are still pretty reasonable, but real estate values are starting to climb, mainly because many of those working on the Humber Valley Resort properties are buying or building in Pasadena; consequently, there are few houses for sale in Pasadena at the moment.
Other major communities, towns, cities in Newfoundland are:
Stephenville (Every summer The Stephenville Festival offers a amazing variety of theatre, from drama, to Broadway musicals, to avante guarde theatre.)
The Trinity Pageant is a must go theatre experience for theatre lovers and historians. Trinity itself and a beautiful outport and driving the loop is an experience in itself.
The Gros Morne Theatre Festival is newer than The Trinity Pageant but it is drawing huge crowds and getting rave reviews. The Festival is just an added bonus to your visit to Gros Morne.
The Newfoundland Insectarium we can highly recommend just on its reputation. It's located only a few kilometers off the TCH east of Deer Lake on the road to Gros Morne. It's fascinating for children. It also features a butterfly pavilion. You can have some chocolate coated ants there.
