St. John's Downtown Walking Tour
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
St John's, Canada
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Discover the beauty and history of Newfoundland on this private walking tour of downtown St. John’s. Walk from Water Street to Duckworth Street to Bannerman Park and the Colonial Building. Hear stories of how the city was founded, what makes it different from other Commonwealth countries, and why the government sits on the left.
- Get a comprehensive overview of St. John’s, Canada
- Admire the charming architecture of the city
- Choose from a morning or afternoon tour time
- Private tour offers personalized attention from your guide
What's Included
- All Fees and Taxes
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- "A TIME" statue4 George St, St. John's, NL A1C 1M3, Canada
We'll meet at the statue ("A Time") at the east end of George Street next to YellowBelly Brewery. GPS coordinates: 47.56241281892376, -52.70969365294738
End point
- War Memorial92 Water St, St. John's, NL A1C 1A5, Canada
Start time.2:00 pm
Itinerary
1
George Street
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
St. John's (Pass By)
Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (Pass By)
Bannerman Park (Pass By)
2
Colonial Building
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
War Memorial
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 245 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Dave was a wealth of information and very entertaining. Highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in a brief history of St. John's. Be prepared for some uphill walking, but sufficient rests in between.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
We're glad you enjoyed your tour with Dave. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
À must do when in St John’s. David was so knowledgable and energetic. He brought a great sense of humour to this lovely walk around the town.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
David really does make every walk around this city feel like something special! Thanks for the recommendation, glad he made such an impression!
Great informative walking tour with Sam our guide. Quite a lot of hills to walk up but well worth the effort.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thanks for tackling the hills of downtown with us and we're happy to hear you enjoyed your tour with Sam.
David Peters offered a great walk through history told with many wonderful stories of known and lesser known Newfoundlanders, and their impact on Newfoundland and Canada. As a student of history, I even learned a few new things! His suggestions of things to do and explore after the tour were A+.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
When a history buff learns something new, you know the guide is something special! David really does dig into the lesser known stories that make Newfoundland's place in Canadian history so fascinating. Thanks for this wonderful review!
David, our tour guide, did an excellent job. He is a "townie" and very authentic. We learned a great deal about St. John's and its history. It's a lot of walking, but with pauses (and one port-a-potty break) that let us rest for a few minutes at each stop on the tour. There are some inclines, and you are on your feet the whole 2.5 hours, so wear comfortable shoes
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thanks for keeping it real and for the lovely review! We hope you enjoyed your entire visit to St. John's.
Our guide was Dave and he had lots of stops on the tour to give us the history of the area. He also had some personal stories and ideas of where we should visit after the tour.
I felt it was good value for the money.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
So glad it felt like great value. Hope his recommendations led you somewhere good!
Sam was the absolutely best tour guide for St. John’s. She was so informative and gave us so much information. I highly recommend her to tour with you.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
High praise indeed. Thanks so much for recommending her and for sharing this with us!
Samantha was an excellent walking tour host!
The areas we explored were meaningful, informative & beautiful! She made the City of St. John’s come alive! An added joy to the tour was Sam singing to us songs of the loving Newfoundlander way!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Sam has such a gift for bringing St. John's to life. So glad she added that extra special touch to your tour.
She was very knowledgeable, bubbly personality which added to whole experience. Made sure everyone was following & she was heard, but towards end of tour that did not happen. So unsure of what she said. Providrd suggestions. Overall would recommend to anyone.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
So glad Sam's energy and knowledge made the tour shine. Thanks for the feedback and we'll pass it on to the team.
Excellent History of St John's and cultural events that happen in the summer.
Not to many stairs to climb and it does take the 2.5 hrs to complete
Response from Host, Jun 2026
So glad the history and culture of St. John's came through! We always want people to leave with a real feel for this place.
Our tour guide was entertaining, knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. I learned a lot of new information about St. John’s and Newfoundland.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks for the kind words. Thanks for taking a tour with us.
It's a multi-faceted tour, with art, history, architecture, military, etc. Our pleasant and informative tour guide, Sam, even sang a few songs which added a nice personal touch - plus she had a nice singing voice. Note that the tour is very hilly but was doable It was a highlight of our visit.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks for taking a walk with us and for leaving such nice comments.
We had a fantastic tour with Pierre, learning so much about the history of St. John’s and Newfoundland. A great way to explore the city! Thank you, Pierre!
Response from Host, May 2026
You are very welcome Monica and thank you for the awesome review! We are so happy that you enjoyed your tour with Pierre. Cheers!
This was a fabulous tour. Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable and we learned many interesting facts about St. John's. There were some expected highlights such as George Street and Jellybean Row Houses that didn't disappoint. Highly recommended.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Delighted you had such a fabulous time - George Street and Jellybean Row never disappoint!
A great overview of St. John's and the history. Sam was a great tour guide. Would recommend to anyone who may be short on time in St. John's or want some history.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your kind words! We’re so glad you enjoyed the overview of St. John’s with Sam.
David our tour guide kept us so informed and entertained throughout the 2.5 hours of this tour. His knowledge of the history of St John and Newfoundland was incredible and his pride in being a native son is so prevalent.
Highly recommended!!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for the kind words! We’re so glad you enjoyed David’s stories and passion for his hometown.
Tyra is very informative and shares her knowledge of the city with facts. Her presentation is funny and engaging. Thoroughly enjoyable tour.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thanks so much! We’re thrilled you enjoyed Tyra’s fun and informative style.
Great guide! Saw a lot in 2.5 hours. The history and culture immersion was interesting. Something for everyone.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
We pack a lot into our tours! We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed your visit with us. Thanks for coming for a walk.
Excellent tour by Pierre! He is very knowledgeable and passionate about his city. He added alot of interesting local history, shared insights on Newfoundland culture as well as recommended local spots for ice cream, craft beer and POUTINE!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
We're so glad you enjoyed your tour with Pierre! He's the best. We hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay in St. John's.
Dave was a TERRIFIC tour guide. He is a master of history, stories and dialects adding so much color to the area and city. Additionally his recommendations were all on the money especially lunch
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hi there,
Thank you for your kind review. We are so happy you enjoyed your walking tour with David, he will be thrilled to hear of your kind words. Cheers!
Very informative. Bring water bottles. No bathroom breaks. Terrain can be challenging. Steep hills and stairs in parts
Response from Host, Jul 2025
We're glad you enjoyed your tour. We do our best to let everyone know in our tour descriptions about the hilly nature of St. John's and take breaks along the way. While we don't have a scheduled bathroom break there are several facilities we can avail of along the way if a guest needs them. Water is always a good idea!
Not sure how the tour was rated but it was definitely strenuous.But all in all was good. Would be nice to have stopped at least once for a bathroom break.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
We do our best to let guests know about the hills of St. John's and the couple of sets of stairs we go up and also take breaks along the way. We found that a dedicated bathroom break means we lose 15-20 minutes of the tour so we rely on guests to inform us if they happen to need one and we'll find a place to stop. Glad you enjoyed your tour.
Pierre was a superb tour guide. The signature tour was exceptional, a great opportunity to learn about the wonderful history of St. John's. Pierre started by getting to know the group and adjusted the topics accordingly.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Hi Franklin, thank you for your lovely review. We are so pleased you enjoyed your tour with Pierre. Cheers!
The tour guide Sam was energetic and great. Even though it was only her 3rd tour she was filled with great facts and stores!
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Hi there, thank you for your kind review. We are so glad you enjoyed your tour with Sam. Cheers!
Very interesting, lively presentation and tour. More attention should be given to how sensitive subjects are discussed. Many points of view represented among the crowd and important to respect that.and them.
That said enjoyed the detail and energy of the tour.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
We respect all of our guests and do our best to present a balanced and unbiased view of the things we talk about. We've spoken with your guide and while we're unclear on what sensitive subject you might be referring to, we appreciate your feedback and we’ll make sure it gets the attention it deserves. Thank you for taking our tour.
A true walking tour. Sam was amazing. She was an excellent guide. I felt like we knew our way around downtown St. John’s and learned a great deal about local history and culture by the end of the tour. We recommend this tour and this tour guide.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you for the lovely review! We're so glad you enjoyed exploring downtown with Sam. She’ll be happy to hear your kind words.
Pierre was very knowledgeable about the history of St. John's. Enjoyed his sense of humour.
He was very personable.
The only downside was trying to find parking and couldn't get the meter to take my cc. Ended up with a $50 pkg ticket :(
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Hey folks. Thanks for the great review. Sorry to hear that you ended up getting a ticket. I am curious though as to why we lost a star on our review. If it was for the tour itself, we would love to know how we can make it better. If it is because of the parking, then it is a little disappointing to penalized for something that isn't our fault.
We enjoyed the entire experience. Bob was knowledgeable and also full of wonderful anecdotes of his own.
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Thank you for the awesome review. We are glad that you had a great tour experience with Bob. Cheers!
Dave was amazing! Super passionate and knowledgeable about world and local history. Learned SO much, will never be able to remember it all. ☺️
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Thank you for the awesome review! We are so happy your group enjoyed the tour with Dave and that it provided everyone with the introduction to our great city that we planned it to be. Cheers!
As an experienced traveler I expect some setbacks along the way. What I do not expect is utter disrespect and blatant unfairness. Months before my trip I signed up for 2 of these tours in English and paid for both so that if my flight arrived too late for the Saturday p.m. tour, I would have Sunday morning as an option before flying out. I wanted to make best use of my 24 hours in St John's. I communicated directly with the tour operator about this, so he understood and was onboard. He offered to charge me for just the tour I took. Fair enough.
Turned out my Saturday flight was delayed so I missed that tour. No problem, I thought. I arrived early on Sunday and took photos while waiting for the tour to start. Then 4 French speaking people arrived, some of whom understood English. The tour guide who arrived was clearly fluent in both English and French. I was informed the tour would be in French because I was the only one who signed up for English. They would issue me a refund. I said I didn't want a refund. I wanted what I paid for and was guaranteed. Whatever happened to "First in Time is First in Right? I would have been content to have a bilingual tour but after 15 minutes of solid French, which I did not understand, I just walked away. He didn't even throw me a few crumbs in English. I was white hot about this. I was granted a refund. Big deal.
So, beware folks. If they can treat me like that, they can do it to you too!
Response from Host, Aug 2024
We acknowledge that we were unable to provide you with the tour you booked. Our tours require a minimum number of guests in order to proceed. We didn’t reach that number for the Sunday morning tour. In fact, you were the only person booked. We informed you on Saturday of this and indicated that, unfortunately the tour had been cancelled and you would be refunded. We received no communication from you, and in our attempt to provide you with a tour, we held the Sunday AM booking open in a hope to gather enough guests to operate the tour significantly longer than we ordinarily do in such a situation.
Despite being informed of the cancellation, you showed up at 10 AM Sunday anyway, and despite being told repeatedly with apologies by one of our staff that the tour had been cancelled and why, you were insistent on your right to join a private tour that you weren’t invited on and was being presented in a language that you admittedly don’t understand. You were rude to our staff and ignored their every attempt to inform you on the situation. The people on the Private French tour were gracious and didn’t object to you tagging along to “just take pictures” as you said, but it was not, and had never been, a bilingual tour. Prior to that you had asked us to delay our Saturday tour to accommodate your personal schedule despite the fact that 10 other people had already booked. Of course, we are not willing to do that.
We didn’t appreciate the entitled attitude then or now. You were not and are not “guaranteed” a tour. Our tours operate under established guidelines as outlined above, and if we can’t provide a tour, guests are 100% refunded, as were you.
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$40.53
per personWas $42.66(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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St. John's Downtown Walking Tour
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