St. John's, Newfoundland

St. John's is the largest and most dominant city in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. About 20 percent of the population of the Newfoundland live in the city limits proper, and another 100,000 live in the "suburbs." So close to half of Newfoundland's population is here. 

It's not surprising that the biggest city is along the water, since so much of Newfoundland's history connects with fishing and trade. It's also very close to the eastern tip of North America, which is located only a few miles away. Here's a surprise - the closest European settlement is actually part of Portugal. The Azores are about 1,100 nautical miles away. It's also closer to London than it is to Edmonton.

The sea still plays a huge role with life here, with a welcoming harbor. In fact, it was fairly recently when some work was done to expand the opening of the harbor to the ocean.(You can't quite see it here.) That way, some of those cruise liners and their money-holding tourists can drop in for a day's stay. Good thinking, St. John's.

As you might guess, this is the cultural center of the region. There's a convention center and arena in the middle of downtown for events. A junior hockey team and a minor league basketball team calls St. John's home. 

It's interesting to note that the land on both sides has steep grades going down to the harbor. The downtown section of the city is on one side, but the other side is empty except for some energy-related industry. Wonder what the history of that is?

Let's see what there is to see: