13 Best Sights in Saint John, New Brunswick

Imaginative and engaging in its approach, the provincial museum has fascinating displays covering the history, geology, and culture of New Brunswick and a large and outstanding collection of art in the galleries. The popular whale exhibit includes Delilah, a full-size young right whale skeleton, suspended from the ceiling. You can also watch the phenomenal Bay of Fundy tides rise and fall in a glass tidal tube connected to the harbor and find out why the nearby Stonehammer Geopark has global importance. The Family Discovery Gallery has fun and educational games for all ages. Admission is free on certain holidays and notable dates.

The strong Fundy tides rise higher than the water level of the river, so twice daily, at the Reversing Falls Rapids, the tidewater pushes the river water some 90 km (56 miles) back upstream and the rapids appear to reverse themselves. When the tide ebbs, the river once again flows downstream over the rock ledges and on into the bay. You can see the rapids from Fallsview Park, or get an overhead view from the cliff top on Bridge Road. Here, you can also venture out onto the Skywalk, featuring five glass panels for a straight-down view. An excellent introductory film details the fascinating geology and uniqueness of the phenomenon, and docents are on hand to answer questions and offer further insights. It takes time to fully appreciate the Reversing Falls Rapids; you need to visit at high, slack, and low tides—the website, or any visitor information office, has tide times—and to allow for this, Skywalk tickets are valid for the whole day.

Now serving as a fascinating museum, this authentic and picturesque 19th-century country shop sits in a prominent location in the heart of the city, near the site where Barbour's factory once stood. It contains some 2,000 artifacts that would have been sold here in its 1860s heyday. The store also doubles as a retail outlet for modern local merchandise, some of which make good souvenirs, and there's a tearoom, a visitor information center, and a tour desk, where you can book various city tours and harbor cruises. The amusing figures on the walkway outside make for a popular photo op.

The four-level tower, a great place from which to survey the harbor and Partridge Island, was built during the War of 1812 as a precaution against an American attack. Guides portray the spartan life of a soldier living in the stone fort, and an audiovisual presentation in the visitor center outlines the tower's role in the defense of Saint John during World War II. The Sunday afternoon "Saint John Privateers" program in July and August, included in admission fee and available in English and French, brings the era to life for families with children ages 6 to 11 (call to reserve space).

Big cats and other exotic species are highlights of this charming 35-acre zoo, run as a nonprofit organization by its dedicated team. There are pleasant woodland trails, a waterfowl habitat with a boardwalk and floating gazebo, and an Aboriginal Medicine Wheel and Garden. The Discovery Center has touchable displays to engage and educate children. The zoo also has a monkey house, a miniature golf course, and the Vanished Kingdom Park, a display that focuses on extinct animals.

The marine ecosystems of the southern New Brunswick coast are preserved in this lovely 600-acre park on a peninsula close to downtown, where a salt-marsh boardwalk, eight walking trails, a seal observation deck, and a lookout tower make bird- and nature-watching easy. Many shorebirds breed here, and it's a staging site on the flight path of shorebirds migrating between the Arctic and South America—a wildlife tracking system here feeds data to Bird Studies Canada as part of an important research and conservation project. The Children's Forest has a playground and there are picnic sites and gas barbecues. Various educational programs, guided walks, and activities are offered. Motor vehicles are excluded on Saturday before noon.

Laid out in a Union Jack pattern, King's Square is a green refuge in the heart of the city, with a number of monuments and a two-story bandstand that hosts summer concerts. The mass of metal on the ground in the northeast corner is actually a great lump of melted tools from a neighboring hardware store that burned down in Saint John's Great Fire of 1877, in which hundreds of buildings were destroyed. It's a great place to picnic on food bought at the City Market across the street, but you might not want to linger here after dark. From the west side of the square, King Street, the steepest, shortest main street in Canada, heads down toward the waterfront, with a variety of shops and restaurants along the way.

Established soon after the United Empire Loyalists arrived in 1783, the cemetery features a magnificent beaver-pond fountain, created to depict the hard work and tenacious spirit of the city's founders and those who followed them. Brick and granite walkways lead from the memorial gates through the restored gravestones—the oldest is that of Coonradt Hendricks, dated 1784—and crypts amid shady trees and flowers. Closed in 1848, the cemetery was sadly neglected until 1995, when the Irving family restored it as a gift to the people of Saint John.

The former home of the Merritt family, wealthy Loyalist merchants, this imposing Georgian structure was built in 1817 and, as one of the few survivors of the great fire of 1877, is a designated National Historic Site. It is furnished with authentic period pieces, including a working piano organ and the original kitchen equipment. Visitors can explore on their own or join a guided tour, and visits may be possible by appointment during the closed season.

The waterfront area at the foot of King Street is where the Loyalists landed in 1783. Today it's a lively and appealing area—the site of restaurants, pubs, and a venue for festivals and street performers—but it still conveys a sense of the city's maritime heritage. There's access to the Harbour Passage Trail; a floating wharf accommodates boating visitors to the city and those waiting for the tides to sail up the St. John River; and there's a beach area with imported sand and volleyball nets.

Off King Street one block back from the waterfront, this street is full of historic buildings, particularly around Princess and Duke streets, preserving some of the city's finest late 19th-century architecture. The Old Post Office, at No. 115, is a particularly fine example. This is no frozen-in-time monument, though—these buildings now hold shops, galleries, and restaurants so good and plentiful that the site has become a dining destination. The triple-bulb lamp known as the Three Sisters, at the far end of Prince William Street, was erected in 1848 to guide ships into the harbor. Next to it is a replica of the Celtic cross on nearby Partridge Island, where many immigrants landed and were quarantined.

Encompassing 2,200 acres, this is one of the largest urban parks in Canada and is also one of the dozen or so highlighted elements of the Stonehammer Geopark, designated as such by UNESCO for its global geological importance. There are more than 55 hiking trails and paths through the forest, 13 lakes, several sandy beaches, a campground, and a golf course with an aquatic driving range. There are art and yoga sessions and many summer and winter activities available. Equipment rentals are at the Inside Out Nature Centre, and the Interpretation Centre organizes guided nature walks; it also has trail maps and information on events, which include open-air movie screenings and concerts.

The present church dates from 1880, when it was rebuilt after the Great Fire. Inside, over the west door, is a coat of arms—a symbol of the monarchy—rescued from the council chamber in Boston by a British colonel during the American Revolution. It was deemed a worthy refugee and given a place of honor in the church. Guided tours are available during July and August, and there's a self-guided tour at other times.