A Very Short Guide to Saint John

Welcome to the very beginning of my Atlantic Canada road trip series! Last summer my friend, Alyshia, and I spent two weeks driving around three different provinces, and we started in Saint John, New Brunswick.

When I mean short, I mean very short! We mostly started here because initially we mistook it for St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador (a very different vibe) and because I was driving straight from PA, and was going to need a break after 12+ hours of driving. Plus, once we realized our mistake, we started looking at what to do in New Brunswick, and realized there were quite a few little stops we’d want to make and this John would make a good base.

Also, in our defense, there was a lot of construction going on so if I remember correctly, some walking routes were closed off!

Our whole itinerary essentially looked like this:

• Tuesday: I drive up from Pennsylvania (a drive that wound up taking me 14 hours with stops)
• Wednesday: Morning in Saint John, afternoon over in St. Martins Sea Caves
• Thursday: Morning in Saint John, head out of New Brunswick for PEI

So, like I said, this is quite a small guide. There’s probably a lot of history and museums and even more restaurants worth checking out (it’s Canada’s oldest incorporated city after all), but here’s all we did with limited time and energy!

Saint John Quick Travel Tips

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the super cute Chipman Hill Suites Sydney Street. Mostly we picked it for budget, location, and free parking, but it’s actually an absolutely adorable hotel. Chipman Hill has a series of what must be former historic homes that they’ve turned into inns in Saint John, and the Sydney Street location means most places in town are pretty walkable.

The parking is across the street, and everything is self-check in but very cute. I wish I’d taken pictures of our room; I love how cozy it was.

Where We Ate & Drank

Breakfast

• The Art Warehouse Cafe – Such a bummer this place closed permanently because it was such a cute place that was part cafe, part drop-in art studio! The good news is, it looks like they opened another cafe called Bubbly Cup.
• Catapult Coffee – Another cute coffee spot near us. It also had some cute ceramics and other things on sale and has a mission of funding the Outflow Ministry, which runs a few programs in city like a men’s shelter and meal program.

Can you tell which one of us is American and which one is Canadian by the iced vs hot coffee drinks?

Regular Food

• Pomodori Pizza – By the time I got to Saint John, I’d been driving solo for about 14 hours altogether and was in that “delirium before the pass out” phase, so I truly do not remember much about eating here! I think the pizza was good and it was close to our hotel. Plus it’s next to and sort of shares space with Picaroons General Store, a cool little brewery.
• Saint John City Market – This is, of course, one of the top things to do in the city, so before we left town for St. Martin’s, we ate lunch here. It’s small but packed with different vendors and eateries! We got food from Kim’s Korean and as we we were waiting, we saw this Jamaican table next to it selling jerk chicken, so we got that as well!
• Britts’ Pub & Eatery – By the time we got back from St. Martin and Value Village, I think our dinner options were pretty limited! Luckily this English-style pub was nearby and we split some fish n chips and a really good salad.

What We Did

More of the City Market

Besides eating, we also shopped around the market for snacks and any potential souvenirs. While we went, one of the vendors showed us a staircase that would give us some cool overhead views of the market itself!

Kings Square

Outside the market is this really pretty park and bandstand situation. It’s actually a nice spot to bring your food from the market if you want more of a picnic set-up!

General Walking Around

We mostly just walked around Saint John and took in the historic vibe. If you can’t tell, I was more or less exhausted while we were here, so I had no real plans or must-dos for our main morning wandering around. It’s such a pretty city, so it’s best to just wander and take it in!

Shopping Around

And, of course, while wandering we did a little shopping. Mostly just popping into whatever stores caught our fancy but I was pretty delighted by my finds at Scheherazade.

Bopping around Value Village

Value Village is Canada’s main secondhand store franchise, and Alyshia is a regular at the one near her home. We wound up visiting one at each place we stayed on this trip, but if I remember we made out the best at the Saint John one. (As you can see from our cart). It was my first time in a VV, and I very much enjoyed taking advantage of their buy 4 books, get 1 free sale. I mean, I did drive here after all, so I had plenty of room in my car!!

And that’s about it! Like I said — a very short guide to Saint John. Let me know if there’s more I missed. Maybe I’ll make a return visit!

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