Backpack and Snorkel Travel Guide for Quidi Vidi in Newfoundland - Newfoundland Purple Travel Guide
On your last day in St. John’s and Newfoundland, we are visiting one of the most picturesque areas of St. John’s: Quidi Vidi. We provide detailed information and a self-guided tour with the best things to see and we show lots of photos so you know what you can expect.
Some people will say: ‘Save the Best for Last’, and this is what we are doing.
Besides Quidi Vidi, we are also visiting two other highlights of St. John’s: The Rooms and Bowring Park
Table of contents
The Rooms
The Rooms is actually multiple museums in one building.
There is a comparably small collection of historical artefacts that were found in Newfoundland. The earliest artefacts are wood working tools from 5,000 years ago. Besides pre-Columbian artefacts, the museum exhibits tools, weapons, and pottery from the times of the early European settlements until the early 20th century.
Another exhibition showcases the Newfoundlanders that joined WWI and WWII and details their sacrifices, victories, weapons, etc.
Over multiple levels are art galleries that exhibit indigenous art and work from other Newfoundland artists.
Another museum is dedicated to how early Newfoundland settlers lived in the last 2 centuries. On display are household items and other items people used in their daily lives. Due to its significance, there are quite a few items related to cod fishing.
There is also a natural history section with skeletons and other exhibits about the Newfoundland flora and fauna.
Last but not least, there is one thing that should not be forgotten: the building itself.
The museum has a beautiful, super-spacious interior with excellent views (and even balconies) of the St. John’s harbor and town.
There is a paid parking lot near the museum, as parking can be difficult to find in the city.
Quidi Vidi
Quidi Vidi is a neighborhood in St. John’s that is built around a protected harbor.
Fishermen arrived each spring from England starting at around 1600 and returned to England each fall. Very few overwintered here at that time.
A permanent settlement was established in the mid-1600s, but migrant fishing continued for another two centuries.
In 1762 the French captured Quidi Vidi and constructed the Quidi Vidi Battery, which still exists today, but it is in disrepair and overgrown and thus closed to the public.
In the early 1800s, Quidi Vidi saw an influx of immigrants from southeast Ireland.
The origin and meaning of the name Quidi Vidi are unknown. Some of the possible explanations are that Quidi Vidi comes from corruptions of foreign language words such as:
- The Portuguese called it ‘quey de videy’”, which means ‘what a beautiful sight’
- A woman named Kitty ran a brothel here called ‘Kitty’s Viddy’
- ‘Quida Vada’ means ‘where to go’ in Basque
Interestingly, locals pronounce Quidi Vidi differently, which may be a sign of the corruption of foreign language words. The majority of locals pronounce the town: Kiddy Viddy
1 = Parking near Christ Church
2 = The Wharf at Quidi Vidi
3 = Quidi Vidi Brewery
4 = Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios
5 = Quidi Vidi Lake Parking
1. Parking near Christ Church
Parking is difficult to find in Quidi Vidi. One place that often has a couple of spaces available is near the old Christ Church.
In 1842, the local Anglicans built this church and added the bell tower in 1890 and in 1966 the church was taken over by the Newfoundland Historic Trust.
Over the years, the building has been used as a town hall, antique store, furniture restore shop, theater rehearsal space. It is used as a private residence since the 1980s.
Now walk towards the Wharf at Quidi Vidi. Shortly before you reach the wharf, you will pass by Mallard Cottage.
Mallard Cottage was built sometime between 1820 and 1840 by the Mallard family in a style that is typical of houses built by immigrants from southeastern Ireland. The home stayed in the Mallard family until the 1980s, when it was sold and converted into an antiques shop. In 2011, the building was purchased and restored by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and in 2013 it was reopened as a restaurant that welcomes guests for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.
2. The Wharf at Quidi Vidi
The Quidi Vidi Wharf is the central plaza of Quidi Vidi and the focal point in town that almost all tourists visit. In summer, there are several food trucks where you can buy food and ice cream and even a beer garden.
It is here where you have the most iconic post card view of Quidi Vidi's harbor, which is locally known as ‘The Gut’.
3. Quidi Vidi Brewery
Quidi Vidi Brewery is located behind the wharf in an iconic green building that used to be a fish plant. Quidi Vidi Brewing Company was founded in 1996 and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Quidi Vidi.
Be prepared for long lines if you want to eat and drink there.
Quidi Vidi Brewery makes several beers, including an Iceberg Beer, which is said to be made with water from ice chunks from icebergs that were harvested off the coast of Newfoundland.
4. Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios
The Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios are an incubator for local artisan businesses. It has various studios where you can meet the artisans, talk to them, and watch them create their art. And, of course, you can buy their products.
5. Quidi Vidi Lake
Quidi Vidi Lake hosts the annual Royal St. John's Regatta, which said to be the oldest continuous sporting event in North America.
The lake is 1 mile (1.6 km) long and has a scenic 2.4-mile (3.8 km) walking trail surrounding it. There are three parking lots on the north side and one on the south side of the lake.
Self-guided walking tour of Bowring Park
Bowring park is one of the most beautiful parks in St. John’s.
Officially opened in 1914 as a 50-acre (200,000 m2) park, the land was originally a farm that was purchased and donated to St. John’s by Sir Edgar Bowring in 1911.
The park was expanded in the 1970s, when 150 acres (610,000 m2) of land were added.
Located in the park are several recreation facilities, like tennis courts, a swimming pool and a playground and a number of statues: a Caribou statue, The Fighting Newfoundlander statue, and a Peter Pan statue.
The Caribou is a replica of the caribou monument at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park in France, which commemorates the Newfoundlanders killed in WWI.
The Fighting Newfoundlander is a tribute to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment with Corporal Thomas Pittman as the subject.
The Peter Pan statue preserves the memory of Sir Edgar Bowring's godchild, Betty Munn, who drowned in a ship accident near Cape Race in bad weather.
1 = Newfoundland Memorial
2 = Peter Pan Statue
3 = Linden Tree
4 = Fountain Pond
5 = Royal Bank Bridge
6 = The Fighting Newfoundlander
R = restrooms
P = Parking
There is a large parking lot in the north central section of the park.
At the far eastern side of the parking lot is the access point to one of the trails in the park. Take it and walk eastwards. Shortly after you pass under the Cantilever Bridge, you will see a path to the right leading to a grass field.
From there get on the Cantilever Bridge and cross the bridge. At the end, make a right onto the paved road.
This road will first bring you to The Fighting Newfoundlander monument, then the Linden Tree and eventually the Peter Pan statue by the duck pond.
Take some time to relax here.
Afterwards, turn around and walk towards the Linden Tree monument. Stay on this path until you get to the path on your right that leads to the Newfoundland Memorial.
Then continue on the path, cross the bridge, pass by the skate park, swimming pool and the playground until you reach Fountain Pond.
This is another nice place to relax and watch the fountain and ducks.
You can either make this your final stop and then walk back to your car, or hike to Royal Bank Bridge in the far southern part of Bowring Park.
This concludes your itinerary of Newfoundland and St. Pierre and Miquelon.
What do you want to see next?
Where do you want to go now?
Other popular Purple Travel Guides you may be interested in:
Like this Backpack and Snorkel Purple Travel Guide? Pin these for later:
