Irma Gerd’s Favorite Things to Do in St. John’s Newfoundland

St. John’s is having a very St. John’s kind of day. The sky is gray, rain is coming down, fog hangs through the Narrows, and the houses refuse to blend in. They are green, red, yellow, orange and pink, bright enough that Irma Gerd has the perfect description: “It’s kind of like a Pride flag every day.” If you are looking for things to do in St. John’s Newfoundland, that is a pretty good place to start.

Irma knows this city as a drag artist, local, visual artist, coffee addict, pizza lover and self-described total dweeb. They competed on season three of Canada’s Drag Race, but their relationship with St. John’s goes back well before television. The city’s arts scene gave them room to experiment, local businesses became favorite hangouts, and the people helped shape a drag character built around color and comedy. “I think humour is currency here,” Irma said. “If you can’t make somebody laugh, what do you even say about it?”

That combination of humor, community and personality runs through Irma’s favorite places. There are pastries and Pride, Magic cards and contemporary art, pizza and Atlantic views. There is also a cocktail involving a lover, a bearskin rug, a burning cabin and gin falling from the sky. This is St. John’s according to Irma Gerd. It was never going to be a beige little sightseeing list.

Irma’s Favorite Things to Do in St. John’s Newfoundland Start With Coffee

A drag queen needs fuel, and for Irma that means coffee and a pastry worth getting out of bed for.

The Postmaster’s Bakery sits on Military Road at Rawlins Cross, close to Jason’s neighborhood. When asked why visitors should go, Irma’s first answer was refreshingly practical: “Because I live right around the corner and it’s very easy for me to get to!”

Then came the endorsement that really counts.

“Coffee is the reason I get up in the morning,” Irma said. “I also love a pastry. I hate a bad pastry, and I love a good pastry. Postmaster’s makes some of the best pastries I’ve ever had in all my travels.”

The Postmaster’s is LGBTQ-owned, and Irma knows the owner personally. The business started during the pandemic with bread and baked goods sold online before growing into the busy bakery and café it is today.

The pastry case may get the first look, but Irma also loves what happens around it. Even on a wet morning, people come in for coffee, meet friends and run into neighbors. Irma had already spotted several people they knew.

“I’ve already seen more than one person who I could just go sit down with and be like, ‘How’s your morning? What are you up to?’”

That casual friendliness is a big part of the St. John’s Irma wants visitors to find.

“It’s very neighbourly,” they said. “There’s a really strong sense of community. It’s cosy.”

Coffee finished. Pastry handled. Time to head downtown.

Downtown St. John’s Is Better When You Slow Down

The Pride steps at St. John’s City Hall bring a blast of rainbow color into the downtown streets and make a fitting stop in a city Irma already compares to a Pride flag.

From City Hall, Water Street and Duckworth Street run through the old commercial core, where restaurants, pubs, galleries and independent shops fill the blocks below the hills.

Posie Row is one of the local stores worth wandering into. It carries gifts, accessories, cards, beauty products and plenty of things nobody planned to buy until they saw them.

Downtown St. John’s works well when there is no rush. Pop into a shop. Look through the records. Stop for food. Take the side street that looks interesting. Just remember that the hills are real, and they will eventually have something to say about your footwear choices.

Shopping also has its limits.

For Jason, there are Magic cards to buy.

Jason Lets His Nerd Flag Fly at Downtown Comics

Downtown Comics brings out a completely different side of Irma.

“We’re here because I’m really hankering to buy some Magic cards, and I am addicted to them,” they said.

No elaborate explanation needed.

“I love my little nerd community. Everybody knows me for being a total dweeb. I’m obsessed with everything from Dungeons & Dragons to Magic cards to video games.”

The shop is LGBTQ-owned, another reason Irma makes a point of supporting it. But the recommendation is also wonderfully specific. Jason likes comics and games, likes talking to other nerds and likes checking out what is new.

“I know there are nerds from all over Canada who are going to come visit Newfoundland, and we have a few places they should check out,” Irma said. “This is one of them.”

Gay travel can absolutely include drag shows, Pride parties and cocktails. It can also include an hour disappearing into a comic shop because somebody needs another pack of Magic cards.

Honestly, balance.

Eastern Edge Helped Irma Become Irma

Jason’s connection to the arts runs much deeper than a casual gallery stop.

Eastern Edge Artist-Run Centre has been part of the St. John’s contemporary arts community since 1984, with a history of supporting feminist, LGBTQ and other perspectives that have not always found space in traditional arts institutions.

For Irma, it is also tied to finding community in St. John’s.

Jason had previously lived in Toronto, where getting into established social and arts circles had been difficult.

“The walls were put up,” Irma said.

St. John’s felt different. After an arts event, Jason was invited to a beach fire with people from the local scene.

“Very quickly, they just became friends of mine.”

Eastern Edge became one of the places where those relationships grew. Irma hosted events there in drag and started mixing performance art with the type of stage work that would eventually become part of their reputation.

“Through Eastern Edge, I was asked to host events in drag, and it became a way for me to integrate performance art with being one weirdo, doing things you wouldn’t normally see on a drag stage and wouldn’t normally see in an art gallery.”

One weirdo was apparently capable of quite a lot.

Irma hosted RuPaul’s Drag Race screenings upstairs, sold beer out of a backpack, danced to strange songs, covered themselves in paint and rolled across paper. There were puppet shows. There were tricycles.

“Literally the weirdest things were happening in there.”

It was also where people around St. John’s started getting to know Irma.

Long before Canada’s Drag Race, Eastern Edge gave a young artist room to experiment, make friends and get weird in public. Every drag queen should be so lucky.

Piatto Has the Pizza Irma Is Obsessed With

After contemporary art, paint and tricycles, carbs feel appropriate.

Piatto Pizzeria + Enoteca is one of Irma’s favorite places to eat in the city.

“We’re here because this is my favourite food in the city,” they said. “Some places can be hit or miss. This is always a hit.”

The object of Irma’s affection is The Stephanie, still on Piatto’s downtown menu. The pizza comes with an olive oil base, soft goat cheese, prosciutto, caramelized pears and balsamic reduction.

“I just think it’s the most delicious pizza in the world.”

Naples can file a complaint later.

Piatto is also an easy break from the assumption that every meal in Newfoundland needs to involve seafood.

“There are places downtown where, if you want to get lobster, you’re going to pay an arm, a leg and a claw,” Irma said.

Arm, leg and claw. No notes.

A few blocks away, Craig’s Cookies adds dessert to the downtown wander. Founder Craig Pike grew up in St. John’s, and the Duckworth Street shop brings his stuffed cookies back to his hometown.

It does not need to become a major travel event. Pick a cookie. Eat it. Continue living your best Newfoundland life.

Then St. John’s Opens Up to the Atlantic

The colorful houses and downtown streets are only part of the story. Drive out from the city and Newfoundland gets very big, very quickly.

Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site sits about 20 minutes from downtown St. John’s at the easternmost point of Canada. The rocky coast, historic lighthouse and wide Atlantic views make it one of the places where the geography of Newfoundland becomes impossible to ignore.

Stand there with nothing but ocean stretching east and it is easy to understand why the sea has such a hold on this place.

It also makes for one hell of a Pride flag photo.

Cape Spear is a good reminder that LGBTQ travel in Newfoundland does not need to revolve around nightlife. Some days call for drag bingo. Other days call for standing on a cliff staring across the Atlantic while the wind makes decisions about your hair.

Signal Hill National Historic Site brings the view back toward St. John’s, and Irma has no interest in pretending locals are above going there.

“If you come to St. John’s, you have to come up to the top of Signal Hill,” they said. “It’s kind of a tourist trap, but it’s a tourist trap that we locals fall into probably a couple of times a week.”

From the top, the city and harbor sit below, the Atlantic opens beyond the Narrows, and Cape Spear is visible in the distance.

“It’s just the most beautiful view of our city,” Irma said. “You can turn around and look out at the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. You can watch boats come in and go out.”

Their advice is to go around sunset and watch the light fall across the hills.

There is one more local tip.

“Also, it’s a great makeout spot. And cruising is just around the corner.”

You probably will not find that line on the tourism website.

Useful information nonetheless.

St. John’s Pride Is About More Than the Party

Irma’s view of St. John’s Pride is rooted in the same idea that keeps coming up everywhere else. Different people find community in different places.

“Not every person is going to Pride for gay dancing,” they said.

There is, to be clear, nothing wrong with gay dancing.

Irma’s point is that St. John’s LGBTQ community is bigger than one type of Pride experience. They talk about drag, songwriter circles, ballroom, food, art and people with all kinds of interests finding each other.

“There are all kinds of different niches where people fit in.”

That variety could be seen across the 2026 Pride festival, which included community events, performances, marches, drag and Pride in the Park at Bannerman Park. The St. John’s Pride Dyke March also brought people into downtown streets under the theme “Community is Resistance.”

St. John’s does not have a giant gay village. LGBTQ life is scattered across cafés, arts spaces, local businesses, events, parks and friend groups instead.

Irma also pushes back on the assumption that being this far east automatically means being socially conservative.

“We’re not the far right,” they said. “We’re the far east. Don’t get it twisted.”

Put that on a T-shirt.

Travelers planning a trip around Pride can check the HomoCulture Pride Event Calendar for current event dates, and subscribe to HomoCulture for more Pride and gay travel coverage.

No. 4 Ends the Night With Gin and High Drama

St. John’s is known for drinking, and Irma happily acknowledges that Newfoundlanders love their beer.

Irma has other plans.

“I, however, love a good cocktail. I’m a gin drinker.”

At No. 4 Restaurant & Bar on Cathedral Street, the Corpse Reviver No.4 is Irma’s pick. The current cocktail combines Aviation Gin, Lillet, Cointreau, citrus, mango chili lime shrub, basil and absinthe.

That is the menu description.

Irma has their own.

“It tastes like a winter night in a log cabin, isolated in the woods with your lover. But then the cabin catches on fire. You lose your lover and you have to find him. You’re both yelling, and then you find each other and make out on the bearskin rug as the log cabin burns down. Then it starts raining gin, and the day is saved. That’s what it tastes like to me.”

Suddenly “notes of citrus” feels painfully inadequate.

The whole story is classic Irma. It starts with a perfectly reasonable cocktail and somehow ends with a gay reunion, a bearskin rug, structural fire and alcoholic weather.

Camp. Drama. Gin.

Order accordingly.

Build Your Own Irma Gerd Inspired St. John’s Trip

Irma’s recommendations are better used as inspiration than a schedule.

Start with coffee and something flaky at The Postmaster’s Bakery. Wander downtown, stop at the City Hall Pride steps, browse Posie Row and see what catches your eye. Feed the nerd brain at Downtown Comics, then spend some time at Eastern Edge.

Get The Stephanie at Piatto. Add Craig’s Cookies if dessert is calling.

Give Cape Spear and Signal Hill enough time to enjoy the views instead of treating them like photo stops. Check St. John’s Pride and local arts calendars for current events. Finish with a cocktail at No. 4, preferably without setting a cabin on fire.

Travelers can plan more of their St. John’s trip with Destination St. John’s, including restaurants, accommodations, attractions and transportation. For more time beyond the city, plan a wider Newfoundland and Labrador trip through the province’s official tourism site.

For more Canadian destination ideas, explore HomoCulture’s gay travel in Canada coverage and these Canada travel tips for gay travelers.

St. John’s Newfoundland Travel FAQ

What Are the Best Things to Do in St. John’s Newfoundland?

Irma’s favorites include The Postmaster’s Bakery, downtown St. John’s, the City Hall Pride steps, Downtown Comics, Eastern Edge, Piatto, Cape Spear, Signal Hill, St. John’s Pride events and cocktails at No. 4. Together they cover food, art, LGBTQ community, shopping, nature and the places Irma actually enjoys.

Is St. John’s Newfoundland LGBTQ Friendly?

St. John’s has an active LGBTQ community, Pride festival, drag scene, arts spaces, LGBTQ-owned businesses and visible Pride symbols. Irma describes the community as diverse and says there is strong support beyond LGBTQ spaces. As with any destination, individual experiences can vary.

Is Downtown St. John’s Walkable?

Much of downtown St. John’s can be explored on foot, including Water Street, Duckworth Street and the surrounding restaurants, shops and arts spaces. The hills can be steep, so comfortable shoes help. Cape Spear requires transportation, and Signal Hill should be planned as a separate stop.

Is Signal Hill Worth Visiting?

Irma thinks so, and apparently locals do too. They describe Signal Hill as a tourist attraction that people who live in St. John’s still visit regularly for the views. Sunset is Irma’s preferred time. The makeout recommendation is a bonus.

What Should LGBTQ Travelers Do in St. John’s?

Check current Pride, drag, ballroom, arts and community events, but leave room for the rest of the city. Browse downtown, eat somewhere local, visit Eastern Edge, get outside at Signal Hill and Cape Spear, and talk to people. Irma’s favorite St. John’s experiences are spread across the city rather than concentrated in one LGBTQ district.

Disclosure: This story was produced following a media visit supported by Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. Irma Gerd’s recommendations and opinions are their own.

What Irma Hopes You Take Home From St. John’s

For all the pizza, Pride, art, Atlantic views, Magic cards and gin-soaked cabin drama, Irma comes back to the same thing that stood out over coffee at The Postmaster’s: people. Asked what visitors should take home besides photos and souvenirs, their answer was immediate. “Friendships.” Newfoundland may be an island in the Atlantic, but Irma says people here like meeting visitors, asking where they came from and hearing about life somewhere else. “That’s the best thing you can do when you travel, meet new people.”

If you have been to St. John’s, leave a comment with the place, person or experience you still think about.

As Irma put it, “Photos are great, but an email from a friend is better. Or a postcard. A Christmas card.” And if there is one final rule for doing St. John’s properly: “Join the Christmas card list. That’s a good list to be on.”