Saint John's

For other places with the same name, see Saint John (disambiguation).

Saint John's is the capital city of Antigua and Barbuda. It is on the island of Antigua. The city is famous for its shopping malls and boutiques throughout the city, selling designer jewellery and haute-couture clothing. St. John's attracts tourists from the resorts on the island and from the cruise ships which dock in its harbour at Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay several times a week. In 2011, it was home to 22,000 people.

Understand

Climate

St. John's has a topical with summer-like weather year-round, with hot days and warm nights. Rainfall is at its highest from September to November due to hurricane activity.

Get in

By plane

• 1 V. C. Bird International Airport (ANU  ^IATA) (a few kilometres away). It has regular flights from UK, U.S. and other Caribbean islands.  

By cruise ship

• 2 Promenade Cruise Port. Many tourists arrive by cruise ship to spend the day. Most ships dock at large piers that empty into downtown through an open-air shopping mall. 

Get around

There are car rentals and many taxi services available.

The local bus service is pretty reliable (ask locals for assistance).

• 1 Bike Plus, Independence Dr, St John’s, ☏ +1 268 462-2453. bicycles and accessories (updated Aug 2018)

See

Recreation Ground

• 1 Saint John the Divine Cathedral. The Anglican cathedral with its two towers was built in 1681 as a timber construction, rebuilt in stone in 1722, destroyed in 1843 by the great earthquake, rebuilt in 1845-47. Damaged by an earthquake in 1974 and hurricane "Hugo" in 1989, the interior wood construction and paneling of pine wood has proven to be a good protection against earthquakes and hurricanes. The cathedral is built in baroque style with two towers. On the south portal are life-size, iron statues of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist from 1789. The church offers 2,000 worshipers place. It is still damaged. (updated Jan 2018)
• 2 Fort James (on the northern harbor side, St. John's Point). Foundation stone laying about 1675, today's building stock from 1749, was built together with the on the opposite harbor entrance Fort Barrington for the protection of the port of St. John. It was designed for a crew of 70 and 36 cannons. The well-preserved walls and 10 cannons can still be visited today. The guns weigh about 2.5 tons, their range should be nearly 2,400 m. (updated Jan 2018)
• 3 Government House. The official residence of the governor-general, received several visits to the English royal house. It was built ad two separate houses in the 17th century. In 1801, Lord Lavington of Carlisle acquired the house. In 2002, arson caused more damage. At that time, renovations were being carried out and the house was empty. (updated Jan 2018)
• 4 Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda, on Queen Elizabeth Highway. (updated Jan 2023)
• 5 Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, The Old Courthouse. In 1747-1750, the Old Court House was built by American architect Peter Harrison, born in England, using rocks that were broken on the islands of Long Island, Pelican Island and Guiana Island. Also this building was heavily damaged by the earthquakes of 1843 and 1974. It was not restored until the early 1980s. Since 1988, the National Museum of Antigua and Barbuda has been housed here. The State Archives were also temporarily here. Curiosities such as stone artefacts of the Arawak Indians can be found in the museum along with uniforms from the Second World War. A visit takes about 30 minutes. EC$8 as of 2024. (updated Nov 2024)
• Botanical Garden (near the intersection of Factory Road and Independence Avenue). This small park's shaded benches and gazebo provide a quiet refuge from the bustle of activity of Saint John's. 

Do

• Carnival. Annual festival from late July to early August. (updated Jan 2018)
• Cricket: 1 Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Factory Rd, North Sound, St Peters, ☏ +1 268 562 9224. Established in 2006 and with a capacity of 10,000, this hosts all first class matches in Antigua. (updated Sep 2023)
• 2 Antigua Recreation Ground. Since 2006 this only hosts cricket at junior level. (updated Sep 2023)

Eat and drink

There are many restaurants in the St. John's area.

• 1 Big Banana, Redcliffe Street, ☏ +1 268 480-6985, +1 268 480-6967, fax: +1 268 480-6989. 07:00-21:00 daily. 
• 2 Hemingway's Café, St. Mary's Street and Jardine Court, ☏ +1 268 462-2763, fax: +1 268 560-1669, hem_ways@hotmail.com. 08:30-23:00 daily. Caribbean cuisine 

There bars all around the island. There are a few distilleries too.

• 1 Antigua Distillery Limited, Dickenson Bay Street, ☏ +1 268 480 3200. M-F 08:00-17:00, closed Sa Su. Ths local rum distillery was established by eight local businessman in 1933. (updated Dec 2022)
• 2 Antilles Stillhouse, Great Fort George Trail AG, ☏ +1 268 764 9320, Sonu.Murphy@gmail.com. A gin distillery established by a Canadian expat family in 2016. Tours are an hour long and are by appointment only. Reserve a tour on their webiste, www.antillesdistilling.com cash only. (updated Dec 2022)
• 3 2SIX8 Craft Brewery, Matthews Road, Falmouth, ☏ +1 268 785 3814. Th F 14:00-19:00, closed Sa-W. Family-run brewery (updated Dec 2022)

Sleep

At one of the many hotels or guest houses. For the traveller on a budget try to stay at a local rented apartment or a cheap motel.

• Jumby Bay, ☏ +1 268 462-6000. This luxury resort offers suites and villa accommodations, afternoon tea, tennis instruction, beauty and massage services, and wedding facilities. From US$1175/night. 

Go next

• Barbuda
• Falmouth
• English Harbour