Centered on a good-size commercial harbor, Saint John is New Brunswick's largest city and the center of much of the province's industry. Spread out over a low hill with good rocky views, the downtown boasts wonderfully elaborate Victorian flourishes on its rows of commercial buildings. (Be sure to look high along the cornices to appreciate the intricate brickwork.) A handful of impressive mansions lord over the side streets, their interiors a forest of intricate wood carving -- appropriately so, as timber barons built most of them.
There's an industrial grittiness to Saint John, which some find unappealing and others find charming. It all depends on your outlook. Just don't expect a tidy garden city with lots of neat homes; this isn't that sort of place. Instead, Saint John offers a surfeit of brick architecture in various states of repair. Throughout the downtown you'll get glimpses of its past and present industry: large shipping terminals, oil storage facilities, and paper mills of the sort that were so popular with Ashcan artists. (A 1978 book on New Brunswick put it diplomatically: "Saint John's heavy industries ensure that the city is not famed for beauty, but the setting is magnificent.")
More or less, that's the truth. Don't let this put you off, though -- instead take a detour from the main coastal highway downtown. It does take some effort -- the traffic engineers have been very mischievous, leading you around rather than into the city. When you finally arrive, though, you'll discover an intriguing place to take an afternoon stroll while awaiting the ferry to Digby, grab a delicious bite to eat and a pint of ale, and possibly stay the night while breaking up your driving and cute-village-hopping routine. The streets here often bustle with everyone from skateboarders to out-for-the-weekenders to dowagers shopping at the public market.
Note that Saint John is always spelled out, just as I have done in this sentence. It's never abbreviated as "St. John." That's to keep mail destined for St. John's in Newfoundland from ending up here by mistake, and vice versa. Good thinking. But don't worry if you get it mixed up: The locals will be quick to correct you if you err.
