Placentia (French: Plaisance) is a town of 3,500 people (2016) on the west side of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. It was the French capital of Newfoundland in the early 17th century.

Understand

Placentia

Placentia, viewed from a nearby historic French fortress

Placentia is the core of a group of small villages (Placentia, Jerseyside, Townside, Freshwater, Dunville and Argentia). The community is primarily a fishing village and has declined rapidly in population since the depletion of Atlantic cod stocks in the 1990s.

Fort Plaisance (1662), Fort Royal (1687) and Fort Saint-Louis (1690) were early French military fortifications in the area; the hilltop bastion Fort Royal served as home for the French governor. After the French abandoned Newfoundland in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, the British built the redoubt Fort Frederick. While much of the original fortification is in ruins, what remains is preserved as Castle Hill National Historic Site.

Argentia

Argentia was a small fishing village established by the French in the 1630s as Petit Plaisance (Little Placentia), meaning "Pleasant Little Place". The village was renamed in 1901 to reflect the presence of silver ore in the Broad Cove region; a silver mine operated until the 1920s. A railway branch line reached the community in 1888, allowing the adjoining Ship Harbour and Fox Harbour to serve as a seaport to supply other coastal villages (outports) in the region.

In August 1941, a four-day wartime meeting between Winston Churchill and Franklin Delanor Roosevelt took place on board the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales, moored at Placentia Bay, off Argentia. In 1942, the villages of Argentia and Marquise were expropriated and completely demolished to make way for a US military base which was to serve as one end of a key World War II trans-Atlantic supply line. The dispossessed villagers were largely resettled in Placentia. The US base closed in 1994 and its airport sits abandoned; attempts have been made to re-purpose the base as an industrial park. The Newfoundland Railway is gone. The docks remain in use seasonally for the Marine Atlantic ferry to Cape Breton.

Get in

The nearest major airport is in St. John's.

By car

Placentia is 131 km from St. John's, southwest on the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 1). then south on Route 100.

By bus

• New Hook Bus Lines, ☏ +1 709 426-4876. Connects Argentia to St. John's. A one-way ride takes 1-2 hours. (updated Jul 2018)

By ferry

• 1 Marine Atlantic, ☏ +1 902-794-5254, toll-free: +1-800-341-7981, reservations@marineatlantic.ca. Takes passengers and cars from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Argentia (16 hours) several days per week from June to September. The ferries carry vehicles and passengers. The duration of the ride depends on the weather and water conditions, so patience is of the essence. Reservations recommended except for commercial vehicles. (Commercial vehicles pay double for reservations). (updated Apr 2022)
  • The ferry operator also operates a North Sydney to Port aux Basques (7 hours) route, typically two times per day throughout the year. Port aux Basques is located in south-western Newfoundland.

Get around

Placentia is on Newfoundland Highway 100, which leads to the Trans-Canada Highway.

• Busy Bee Cabs, 15 Prince William Dr, ☏ +1 709 227-1600. Local taxi service. (updated Jul 2018)

See

• 1 Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, ☏ +1 709 277-1666. (updated Jul 2018)
• 2 Castle Hill Historic Site, 1 Old Castle Hill Rd, Jerseyside, ☏ +1 709 227-2401, fax: +1 709 227-2452. June to September: daily 10AM-6PM. Remains of French and English fortifications from the 17th and 18th centuries, history of local fishery. Adult $3.90, senior $3.40, youth free. (updated Jun 2019)
• 3 O'Reilly House Museum, 48 Orcan Drive, ☏ +1 709 227-5568. 9AM-noon and 1-5PM: Jun, mid-Aug to Oct M-F; July 1 to mid-Aug daily. 1902 Balistrade Queen Anne Victorian magistrate's house restored with period artifacts as local historical museum. Adults (17 and up) $5, youth/children (6 to 16) $2, children (5 and under) free, seniors (65 and over) $4. (updated Jun 2019)* Angels Cove. (updated Jul 2018)
• The Cape Shore Drive. (updated Jul 2018)
• Placentia Bay Lookout. (updated Jul 2018)

Do

• 1 Cape Saint Mary's Ecological Reserve, 60 km (40 mi) S of Placentia on NL 100, ☏ +1 709 277-1666. May-Sep/Oct. Provincial park and nesting seabird sanctuary, interpretive centre, souvenir shop, washrooms. free guided tour.  
• 2 Gooseberry Cove Provincial Park, Gooseberry Cove, NL route 100, 27 km S of Placentia. Picnic area on sandy beach. 

Eat

• 1 Philip's Café, 170 Jerseyside Hill, Jerseyside, ☏ +1 709 227-0127. Opens at 7AM. Waterfront café, bakery, pastry shop. Serves breakfast, deli sandwiches, coffee, and tea for takeaway. 
• 2 Hoi Pun Restaurant, 14 Prince William Dr, ☏ +1 709 227-2549. Chinese & Canadian food. 

Drink

• 1 The Three Sisters Pub, 2 Orcan Dr, ☏ +1 709 227-0124, fax: +1 709 227-0125, management@thethreesisters.ca. 

Sleep

Hotels

• 1 Bridgeway Hotel, 15-19 Prince William Drive, ☏ +1 709-227-1700, fax: +1 709 227-2588, bridgewayhotel@gmail.com. Twelve rooms with private bath, fridge, microwave, wi-fi, breakfast. 

Bed and breakfast

• 2 Castle Landing Guest Home, 16 Larkin Drive, Route 100, Freshwater, ☏ +1 709 227-0997, toll-free: +1-877-227-0997. Nine rooms in former convent, en-suite bath, wi-fi, continental breakfast. 

Rosedale Manor

• 3 Rosedale Manor Inn, 40 Orcan Dr., ☏ +1 709 227-3613, toll-free: +1-877-999-3613, fax: +1 709 227-1048. Waterfront 1893 Heritage B&B Inn, gourmet breakfasts, comfortable beds, private bathrooms, wi-fi, garden and reading room. $60. 
• Cochrane's Corner Guest House, Main Road, Placentia, ☏ +1 709 227-2835. Three-bedroom cottage, continental breakfast. 

Go next

• St. John's

Routes through Placentia

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