The Battery is one of the most photographed neighbourhoods in Canada — a cluster of tiny wooden houses jammed between the cliff face and the harbour entrance at the foot of Signal Hill. The houses are stacked improbably on the rocks, connected by narrow paths and staircases, their bright paint colours intensified by the grey Atlantic light. People have lived here continuously since the early 18th century.
Walking through the Battery takes about 20 minutes and is easily combined with a visit to Signal Hill above. The neighbourhood is still fully residential — most of the houses are homes, not holiday lets or shops — which gives it an authenticity that the more visited colonial centres of other cities often lack. From the outer edge, you can watch container ships and fishing vessels passing through the Narrows at close range.