NEW BRUNSWICK

New Brunswick is the only Maritime Province firmly anchored to the mainland, as it shares a border with Quebec and Maine. Provincial capital Fredericton, which overlooks the St John River, is a handsome brick town of tree-lined streets with an interesting history of early British settlement. To the south, busy port St John, with its sea-searching views, exemplifies the maritime spirit of this corner of Canada. It has a busy boutique-brewery scene and lively cultural life, and you can dine on lobster hauled from the sea just that morning. In fact, you can eat well everywhere in the Maritime Provinces: the lobster, scallops, cold-water crabs and salmon are superb. St John sits on the Bay of Fundy, sheltered by the New Brunswick coast and Nova Scotia across the water. The bay is studded with sculpted rock stacks and cliffs pounded with waves at aptly-named Cape Enrage, a popular spot for zip-lining and rock climbing. The world’s highest tides here (over 15m) allow you to walk across the seabed at Hopewell Rocks at low tide. A dozen species of whale also make this a prime whale-watching destination. The northern coast is much more tranquil, since it fronts the deeply indented Gulf of St Lawrence. It’s interesting for its Arcadian culture. Le Pays de la Sagouine recreates an historical village of this French-immigrant community, who first arrived in the early 1600s. It’s a lovely region in autumn, when dahlias and fat pumpkins add colour to cottage gardens. The landscape, heralding the departure of Canada geese for the winter, erupts in a fiery display of scarlet hillside maples and crimson-coloured bog plants.