Magnetic Hill, Tidal Bore & Petitcodiac River
Moncton is the commercial hub of Atlantic Canada. The tidal bore on the Petitcodiac River — the 24-metre tides of the Bay of Fundy create a visible wave front moving upriver at predictable times daily (free timetable from the visitor centre). Magnetic Hill ($6 per vehicle) is a famous optical illusion where vehicles appear to roll uphill. The Mosaïc cultural complex and the Moncton Museum ($5) introduce the city's unique bilingual Acadian character.
Hopewell Rocks & the Bay of Fundy
Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park ($10, 40 km south of Moncton) is one of the most extraordinary geological spectacles in Canada — enormous sculpted sandstone flowerpot towers that you walk around at low tide and kayak around at high tide. The 16-metre tidal change means the seabed exposed at low tide is completely submerged hours later. Timing your visit to span both states (arrive 2 hours before low tide) is the complete experience.
Sackville & the Tantramar Marshes
Sackville (48 km southeast, near the Nova Scotia border) is a small university town (Mount Allison University) with galleries, bookshops, and cultural life well above its size. The Sackville Waterfowl Park (free) is a restored wetland in the Tantramar Marshes — a migration corridor for hundreds of thousands of shorebirds, ducks, and geese each autumn. The Tantramar landscape — the world's largest salt marsh — spreads flat to every horizon.
Kouchibouguac National Park
Kouchibouguac National Park ($9, 100 km north of Moncton) preserves salt marshes, lagoons, sand dunes, and Acadian forest along the Northumberland Strait. The barrier islands are accessible only by canoe — rentals available at the Ryans campsite. Kellys Beach has the finest swimming in New Brunswick. The grey seal colony on the outer sand bars is viewable by kayak or guided boat tour.
Dieppe, Acadian Culture & Departure
Dieppe adjacent to Moncton is the largest Acadian city in New Brunswick — the Acadian Museum ($7) explains the 1755 Grand Dérangement (when 10,000 Acadians were forcibly expelled by the British) with clarity and emotional weight. The village of Memramcook (35 km south) has the Monument Lefebvre National Historic Site — the birthplace of the Acadian Renaissance. Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport has connections to all major Canadian cities.