Issue link: http://read.canadatravelguides.ca/i/651528
TRAVEL GUIDE TO CANADA deeper understanding is desired, New Brunswick Tourism has you covered. Since many of its activities include a cultural component, its Experience Collection helps travellers navigate the nuances. SEASONAL SENSATIONS The seasons, too, deserve to be savoured, as each is distinct. Summer, when the weather is warmest and the festival calendar is fullest, is prime time for tourists. Nevertheless Mother Nature has her own timetable. In early spring, sap runs in the maples and syrup producers open their sugar camps to visitors, whereas autumn promises brilliant fall foliage and delectable harvest feasts. Happily, a rapidly-growing number of restaurants spotlight fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Come winter, frozen ponds and lakes provide an ideal setting for cutting fi gure eights or playing pick-up hockey. Snow also falls—as much as 400 cm (157 in.) annually in northern New Brunswick—covering ski hills and more than 1,000 km (621 mi.) of groomed snowmobile trails. In a place that has this much to offer, there's no need to rush. So take your cue from the mighty St. John River and simply go with the fl ow. WHAT'S NEW After plying the Saint John-Digby route for 44 years, the Princess of Acadia ferry has been replaced by the faster Fundy Rose, which makes the crossing in two hours and 15 minutes (www.ferries.ca/fundyrose). Launched in 2015, Kouchibouguac National Park's Dancing Dune Festival promises moonlight walks and other special events from mid-May to Labour Day (www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nb/ kouchibouguac/activ/special.aspx). Visiting sportsmen rejoice! In 2015, two supersized outfi tters—Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's—both opened their fi rst Eastern Canadian locations in Moncton (www.basspro.com; www.cabelas.ca). The restaurant renaissance in Uptown Saint John continues with the opening of Port City Royal. Housed in a gorgeous Victorian-era building, the eatery is helmed by Chef Jakob Lutes ( www.portcityroyal. com). CITY LIGHTS Fredericton is rightly called "Atlantic Canada's Riverfront Capital." The British made it the seat of government over 230 years ago due to the easy access the St. John River provided, and most civic sites still line its banks. Chief among them are the two-block Garrison District, where red-coated troops were once quartered; the copper-domed Legislature; the neo- Gothic Christ Church Cathedral; and the top-notch Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Overlooking them all is the University of New Brunswick's historic hilltop campus ( www.tourismfredericton.ca). Saint John, a vibrant commercial and cruise port, has been defi ned by its harbour since the Loyalists sailed in. Evidence is found in its 18 th century waterside sites and the grand edifi ces erected by later seafarers during the "Golden Age of Sail." The harbour's signifi cance is further apparent in Market Square, a museum and entertain- ment complex fashioned from waterfront warehouses, and the City Market which was built by shipwrights. Even the Harbour Passage Trail and Harbour Station arena are named in its honour ( www.tourism saintjohn.com ). POPULATION: , CAPITAL CITY: fredericton PROVINCIAL WEBSITE: www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca INTERNATIONAL GATEWAYS: Greater Moncton international airport, 8 km (5 mi.) from downtown fredericton airport, 15 km (9 mi.) from downtown Saint John airport, 16 km (10 mi.) from downtown roWerS on St. JoHn riVer • freDeriCton toUriSM