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The province of NEW BRUNSWICK , roughly 320km long and 260km wide, attracts less tourist attention than its Maritime neighbours, and it's hard to understand quite why. It's true that the forested upland that makes up the bulk of the province is a trifle repetitious, but the long river valleys that furrow the landscape compensate and the funnel-shaped Bay of Fundy , with its dramatic tides and delightful coastline, is outstanding. Equally, in Fredericton , the capital, the province has one of the regions most appealing towns, a laid-back easy sort of place which, besides offering the bonus of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, also possesses strings of fine old villas and a good-looking cathedral. Handsome scenery is within easy reach too - it's a short trip south to scenic Passamaquoddy Bay , an island-studded inlet of the Bay of Fundy that's home to the likeable resort of St Andrews . Southeast of Fredericton, the Saint John River snakes a tortuous route to the Bay of Fundy at the busy port of Saint John . Along with most of the settlements of southern New Brunswick, Saint John was founded by United Empire Loyalists, whose descendants, mingled with those of British colonists, account for around sixty percent of the province's 725,000 inhabitants. Some 130,000 people live here in Saint John, making this the province's big city - it's much larger than Fredericton - and although hard times have left the place frayed at the edges the city boasts a splendid sample of Victorian architecture. Also, although industry has scarred the Fundy coast hereabouts, there's still no denying the rugged charms of Saint John's setting, and not far away are the more pristine land- and seascapes of both the coastal Fundy Trail Parkway and Fundy National Park . The remaining third of New Brunswick's population are French-speakers, the descendants of those Acadians who settled in the region after the deportations of 1755. To avoid further persecution, these refugees clustered in the remote northern parts of the province, though since the 1960s they have become more assertive - following the example set by their Quebecois cousins - and have made Moncton , in southeast New Brunswick, the effective capital of modern Acadia, with a French-speaking university as their cultural centre. Moncton is, however, of limited interest to the passing visitor - it's a modern, brassy, breezy sort of place - and is chiefly of use as a stepping stone either west to Fundy National Park or east to the beautifully remote remains of Fort Beausejour . As for the other Acadian districts, they are best visited on the way to Quebec. Two main roads link Fredericton with its northern neighbour. The first - which is both more scenically diverting and more direct - slices up the western edge of the province along the Saint John River Valley to French-speaking Edmundston , en route to Riviere-du-Loup . The second cuts northeast for the long haul up the Miramichi River Valley to the cluster of small towns that are known collectively as Miramichi City . Near here are the untamed coastal marshes of the Kouchibouguac National Park and, in the northeast corner of the province, the Acadian Peninsula , whose pride and joy is the re-created Village Historique Acadien , near the fishing village of Caraquet . SMT buses run a reasonable provincewide network of services, with daily connections along the Saint John River Valley and up the east coast from Moncton to Campbellton. There are also regular buses from Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton over to Charlottetown on PEI, via the Confederation Bridge. The Saint John to Digby car ferry is a useful short cut if you're heading down to southwest Nova Scotia.
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